"Mark Browne" wrote in message
news:coK2c.517748$na.1175331@attbi_s04...

"NOYB" wrote in message
m...
snip
Dr. Tooth,

I will add that I have two sons seeking work right now. So far I can't
fault
the effort they are putting into their search.

Perhaps it has nothing to do with their effort. What is their work
background/training?


One is a Unix sys-admin with the right credentials; the other one has a
high
school diploma. Oddly enough, they are both getting about the same
response
in the job market - nothing.

I don't know anything about Unix, other than it's an operating system. My
knowledge of operating systems, as limited as it is, is Windows-based. I
remember that the operating system at my engineering school was Unix...but
that was more than 10 years ago. Is it still used a lot? Perhaps that's
part of the problem? A change in technology?

As for your other son with a high school diploma...
What kind of jobs is he applying to? I find it hard to believe he can't
find "any" job. I can't blame him for not wanting a job at minimum wage,
but what skills does he have and what makes him more "employable" than
somebody else that is earning minimum wage?





Now, lets move on to your fascinating implied statement.

You seem to be validating Kerry's (and Deans) assertion about two
Americas!

One for well to do folks like yourself, and one for the left behind. You
are
implying that because they did to choose to be part of the minority that
made the right (or lucky) moves and is doing OK right now, that they are
not
going to be part of the good times.

There is some "luck" to choosing the right career path that will be
lucrative for a lifetime. I don't fault someone for choosing the wrong one.
However, there's a point where that person has to accept the fact that they
may have chosen the wrong path, and then pursue another one. Perhaps your
sons could attend community college or a vo-tech school and get trained in
something that will make them more marketable to an employer.



You do realize that with your income, you are definably part of the
minority, the top few percent of the economy. You might not think that
there
was any luck in your achieving the position you are in but reflect on
this;
there are doctors that have spent as much time as yourself in medical
training (maybe more) and are working for an HMO pulling down crappy
wages.
When they started their training many years ago, the HMO thing was not
even
on the radar screen.

A degree doesn't guarantee success...no matter what degree one obtains. For
the longest time, that wasn't true for doctors. Unfortunately, the
med/dental schools don't teach enough business classes, and doctors, as a
group, make poor business people.

There are doctors that have found ways to work with the HMO gorilla and
still make a lot of money. Most of those doctors are seeing more patients
than ever, and usuing more licensed nurse practioners and doctor's
assistants, however...so patient care suffers. Some doctors have privatized
their practices and now let the patients fight it out with the insurnace
company for reimbursement. That model obviously can work in a more affluent
area, but not in less affluent areas where there might be one or two
principal employers that provides coverage for 2/3's of the town people.




Since this is almost at one-person, one-vote country, the coming elections
may well sample the number of people that think they are doing well under
the current administration, and the number of people that think that they
are not and want a change. They both get the same right to vote.

Can't argue with you there.