Advice Your Parents Never Gave You ... But We Will! - Intentionally Blank Ep. 152

[@Eval999]

If you don't have good grades, start at community college and transfer. Consider doing it even if you do have good grades. You save tons of money and when you transfer only your community college grades matter. Plus, no need to ever take the SAT!

[@mrzeilm]

This was great advice 10 years ago. Now a lot of Universities aren't transferring nearly as many credits that they used to.

[@Eval999]

​@@mrzeilmYMMV depending on how specific of a school you want to go to, but in my city the community colleges both have a direct transfer agreement with all the major state schools (not bad schools at all) that ensure all credits transfer.

[@seriousguy9509]

you can also go to a smaller collage that isnt community and it will probably allow for credit transfer, thats what I did, and its pretty cheap. ​@mrzeilm

[@kolliwanne964]

Or study in a country that doesnt require insane fees.

[@ChaseBuck]

My experience is they took my credits but not my community college CLASSES, so I had to retake everything but had overdone the credits

[@ctom42]

I'm not sure Brandon really understands how bad the situation is right now regarding housing. I'm a mechanical engineer who has been working in that field for a decade and I can't afford a home, despite living frugally this entire time and having low rent by living with 4 roomates. That's not a minimum wage issue, that's a salary stagnation and housing market issue.

[@20storiesunder]

I think unless you're really living in it you won't truly know how bad it is. No slight against Brandon but as a highly successful author he is naturally out of touch with what the housing situation looks like for most people.

[@rmsgrey]

Yeah, the "economy" may be doing great, but unless you drill down into what "the economy" actually means, that's horribly out of touch with what the median person is experiencing. I'm making more money than I was 5 years ago, but when it comes to food, I'm economising more, eating less (as part of a general long-term decrease in appetite with age), and spending more in order to eat less, worse food. That puts a squeeze on my luxury budget like I haven't seen in over a decade, and as for actually saving anything...

[@ProxyAddress]

You either aren't being paid enough, or you are living outside your means in some way. Im not saying the housing market isn't punishing, but my wife and I bought a new build (3bed 3bath) in SLC for 600k and it's easily affordable with just one of our salaries.

[@ctom42]

@@ProxyAddress My salary is median for my field in my region. As I said in the original comment, I live pretty frugally. I've lived with 4 housmates for this entire time and we have a pretty great rent for the area, paying well under the average. I've gone on exactly 2 vacations in that decade and try to avoid most frivolous costs. I don't have medical expenses and finished paying my student loans and car loan years ago. Cost of living is just that bad where I am. The only people I know that can afford to buy a house anywhere near our area on a single salary are either management or working in Computer Science.

[@ProxyAddress]

@@ctom42 This is why I said you're living outside of your means in some way. If housing is too expensive for you, then you live in one of like 6 places in the country. Consider living elsewhere. My wife is an EE and was being criminally underpaid in Kansas City and had a great house. I can appreciate that there are places where salary doesnt match the mortgage requirement, but you do not need to live in those places. You are choosing to.

[@PianoMyHeart]

Love how the "Hope for the Future" section is all about how we just have to wait for people to get old and die, then we can own homes! 💀

[@kejeso8736]

"In 40 years", so basically if we manage to survive without a home or security til age of 60.

[@lisabonnet1794]

My youngest failed out of college twice. They're intelligent and got good grades in HS. COVID hit their second semester of Freshman year and changed the face of the university experience. They're doing OK career and financially, but will never finish their degree. COVID changed everything

[@thekevmeister77]

Well, it's never too late to go finish their degree - I myself was in my early 30s before I did.

[@MobBossBobRoss]

Just want to say I was intelligent and got good grades in Highschool but didn't have good study habits. So even non-Covid studies kicked my butt and I failed a few classes. Just want to say COVID affected things but also it's a huge learning curve for some.

[@LarthV]

If it is any comfort - contrary to what has become the usual opinion, there are actually a lot of reasonable, satisfying career paths without a degree.

[@porterwayman8643]

Week 24 of persistently asking for an intentionally blank episode about Marching Band! We’re getting close to the season Brandon, you know you want to!

[@joshkorte2390]

Hey a fellow marcher! Cheers mate - A Mellophone Player

[@porterwayman8643]

@@joshkorte2390 Clarinet mate here!

[@audreywells7635]

But what if Dan is my dad?? What advice should I take??

[@malcolmlamb2191]

Would LOVE to hear Brandon and Dan's thoughts on Frieren: Beyond Jouney's End. It's the best fantasy show since Arcane, hands down.

