Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Z, especially the White Men, got the short end of the stick. They were told that a degree is the only thing that guarantees success. The stigma is so powerful, and the grade schools do nothing to guide kids to find their passion or explore careers in meaningful ways. Years of children’s lives are wasted learning generalities without sufficient direction. Critical thinking is not encouraged while simultaneously children and teens are punished for wanting to have fun after being stuck in a desk for 8+ hours a day. This is a failure that won’t be solved in a bureaucratized society like the one we have now.
They did what they were told was best, and tried to do what they could with what little information they had to work with. Not all of them are able to succeed in STEM majors (even though now the value of STEM is questionable in terms of employment), and that is ok.
Not all people are meant to be hustlers, nor should they be expected to be hustlers. It is not natural for humans to compete on a global scale, and this “hyper-competitiveness” shouldn’t be seen as acceptable. It’s important to emphasize the values of hard work in younger generations but also to show compassion in a system that is so clearly against them. Merely telling them to pull themselves up by their bootstraps only reinforces the notion that the globohomo systems we see now, where everyone EXCEPT whites have significant in-group preference, is normal and should remain in place.
I'm increasingly of the opinion that travel needs to be treated with skepticism. Don't encourage your kids to move off to the big city or out of state when they hit their twenties. For work, for college, for anything.
Of course, you can't Oedipally prevent them from leaving. But the idea that you can live anywhere and have a community is another boomer / goyest gen lie. Raise children who love their land and want to make it the best it can be, not ones who can't wait to get away from you or covet the worldliness up the road.