Hmm, I agree with you that it is a problem, but the message 'you can be anything' doesn't come at a time when you are particularly inclined to do research. When they told me that, I was 5 years old and wanted to be a Marine. Now, I abhor war and want to be a physicist. The point is that there isn't a big enough push to improve education, while we still give them inflated expectations that their current level of effort cannot fulfill. Now in the case of dependence, the economy is in a bind, so moving back home temporarily may be a smart move in order to save money in order to buy a nicer house later. However, I can't see what you see, so perhaps you have a point. Blaming others for choosing a degree in sociology and not making big bucks though, I agree, that's being annoying.
-Penguin
Education is a major problem in this country, and I have my thoughts on how to improve it and what I'd change, but I don't want to bring any political talk into this. I'll say that there is a big divide in what kids are told and what they're told on how to achieve it. It seems like the idea of 'working harder to get ahead' is gone. It's not like it's changed into 'working smarter to get ahead' either.
Almost every parent loves their kid(s) and thinks they're the best thing in the world. These same parents are the ones who molded their children into what I described. We have friends where the Mom jokes about "Going to college with her sons when they go" because she doesn't want them to leave. Does she also do everything for them? Pretty much. Is this allowing her kids to 'grow'? Not so much.
The idea about moving back home started before the economy really started to tank. We saw it transpiring more often around 10-12 years ago, not just in the recent years. It's one thing to move home because of necessity. I had to do that when I was younger, and it was demoralizing. But during that time, over a few years, I paid off debts and saved $40k to put 20% down on my first house. My goal was to become an adult, not live with Mom and Dad. The difference is that kids don't want to leave the nest, and their parents seem happy to have them there.
So, it is a smart move, but the motivation behind going home leaves much to question.