[@SheWhoWalksSilently]

I keep hearing about it, but where do you watch it?

[@OmriDaxia]

When you say that there's never been a better time to be a writer that can make a living off of writing, is that just talking about total number of people able to do it, or total proportion of writers that are trying that are succeeding?

[@raylawler13]

The U.S. population isn't expected to begin declining until 2080, so that silver lining won't apply for anyone listening to this. Lots of Boomers meant lots more Millennials (who were born before the fertility rate dropped below 2.1%). Even with the drop below the replacement rate, immigration will further prolong the time it will take for population to begin to decline. The advice I would give, being exactly 12 years younger than Dan to the day, is to either attend community college or avoid college all together. AI is coming for a lot of jobs you'd get from having a degree. Additionally, those jobs don't often pay that much, if at all, more than jobs you can get by going into a trade. Trade jobs are, by my guess, much more secure than other jobs you could spend four to eight years working towards.

[@lynnj9721]

Advice that is useful but not parental: unless its tiktok, never lipsync on live television

[@Eval999]

Gen Z home ownership is on track for their age. People feel like the economy is way worse than it is.

[@finchharper4647]

You two clearly do not live paycheck to paycheck.

[@petermac4537]

Brandon is so wrong about finances here. He talks about his townhouse that his wife and he bought. My wife and i both have high paying jobs (not english majors) and we cant even afford a townhouse in provo/orem.

[@petermac4537]

He is talking about a teachers income and a non famous author income. Dude I make 115k and I cant even afford the townhouse you had. So ignorant.

[@alfonsogrippo]

He said he was barely able to afford it during his time but today it would be impossible

[@Djbbarks]

Back when he bought it, market price would’ve been around 100-150k for a town home in Provo and interest rates would’ve been around 4% which means the payment would be below 1k.

[@cephandrius5281]

We just gotta be more strategic these days. Start with a small house that's more affordable, then upgrade later in life as our salaries increase. Invest, and don't buy expensive cars and crap. Also don't live in California lol

[@godminnette2]

I make less than you, my partner does not work, and I just bought my first house at 25. Granted it's in suburban Michigan, not a city, but it's possible. There are people in your area who live on half your income. If you lived as if you only made 55k/yr before taxes, scrimping and accepting lower quality of living for a while, you can put away tens of thousands of dollars per year.

[@libraryoffantasy]

Please listen to the relationship advice. Shared values are so much more important than shared interests

[@grantstratton2239]

I also loved the advice that compatibility is way more important than passion. The romantic obsession is going to fade 6 months to a year into marriage. You can't sustain a relationship off of that.

[@ElijahStormblessed]

Dan's insistence on always using the full title "Unpaid Intern Donald" is so funny sifjsj

[@TheAndroidNextDoor]

Gonna have to hard disagree on things not being as bad as they seem economically. Not only do i and the vast majority of young people actually living down here in the trenches feel it's as bad as it seems but many of us think it's probably worse. When 4 out of 5 people feel like the economy is the worst its been in 50 years despite the numbers on the paper saying otherwise, thats not a problem with the people. There's a phrase in statistics that i always remember: Torture the data and it will confess to anything. Just because the economy seems to be doing well does not mean the people are doing well. In fact the only people who seem to be doing well are politicians and the rich. Ask about the middle class and the answer you'll get is "what middle class?" The economy may be doing well on paper but if 4 people each worth 50K dollars are sitting in a room and Bill Gates walks in, just because the average net worth of all 5 of them is in the 10 figures does mean the other 4 are all millionaires.

[@jack21222]

Regarding the recipe for success, I'd make one minor tweak. It's multiplicative. Skill times hard work times luck. Because if any one of those is 0, your success is 0.

[@BrandonsWritingRoom]

I worked in undergrad college admissions from 2015 to 2020 before moving to grad admissions for the next two years, and I've tried to keep a pulse on the general landscape of post-secondary education since then. One of the biggest things I learned during that time is: Unless you will be studying a specific major that is not commonly offered (like Equine Studies), there is almost no good reason to go far away from home for college. My bachelor's and master's degrees are both in English, and I loved both my schools and would recommend them; however, I would not say attending either of those schools was particularly "worth it" compared to attending another school and studying English there. English, like many majors, is offered at most colleges/universities, so when it comes to studying these often over-saturated majors, you're frankly better off finding the cheapest route to those degrees. Regarding population of college-going people, we are already past the peak and have been in a steep downturn since about 2019 (depending on region in the US). The incoming college class of 2018 was considered to be the peak before tumbling down this demographic cliff. Schools have seen decreased enrollment across the board because of a variety of reasons, but there are simply not as many people in the traditional college age pipeline as there used to be and won't be again for a very long time, unless something drastically changes in this country that makes college--and raising kids in general--more affordable.

