Reddit user u/Nursejoyscuntysister asked the question, "Millennials of Reddit: What's the worst 'Baby Boomer advice/wisdom' you've ever been offered?" and the variety of responses showed just how much unsolicited advice younger generations are given.
Here are some of the best responses:
1. "When I was in high school looking for a job, my grandmother told me to just go to places and fill out applications; she told me it was useless using the internet to look for a job. This was in 2008, and every place I checked for a job had an internet-based application."
2. "I guess I'm on the old side of the millennials, but I had numerous people tell me not to go into computer science and instead go into some other engineering field because computer scientists didn't make good money, wasn't a good job, not a good fit, etc."
"Glad I didn't listen to any of them, as I make a really good salary now. Why the heck would I take advice on entering a high-tech field from people who can barely use a computer?" —u/DrMonkeyLove·
3. "I was once told by a baby boomer, 'If you want a man to stay with you, you'll have to pop out a baby' (or words of that effect). I told her straight up, 'Any man who would stay for our baby but not for just me isn't a man who I'd want staying in the first place.'"
4. "My boss recently told me my generation was entitled, and began quoting various articles on how we all think we're special and exempt from criticism, etc., AS I was shoveling a dead rat out of the doorway."
5. "Learn cursive because you will need it when you become an adult!"
6. "You have a job — there's no reason you shouldn't have a house! However, the average house here is 400K, and you must have 20% cash to put down. Super easy in an entry position, right?"
7. "Go to college and get a degree. Employers will be throwing good-paying jobs at you. Total bullshit. Baby boomers told us this crap, and they're refusing to hire us. Fuck that."
9. "I have student debt. It's my only debt. $24,000 in loans. No credit cards, no car payment, no outstanding bills. I pay about $800 a month in loans, and any extra money I have at the end of the month. My parents constantly tell me I'm bad with handling money, and have tried to get me to file for bankruptcy several times because 'it's so much easier.'"
10. "My elderly coworker doesn't understand why homeless people exist. His reasoning is always, 'They could always get a job washing dishes.' Ignoring the fact that most jobs won't hire you if you don't have a home address and a reliable means of transportation."
"You can't just walk in off the street and get a job, but his advice on job hunting is apparently to just go out and demand employment regardless of your circumstances. I never bring up that fact that a large percentage of homeless are actually employed — they just don't make enough; with some people it's not worth arguing about." —u/MrFluffPants1349
11. "Don't go to a trade school; that's beneath you."
12. "You have to go to college to get a good job."
13. "Three things you don't talk about: money, religion, and politics..."
14. "Marry first for money; then, you can marry for love in your second marriage. 😐 They've all been divorced at least once."
—u/MolotovsGoBoom·
15. "If your wife makes more than you, she will eventually become too independent and leave you. This from 65- and 70-year-old coworkers who have stay-at-home wives. They also tell me that they don't do housework out of principle. Outside work and repairs only."
16. "'Back in my day...' But we're NOT back in your day."
—u/Scary-Brandon·
17. "Join the army to become a real man."
18. "As a girl: 'If a boy bullies you, that means he likes you!' No. Just...no."
19. "Much of the advice I received when they found out I was a theatre major. Got told not to follow my dreams; I should do something I hate such as engineering or accounting, work for 45 years, and then retire or die."
