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My boss very confidently proclaimed that all serious IT professionals use a Mac. Said Linux "is for programmers and nerds"

Im suspect about 50. Im just a bit older and it was thing for nerds back then.

TL;DR? Why not just go watch another five second video of a kitten with its head in a toilet roll, or a 140 character description of a meal your friend just stuffed in their mouth. "nom nom". This blog post is not for you.

wow, this some next level obnoxious boomer shit.

This actually what drives me nuts about the US. Its like everyone is expected to be a doctor, a lawyer, an investor, a mechanic, an electrician, plumber, IT, and just everything. I look at the old black and white shows where the tv repair man is called and im like. wtf happened to this country.

I fix my computers. I fix my car. I've done some electrical. No plumbing. And I recently biopsied a cyst that my doctor eyeballed and said was non cancerous and charged me $40 for nothing a year ago. It began annoying me a year later, and I'm stubborn and hate to go the doctor, and that guy was an ass. I'm ok with being called an old fart though. I'm also probably more optimistic about future generations. I don't think we're doomed, I remember being a collasal idiot, even as recently as last week, so I give other a little grace.

100% agree.

I'm 50 years old and I am the IT guy for people of all ages. Not because I am part of some gifted generation that understands computers, but because I have a genuine interest and took the time to learn these things.

My 16yo son also has a keen interest in computers and I am passing on my knowledge where I can.

I somewhat feel that attributing computer knowledge to a generational thing in some way diminishes the effort and time it took to get the knowledge and experience that I do have.

You don't have to have hung around with Henry Ford to be a car guy, or Nikola Tesla to be an electrician.

"DIY" is a thing because many strive to understand enough of multiple relevant basic disciplines needed as an adult to be able to cover the first 15% or so of common jobs before they see their limitations and call the specialists.

I believe the expressed frustration here is around the fact that acquiring that first 15% type skill is no longer seen as a responsibility/point of pride for folks to gain as they grow.

It's like we just happened to grow up at the right time where everyone was raised to be a mechanic, and we wonder why our kids don't fix their own cars.

Kids? Try being a manager trying to hire for entry level data work.

I got maybe one out of five people who even knew how to do basic things like opening windows explorer and navigating through folders. And from that slim margin, finding someone who actually knows how to use software like excel or outlook or word, it makes me want to reword the listing to say that we need people with 5 five years experience. For entry level.

I have become that which we hate. I am demanding experience for entry level work, simply because the entry-level work pool has zero knowledge how things work. You have spent all your time browsing and none of your time challenging yourselves to install software yourself, to copy and move files, or tried even opening your "settings" panel to adjust things. When I started working a lifetime ago, I took some free lessons in learning how to navigate excel and other popular programs. Using that TINY bit of training, I went on to make formulas and automated several of the systems at my first job. I went from counting screws in the warehouse to an eventual VP position.

You can get much, much further ahead of the curve if you actually try to learn a little more about the things you use every day, and you will grow your opportunities more than you can imagine.

Other than iOS what PC OS hides file structures?

That's my biggest gripe to be honest with modern OSs. My files in my folders are organized like I organize my house. I live in and around that. I hate the idea of a "Downloads" and other stuff with "automatically in the cloud backup for this app". Give me a file to save you stupid app.

I think that's the real crux of it. Most people don't know. There may have been a bump in literacy, but most people don't know, don't care, and don't need to. If we had better education, this kind of thing could be a core class. I had computer classes, but they mainly focused on typing and specific programs. Basically nothing about components, the command prompt, programming, different OS, etc. Granted this was many years ago, but I live in Florida. So, it's probably worse.

"Try teaching an impatient person, who undervalues the subject matter, already missed several opportunities to learn about it in formal education settings and who you lack a teacher-student dynamic with..."

Or, in a way...

"It's one banana, Michael - what could it cost, $10?"

I refuse to fix anything for my inlaws without them watching me. I make them watch me Google the solutions and follow the instructions. It helps reinforce the "it's not magic and I'm not a wizard" reality I want to instill in everyone.