[@nathancarter8239]

For anyone going to college, especially community colleges: I cannot stress enough filling out the FAFSA. I graduated from a community college 6 years ago, and FAFSA paid for a good chunk of my school, enough that I could work on the side to make enough money for it. The FAFSA is just federal aid to help with schools, and while it won't put a bit dent in a 4-year college it'll help with something smaller.

[@coryhorton5837]

The employment numbers are notoriously fungible and rarely represent reality. If you count unemployment as a ratio of, “jobs filled:jobs available,” today’s economy is going to look very good. But that’s because people, like me and my wife, have picked up second and third jobs. And at my two unrelated jobs, year over year performance is down for the third year in a row and by a lot. That’s one reason the economy can, “look great,” but feels terrible.

[@xReadytoIgnite]

The US government has a bunch of unemployment measures. The idea that we shouldn't have jobs filled/jobs unfilled as a measurement just shows that you have no idea about the other measurements out there which fit your scenario. And yes, numbers are always flexible. Nothing groundbreaking there.

[@FMoash]

Welp, as a millennial, I didn't start the episode stressed and depressed, but 21 minutes in and here we are, lol

[@dericplummer9272]

Didnt Dan write the in universe narration for the different Knights of Radiant order for the kickstarter? I can already tell that I am going to love his voice in the cosmere just based on those.

[@stevenmathews9355]

I think he did.

[@briandoble1652]

I've never been into horror movies or anything like that but because I like Dan so much I went and bought myself I'm not a serial killer today

[@sallyscreativeendeavour9800]

I feel the tension between liking Dan so much as a person and wanting to support him but knowing that I loath the horror genre in any form. Let me know what his book is like.😊

[@tiffanychandler7077]

I do not like horror, but I have read Dan's book. I loved it! Considering the genre, I was shocked that I loved it, but I did. It's one of the most beautifully written books I've ever read. My husband is in the same boat as me. You could count the number of horror books the two of us have read on one hand, but we both really enjoyed I Am Not a Serial Killer. He had other books that aren't horror as well. I'm looking forward to reading Ghost Station next. I believe it's just historical fiction from WWII.

[@davidsabotta6528]

It's so good! I found a signed copy in a second hand book store. Read it in a single day, could have been one sitting.

[@beaupeterson8690]

I read that book 15 years ago and I still love it today. And I abhor Horror.

[@SpencerTwiddy]

You gotta get those other 5 kids of yours on cigarettes 💀💀💀

[@trentthemediocre7596]

The structures of student loans are actually pretty predatory. They are one of the only loans that can follow even if you declare bankruptcy and are serviced by purposely unhelpful companies that want to keep you in debt. I'd also argue any loans aimed at 18-25 year olds, most of whom haven't been taught adequate financial literacy to understand the loans, are inherently predatory. Then the housing market has been in crisis for like 25 years with the ratio of average wage to average home price exploding. House prices went up like 50%-100% since the pandemic alone. It's not too big a deal if you already own a home because you rise with the tide if you're looking to move. First time home buyers get screwed the most.

[@CoconutMigrating]

I strongly, strongly dislike the fact that student loans persist through bankruptcy. However, I do understand the thinking. Any other loan you take out and discharge in bankruptcy either comes with the forfeiture of the goods you purchased with it (cars, mortgages, etc) or comes with a high interest rate designed to make the money back from you in minimum payments prior to you giving up and declaring bankruptcy (credit cards). Student loans have both low rates because they are secured by the government but also are used for a good that cannot be repossessed (education, degree). So there has to be a balance or every grad with 100k of medical school debt will instantly declare bankruptcy and then start their career. In fact, that loophole was being exploited which led to the law regarding student debt sticking being passed.

[@todddenaro1741]

I would caveat this to say that private student loans are exceptionally predatory. As long as it is subsidized or unsubsidized gov. loans, then there are ways to afford them. Income driven repayment plans are being revamped right now to have monthly payment caps and a termination point to cancel the loan after a certain period of time. I agree about it being inherently predatory based on financial literacy.

