# Boomers: Are older people really more experienced (in a meaningful way)? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 7, 2009, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boomers-are-older-people-really-more-experienced-in-a-meaningful-way/502238 "2009-07-07T19:39:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2009, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boomers-are-older-people-really-more-experienced-in-a-meaningful-way/502238/181 "2009-07-15T16:30:21Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > An advanced degree may open some doors, but you still have to prove yourself. over and over. Just another example, a JD and passage of the bar enable one to practice law, but in no way qualify one to do it effectively. ---
**Author:** ![yorick73](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/b5a626/32.png) [@yorick73](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yorick73)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2009, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boomers-are-older-people-really-more-experienced-in-a-meaningful-way/502238/182 "2009-07-15T19:54:26Z")
I’m not a boomer (gen Xer here) but I’m constantly amazed at the difference in my mindset when looking back even 3-5 years. It’s amazing how much we mature mentally throughout our lives (at least up to your mid 30’s…where I am currently). I’m not speaking of academic ability but just the ability to look at problems differently than we did when we were in college, or the ability to make a more informed decision that only experience can teach. I’m sure I’ll look back on myself in another 5 years and think how naive I was at this time. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2009, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boomers-are-older-people-really-more-experienced-in-a-meaningful-way/502238/183 "2009-07-15T20:48:50Z")
> [@ashman165](#): > > He’s the one who said people going to work where he works with a _graduate_ degree would have _no value_. That must really suck. “Hey, welcome to our office, you suck and aren’t worth a shit. Stand there and be grateful we let you bask in our glory.”☹ Look, dummy. You can have all the degrees in the world but how does that do you any good if you don’t know where the fucking copier is? Or who to ask to get your laptop set up? Or what the fuck you are even supposed to be working on. To get hired for a particular job you are expected to have a certain set of skills. If you are a chemist, you are expected to know chemistry. If you are an accountant or an engineer or a lawyer you are expected to know accounting, engineering or the law. But you are going to have no idea where to apply those skills in the organization until someone tells you. You aren’t literally “useless”, however it is extremely difficult for a new hire out of college to add real value until they receive the proper orientation and training to do their job. And if it is a job that anyone other than a baboon can perform, they will also need time to learn the nuances and gain skills in it. ---
**Author:** ![Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4da419/32.png) [@Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gala_Matrix_Fire)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2009, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boomers-are-older-people-really-more-experienced-in-a-meaningful-way/502238/184 "2009-07-15T22:36:42Z")
> [@ashman165](#): > > It must be great to work in a field where you walk in with a Ph.D. and are told from the outset that you’re useless. You are really bad at this. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boomers-are-older-people-really-more-experienced-in-a-meaningful-way/502238.md?page=9)