[@2185wisai]

In australia its a lot better since your loan is indexed every year, which is then paid back automatically by your employer after you reach a certain income threshold, but the quality of education is lacking

[@airbendnerd]

Dan was a groundskeeper at a cemetery… it all makes sense now…

[@SheWhoWalksSilently]

I wish Brandon’s optimism for the future was more infectious. I think I’m going to be stuck in this lil town home for the next 5-10 years with a bunch of kids, and no where to put their crap, or backyard to play in. Don’t get me wrong, I’m incredibly lucky, and it’s working for right now, but any improvement in housing I just know is going to have a huge caveat, like moving away from my family, and probably living at least thirty minutes (or an hour, if my husband gets his way) from any kind of decent grocery shopping, and an hour or two from any other shopping 🫠 I don’t really want to deal with crappy rural monopoly internet, and dealing with all the extra bullcrap that comes with owning a lot of land. I just feel like any extra chores are going to fall to me, and I’ve got plenty.

[@stevehealt9046]

Brandon slipping that punny joke in there casually at the end was the cherry on top of this dad episode

[@KK-ef1ow]

What a fantastic episode. Loved the advice! As far as finances go, my wife and I can barely afford the townhouse we are in, and we make decent money. The market is just so insane right now. Also, college is like 6-7x as expensive as when my parents went. Its nearly impossible without loans. Even with scholarships.

[@kolliwanne964]

We have some foreign students from USA here in Germany because its cheaper to move and live here than to pay college in USA. Funny enough every single one I know decided to permanently stay in Germany or Europe, despite initial plans to move back to USA. If you want to, we welcome you here!

[@sharpstarwheel]

How? Where to start?

[@kolliwanne964]

@@sharpstarwheel you can google that. There are a lot of ressources online available.

[@kejeso8736]

I wish I was born American or European so I could move from my country that easily or just move freely in this world, but not only it's difficult for me to do that: if I manage to do it, the stereotypes of my nationality will only make it harder for me than it should be :/ if anyone here (American, European) is reading me, please remember, no matter how bad it is, you still can easily get out of your place if it's needed, so enjoy it, that means more opportunities to pursue your dreams and get to know this world full of incredible places and people! Your passports make you free citizicens of the world, don't waste that opportunity because it's something with which you're born, you're lucky for that because only a limited amount of people are in your position. So no matter how gloomy it looks, it could be much worse, take that word from me. You can do it

[@9ngu1n17]

Do not go to college unless you know what you want to do and it will pay for you to go

[@Dinh0w]

Brandon, The description of your relationship reminds me of my marriage. Our third kid was born in october and we're still living a healthy, peacful love!

[@JaredBarneck]

For college, I got a full-time job with a company with some tuition reimbursement and went part-time for 6 years. I paid what tuition reimbursement didn't. Graduated with 6 years of work experience and no debt.

[@KasonWhitsell]

Something to note: scholarships are not always academic. There are tons of scholarships that private institutions give out for various reasons beyond academia. Get with your counselor in HS or go to the advisory board of your college and ask for a scholarship catalog. They have one. They always have one. Apply to every single one of them

[@marianntelford665]

We have two kids headed to college this year. The big cost is housing expenses. Their tuition is actually not bad compared to when I attended college. The housing cost is far more than what I paid over 20 years ago (granted I attended BYU in Utah and my kids are attending college in California).

[@lauren7713]

Tuition is typically the cheapest of the bills. I’m 25, my college career happened during Covid and my grades tanked horribly. My college out of state before aid was about $54k/year. Administration doesn’t want to hear students “blame” Covid for their grades falling. My parents bought their house for 250k in 99, now it would sell for at least 550k. No one can afford a home, and rent is getting out of hand as well.

[@RocketSlug]

Always happy to hear a shoutout to Dr. McNinja. Loved that webcomic

[@TKMate14]

We are looking past the fact that this 19 year old knows how to cook lobster

[@PeteQuad]

Boil water, put lobster in. How can he not know how?

[@TKMate14]

@@PeteQuad boil water is a tough step for a lot of 19 y.o. I know

[@elijahbowers1]

Brandon's joke about Scott Free is the same joke being made by Jack Kirby and the reason why Mister Miracle the DC superhero who is basically super houdini is named Scott Free.

[@ikeg85]

The way he refers to the joke makes me think Brandon isn't familiar with the character. Reminds me of the epilogue from Way of Kings What do men value most? Not the idea, but who came to it first.

[@epicemmalee2000]

Find a career that you love, but life is much easier when the career you love happens to pay well. Your little siblings will thank you when they inevitably choose to study the arts and need to sleep on your couch. -An engineer older sister

[@patrickhughes9094]

Funny they were talking about Scholarships, Brandon's whole secret project thing almost lost me a pretty big one. I was walking into the interview and saw the "It's time to come clean" notification. Shook me so bad (all worth it when I got out and watched the video of course). Ended up getting it but if that had made me do worse my life could seriously be considerably different now lol.

[@fgnsfgnsfgn]

I think a lot of what contributes to the feeling of economic downturn is that the products that are readily available are just low quality. Electronics, furniture, appliances, etc. are all flimsy, mass-produced junk with AI-driven market testing to appeal to your precise demographic so they can squeeze out exactly as much as you'd be willing to pay. You get all excited and then you hold it in your hands and it's just a bad imitation of a thing your parents had. I have this experience over and over and it really wears me down.

[@jess8189]

I will say, my husband went the military route and we’ve done very well because of it. They will pay for your college, the salary isn’t great, but you don’t have to pay for housing or food as an unmarried enlisted. If you’re intentional and wise, you can save a lot of money in your four year contract and come out with the GI bill.

[@mrzeilm]

I did National Guard for 6 years due to them paying in-state tuition and partial GI-BIll.

[@obviousalias132]

Was aimless, had just dropped out of my second college. Went military, 1 6-year enlistment, got out and became a defense contractor making 6 figures for the exact same work. Have a house, car, and everything. If you are smart with your money but don’t have a lot of it time in the military can be a godsend. If you are smart but have trouble in a college environment time in the military can be a godsend.

[@xXxCh0n1cxXx]

32M and I did 7 years in the Marine Corp after being a middling high school student. I saved some money, traveled learnes skills and got the GI bill which paid for my bachelor's abroad and my masters back home. Now I'm married , no student loans and just crossed 6 figures. It was really hard at times but the military was a great option for me and took me from growing up in poverty with a single mom to I have joined the middle class and have (long term) hope for the future. Housing is still hard but we're getting there. Marrying my wife was the decision that has brought me the most happiness but joining the Marine Corp has brought me the most success in life for what it taught me a day the doors it opened

[@travisperkins9920]

I mean, that's partly by design. How else would they be able to funnel people into the military? How many applicants would they lose if education was free and people had other choices? Not saying it's a bad thing, but the American military industrial complex is as predatory as the American education loans industry.

[@IanGilmore]

A lot of the stuff said in this episode is good, but the housing cost issue is not caused by temporary rentals (i.e. AirBNB, VRBO). It's almost all a supply issue, caused by regulations/zoning/NIMBY blocking new housing. Places with less of that have less (or even no ) housing cost issues, places with more of that have bigger housing cost issues.

[@OntheOtherHandVideos]

I love Brandon and his books/stories, but as he actively pointed out - minimum wage laws are fairly well detached from actual market realities. So to want top down regulations to change said minimum wage to have it actually have the outcome of paying people more "Sounds like a great idea, with the best of intentions! What could possible go wrong?" (mandating higher salaries will increase costs, and then increase prices and decrease entry level jobs - which just leads to inflation and a bad job market for the very people the regulation was aimed at helping)

[@godminnette2]

Most market research shows that minimum wage increases are not strongly and consistently followed by inflation - sure, increase minimum wage by 400% and you'll see an effect on inflation, but even then the effect is likely not 400% inflation.

[@OntheOtherHandVideos]

@@godminnette2 Yes, smaller changes have smaller effects, but the consequences and incentives obviously have many side-effects that aren't usually mentioned by proponents of increasing the mandated minimum wage, ya? And minimum wage increases have never caused deflation - it's a ratchet that only goes one way. And one can argue that those consequences are worth the benefit, but I don't ever hear proponents address the trade-off, or even address the downsides.

[@godminnette2]

@@OntheOtherHandVideos You don't listen to the right proponents, then - the issue is largely that in politics, nuance is seen as weakness, and so no nuance is allowed. One most only extoll virtues in what one proposes, because if they explain caveats with solutions to those caveats, then they look weaker than the other guy who refuses to admit that his plan has any flaws or caveats, either. Same goes for news pundits and media heads. Many economists are willing to do the analysis of known research and go to bat for minimum wage as a concept, especially in certain market contexts where having or raising it makes sense. But such economists are less likely to appear on talk shows, and are less likely to be able to explain contextual nuance even if they are. Unfortunately most people's understanding of macroeconomics is derived from two figures - single-figure CPI inflation percentage month-over-month, and the BEA's GDP figures. Both are woefully inept at actually characterizing economic forces, especially when stripped of their context - like the price changes of the various goods in the CPI, the final alterations made to GDP based partially on vibes, etc.

[@OntheOtherHandVideos]

@@godminnette2 Agreed about nuance seen as weakness. The biggest problem is that legislation is inherently political - so yes, the people who make and advocate for changes to mandated wage increases are inherently political, thus the most important 'proponents' are the ones who don't talk honestly about said topic.

[@quikbeam03]

One thing people need to realize about paying off loans is that if you are near the cusp of minimum payments, an extra $100 a month can cut your repayment time in half. Definitely have someone sit down and show you the math of how long it will take to pay off at different payment rates.

[@dougsundseth2303]

The crime is spelled "petit theft" in the Florida statutes, so using that spelling in a news story would seem the correct decision. (Both spellings are common, btw.)

[@nathanrowley1031]

Brandon “ it’s not as bad as it looks” then proceeds to layout it’s much much worst.

[@bo6686]

"The Podcast intentionally Blank does no endorse thievery of any sort" - Brandon Sanderson right after clearly endorsing thievery.

[@fifth_noble8022]

Best economy in fifty years? I genuinely wonder who released that statistic, because I’m definitely one of the 1/5 who feel otherwise.

[@katiemackelprang9505]

Relationship spouse or family or friend is always, Always, ALWAYS relevant!

[@jacobstamm]

There’s no amount of prosperity and hope that a spirit of pessimism can’t snuff out. Since pessimism has become so fashionable - not just among young left leaning people, but conservatives too - it’s no wonder people think things are much worse than they actually are.

[@jamesmontgomery7074]

"Seasoned criminals" in food heist prison.

[@20storiesunder]

Six kids, holy shit!

[@grantstratton2239]

It's not an uncommon thing for LDS families. I myself have 5. In my local Ward, there are several families with 4, and one other with 8. I wish I knew the stand-up comic who talked about this with Irish Catholic families, but the joke that comes to mind is, "I have three kids, and my brothers all think that means I must be gay."

[@20storiesunder]

@@grantstratton2239 LDS? And aye my mum is from an Irish Catholic family and she has six sisters and two brothers.

[@grantstratton2239]

@20storiesunder Latter-day Saint. The full name of the church is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. To be honest, Church leadership would prefer we use the full name of the Church because the shorthand "LDS" and "Mormon" both take Christ out of the equation.

[@HDCybersun]

@@20storiesunder LDS is just a different name for Mormon. It is the mormon's attempt to distance themselves from the deserved stigma that being mormon has. E.g. history of discrimination against blacks from holding the priesthood, the multiple wives stuff, the lobbying against LGBT marriage, the founder of the church Joseph Smith a 38 year old dude secretly and illegally practicing polygamy with married women, young teenagers, and servants in his house despite statements and claimed revelation to the contrary. and more, such as The Book of Abraham facsimiles are incorrectly translated. There are multiple anachronisms in the Book of Mormon. The Book of Mormon contains transcription errors from the King James Version of the Bible and other errors contradicting the translation story. Whole thing is a good con to steal 10% of peoples income for life.

[@20storiesunder]

@@grantstratton2239 Ahhh thanks for the clarification I'm not very familiar with that church and it's usual names as I don't think it has a presence where I am from.

[@KoreanUrDogs]

Wages may be the best that it has ever been, but the cost of living is also pretty high and makes those gains in wages not as helpful.

[@KillahBeez94]

Dadvice.

[@SashleyStevens]

I got a degree in something that I liked and turned out that I couldn't even feed myself... so I went back and got a degree in tech and now I'm pretty happy... each their own though if you can get a job that you like and is also well paid, then that's even better. And after learning a lot about economy... I'm sorry I disagree about having schooling be free. Personally school should be paid by the students and no tenure for teachers so that bad professors will get new jobs and good professors get paid well. And then the government should no longer give out loans 'cause that just made prices rise...

[@spunlines4557]

rent has doubled in a lot of cities over the last 10 years (with most of the increase since 2020).

[@Taltosdreamer]

Hard Boiled Criminals

[@randomdude4505]

People with four year degrees have higher average incomes, less frequent periods of unemployment, and shorter periods of unemployment when compared to their peers who do not have a 4-year degree. Does this mean that a specific individual with a four year degree will not experience financial or employment difficulties? No. Inevitably there will be those that do. But as a general rule, going to school and getting a 4-year degree will place you in a better financial circumstance than not doing so. Just don't be that guy that goes to school for three years and drops out. Then you have all the problems of not having a 4-year degree plus student loan debt.

[@Eval999]

+2 to this comment. The stats don't lie. Bad anecdotal experiences are unfortunate, but not the universal truth.

[@cephandrius5281]

This is kind of unfair because it's lumping in people with underwater welding certifications with teenagers at McDonald's. Does education matter? Absolutely. But you don't have to be educated through college.

[@LarthV]

Although you should probably use a finer granularity of subjects and paths: You will almost inevitably benefit from finishing, say, a medicine or technology degree. Whether you actually benefit more from, say, a Literature degree over running a business as an elevator technician (just saw that in a video recently), might be surprising.

[@randomdude4505]

@@LarthV Currently, liberal arts majors have higher lifetime earnings than people with STEM degrees. The historical norm,which still holds true, is that stem majors earn more at the beginning of their careers and liberal arts majors earn more towards the end of their careers. Will that be true for gen z, no idea. If I can predict things like that I wouldn't have to work for a living.

[@LarthV]

@@randomdude4505 Ok, that is definitely interesting to know - I would have to research further. My perspective is likely filtered by the job market in my own country (Germany), where the general "order" for subjects tends to hold true over one's whole working life (when you start lower, you are unlikely to turn very high later). That being said, google/indeed seems to say that Software Engineering and Database Administration count as Liberal Arts, which surprised me in turn, and I would assume that this skews the statistics in favour of Liberal Arts.

[@One_Bar]

PET'TY, a. Small; little; trifling; inconsiderable; as a petty trespass; a petty crime. 1. Inferior; as a petty prince. We usually write petty constable, petty jury, petty larceny, petty treason. [See Petit.]

[@patchup]

1) Take AP classes and get college credits. 2) Maybe even take a few college classes while in HS if that is an option. 3) look at charity organizations that night give small grants or small scholarships. Kwanza Club, Veterans, etc. 4) traditional scholarships. 5) community College for first two years,.

[@polishedpebble4111]

He's wrong about population decline. Native born birthrates are falling, but immigration is exploding. Canada not long ago was 30mill, now it's 40mill, and in crisis. And yet the plan is for 100mill within our generation. It will only get worse, and attitudes and responses from everyone involved from all sides will be more "serious".

[@mindylepre1600]

I will say that sometimes it is harder than focusing on getting good grades for scholarships to avoid loans. I was in honors classes. I was 7th in my high school class with a 4.29 GPA, and yet, I was offered no scholarships after 12 years of focusing on school. I just did not test well, and so when it came to taking the ACTs, it took me 3 times to get the base of 21 needed for any scholarships. When I finally got that score of 21, it was too late to apply for most scholarships. And so, I had to take out loans to go to college. That compounded with not having the proper guidance to choosing a major really put me in a bind when it came to college debt. Being 35 and looking at how both my college career and professional career has gone, I would go back and really focus on what brings me joy. I took so many creative writing courses and I have brought that joy of writing to the D&D characters I create today. I love teaching, and have tutored elementary school children and college undergrads. So, if I could go back, I would go into teaching and writing.

[@littleripper312]

People in their 20's aren't just saying "how can I afford vacation", I haven't heard that. What I've been hearing is people wondering how they're going to afford rent even as a professional or in our case journeymen. We all make $90-$110kcad/year and we've all come to the conclusion that we will never be able to have children here in Canada. There is no where cheap to move to anymore and there's no way to afford housing and bringing up kids. Some of my mates went down to the states for high wages and lower housing options but not everyone can do that.

[@lorddenithal]

The housing market poses a larger problem than they seem to realize. "Modern societies" rely heavily on Immigration to sustain their population growth. A decline in population could result in housing prizes to fall, but it comes with huge backlash from all the ponzi scheme esque programs colaptsing. Population increase is a significant factor in GDP growth, and a declining GDP, mixed with a housing market collapse, on top of social programs like social security failing with result in disaster.

[@littleripper312]

University in Canada is about $5kusd/year for tuition only- I might be off a bit. I thought it was overpriced here, it's scary to see the prices down in the States. I'm surprised people actually go to university down there when it costs so much.

[@masster71]

Maybe the situation you explained with housing is correct in the Utah area where Brandon is, but here in Ontario, Canada, sub-1000 sqft condos that are part of a multiplex unit are going for $400000+, if you want a detached home in Toronto under 1000 sqft you are easily looking at over $1,000,000. And yes as our population ages more homes may open up, but in order to prevent our society and canadian pension plan from collapsing we're having to bring in a ton of immigrants who are going to be competing with young canadians for those homes, i honestly dont see it getting better for a significant amount of time

[@Bentbire]

Just graduated college with a degree in Psych, no current plans to go to grad school, and to be honest I feel primarily despondent. Many of my friends who graduated alongside or before me are just not finding jobs or are finding jobs that just don't pay enough to allow them to truly invest in their futures for the long term. It just feels like the time and effort I put into my degree wasn't worth it, not to mention the money. I often feel like I was sold on a college degree as a key that would help me acquire my dream job, and that I would be forever fulfilled by my career, when instead it seems likely I will end up in a job I care nothing for aside from the money it will net me. I hope I'm proven wrong, that the fulfillment and purpose I was promised was an exaggerated lie, but I don't have much hope that I will be. On the bright side, this has pushed me towards trying to find fulfillment in community and personal growth, but it's hard to shake those initial beliefs.

[@WoTMike1989]

It definitely has not helped, but the idea that the housing market is driven by the rise of vacation rentals is hopelessly naïve. Stay away from public policy. Stick to your areas of expertise

[@WoTMike1989]

It definitely has not helped, but the idea that the housing market is driven by the rise of vacation rentals is hopelessly naïve. Stay away from public policy. Stick to your areas of expertise

[@littleripper312]

I don't think population will decline because people will immigrate to North America. Here in Canada we had 38million and just had a million immigrants this last year alone. I imagine people will move to the States as well and help stop the population decline. We live in a capitalist society so having lots of cheap labour is desirable for those that hire.

[@finchharper4647]

Wow $6000.00 a year for college? Mine was $9749.00 a year, but when I added books, supplies, boarding and transportation, cost me over $30, 000.00 for the year.

[@jokatal]

I don't think Dan realizes how much private property is being bought to be rented out, especially around cities. The super rich are buying up all the property as an "investment," then renting it out to the rest of us.

[@enoeht]

Mid 30s, some semblance of financial stability. Life still looks pretty hopeless & I don't see it getting better.

[@B-MC]

Christopher is just the sort of name who must have two first names. Christopher Lloyd Christopher Lee Christopher Robin

[@chrisrumfellow4566]

I was recently laid off while being in the middle of trying to buy my first house. Even making a decent wage pre-layoff and splitting bills with my girlfriend things were looking bleak.

[@rednaxelA11]

From this random writing podcast, im catching the heavy vibe that americans arent feeling that american dream. Americans have no dreams. No more future anymore

[@Wonderwall627]

It should be "How do you know you're successful" short for you are, not possessive successful.

[@El_Diablo_12]

16:00 Brandon’s children have a different perspective based on his success

[@inkthinker]

Pretty much been my advice... "find a thing you like to do, not a thing you want to be". Also, the proverb is more like "find a job you love, and work more hours than you will ever imagine."

[@robertparker_art1558]

Well, this video came out at the perfect time since I found out my son is going to be born in October

[@juancamilocalvache451]

I have a good relationship with my dad but i gladly let you be my dad figures

[@timelesschronicles2182]

I really like the advice of looking at what process you like and see where the careers are.

[@ArtSnob101]

Ive also heard of private equity firms buying up residential housing too so it just makes single family housing really hard for an average joe family yo actually own a normal sized house.

[@couragecoachsam]

Nerd parents talking about their nerd kids is cozy to me 😊

[@graysonchilcote9473]

The luck factor scares me but I’m gonna give it a shot till I’m unable to comprehend my own thought

[@llauram3650]

Houses are assets, to gain value. They're not for living in anymore. Unless this changes through law, house prices won't come down unfortunately.

[@jakesteimle9850]

Happy birthday Dan

[@wontonjohn321]

people say all the time marriage is all about compromise, but i haven't really found that to be true. i'm in the same boat as brandon and dan in that I found someone who i just get along with, share the same major values, and look forward to being around. everything else kind of just works itself out.

[@trojanfan4321]

If any author can give quality dad advice worth listening to on a Fantasy KZbin Podcast I think it’s Brandon.

[@DennisHavens]

Sounds like economics wasn't one of Brandon's general Ed classes

[@epicemmalee2000]

Brandon freaking Sanderson 😂

[@andeeharry]

this is great stuff

[@jaime6400]

I absolutely love that you two and your wives rarely argue and that Brandon is friends with exes. It makes me feel a lot less weird!

[@aguy3129]

7th

[@BeauBeckwith]

As a fellow dad of similar age, how about just giving the advice that college is a bad place to go... just because..? Stop defaulting to college. Paying it off with a job that didn't need the degree was very annoying.

[@beanfeld]

I agree with this-I spent 8 years at a state university and paid my way through, and my Z daughter just paid her way, too. It’s difficult but it is possible. 👍

[@Torsin2000]

State University in my hometown: Tuition alone is $16k a year. 82% of first-year students receive some financial aid.

[@williamm8598]

From Christopher Scott, the lobster thief. Wants to know if he returns the lobsters..... is that considered restitution???