tim ferro
ramblings of a code monkey, fanboy, and uber-geek

We all agree that technology is expensive, and staying “cutting edge” is not a reasonable or cost effective goal of any manager. But outdated and slow technology is an issue that affects everyone, especially Gen Y-ers. Slow and outdated technology causes many issues including decreased productivity, stress, and dissatisfaction at work. There are varying degrees to how tolerant employees will be with old technology. For older generations, who have seen even older technology, the 512MB Windows 2000 computer is light years ahead of what they had “back in the day”. For Gen X & Y, however, when our laptops at home are four times as fast, coming to work can seem almost counterproductive to what we could accomplish at home in one third the time. This issue is exacerbated by the fact that Gen Y-ers are usally bottom of the totem pole when it comes to receiving office technology. Conversely, giving younger employees the newest technology will cause dissension among the longer tenured staff.

So what do you do? Answer: Have a technology upgrade plan that accounts for everyone and stays current with acceptable standards in technology. The details of this will vary from company to company but having this will help alleviate issues and produce happy productive employees. Technology is important to Gen Y and being stuck using outdated technology is more than just an annoyance; it can be seen as a sign of a mismanaged company. For those of us who work in the technology industry, staying current is paramount. Tech companies that don’t keep up risk losing talented young employees because spending too much time with outdated technology can be detrimental to their careers.

– Tim Ferro

This post is the introduction of a new series of blog posts focused on how to make you company more Gen Y friendly; how to “Gen Y-ify” your company and places of work.

There is a large and growing number of blogs, articles, and discussions about how Gen Y is “not loyal” and “diva like”. There is much less going on about how to address the situation. Most of the conversations are being had by older generations and they don’t know what to do about it; they just complain. I am here to tell you that what Gen Y wants is not too dissimilar from what most employees want; we just have the fortitude to demand it. If we don’t get treated as we believe we deserve, we leave and go looking for another company that will be better. This is not “disloyal”, it is smart career building. Who wouldn’t want to work at a better company?

Keep checking back for more blog posts about how you can “Gen Y-ify” you company and your office. Leave comments with ideas and suggestions for future posts!

– Tim Ferro

Though I have been experiencing catharsis since I put in my two weeks’ notice, I have also been completely unmotivated to blog. Worse, when I want to blog I had nothing that would spark my interest. I am not one of the bloggers that does this often and has ways to break through this kind of thing, though sometimes I wish I was. I am a “blogs when I feel inspired” type of blogger. This is great when I am inspired, but horrible when I am not “feeling it”.

I finally forced myself to write today and totally scrapped my first 2 attempts at a post. I know that is one of the ways to fight writer’s block but it is my last resort. Does anyone have any other ideas about how to break out of this funk that you would specifically recommend to “inspiration needing bloggers” like myself?

This post is helping to get back into it but I definitely need a muse or some catalyst to help this process along. Leave a comment and help me out.

– Tim Ferro 

Emma Johnson’s article Why Generation Y is broke, struck a chord with me. My recent post, about 401ks not being enough for retirement, is just the beginning of advice that Gen Y needs to heed. The good news is that there are tons of references out there now-a-days. Finance blogs, TV shows, books, and many other resources.

The biggest issue is that you don’t know that you don’t know. Let me explain. In college I took both Macro and Micro Economics. Neither of these classes prepared me for what I would experience post graduation financially. There was not a single class during my entire education process that talked about personal finances, mortgages, 401ks, or anything else that I or Gen Y would encounter. There is no class offered called “How to live paycheck to paycheck” for seniors in college, but there should be.

It is an injustice to Gen Y and future generations that they are required to take a lab science in college, like “The Sea Around Us”, but not be required to take one personal finance class. Which one of these two classes do you think would be more useful?

The good news is there seems to be a movement toward educating today’s youth, but for those that have already graduated you need to start learning these lessons on your own. Read blogs, watch TV, read books, talk to friends and family. Learn from your own and other peoples’ mistakes.

– Tim Ferro

by Patrick Dunne

I just recently switched careers, two college friends are getting married this summer and my college roommate – and his wife – just bought a house.

Sounds like Of a Revolution is growing up, too.

Many, many O.A.R. fans will undoubtedly appreciate the new tunes on “All Sides,” but this one wishes they were as catchy and fun as their previous records.

Gone are the days of Crazy Games of Poker, there are no more road trips that left About an Hour Ago and no one is talking to Mr. Brown anymore.

Of A Revolution has finished the revolt, left the frat parties completely behind and wrote songs songs about talking with wives and than crafting party anthems for another generation of college kids.

“All Sides,” O.A.R.’s second post-college album, takes the mellow love sing vibe ten times further than the previous record, “Stories of a Stranger.”

“Stranger” was full of the acoustic-reggae numbers that made the band sound unique and popular from 1999-2003, but there is not one head-nodding chorus to be found in the new record.

The new sound is mature, that’s for sure, but it sounds more like a baby-boomer’s idea of mature and not a band four years out of a major party school like Ohio State.

It’s stated clearly in “What is Mine” when (singer) says the post-Ohio State craziness has taken its toll: “Seen the big show a thousand times/ Got to get back what is mine.”

Maybe the guys should leave Virgin Fest and massive summer tours behind and stick with college arenas.

“This Town” and “Try Me” harken back to the better parts of “Stranger,” but everything else is comprised of whispering to their wives and fondly recalling the party days the band clearly wants to leave behind.

There’s almost nothing left of the up-and-down, nod your head tunes like “Risen.” Songs like “Something Coming Over” harkens back to the days when they recorded the successful and popular live album “Any Time Now.”

That’s it. One song.

The guys are also better musicians on this record than in the past. There are genuine lead lines to hum along with and melodies flow from saxophones and guitars. It’s a far departure from your half-drunk college roommate strumming through “Black Rock” and sounding exactly like the band that recorded the number.

However, it is a shame that the guys haven’t realized that you can still have fun in your old(er) age.

O.A.R. “All Sides”
3 out of 5 crazy games of poker

Most nights I make it a point to watch Jim Cramer’s Mad Money on CNBC. It is just one of the ways that I manage my financial future. At my first job I invested in that company’s 401k plan more than the minimum employee matching amount. I thought I was doing fine. The employer matching is the easiest free money you will ever make. That is the biggest positive that 401ks have. But the minimum is not enough. With that, simply increasing your contribution amount is not enough either. Yes you should be saving as much as you can for retirement, but the 401k is not the only vessel you need.

The first thing you need to do is open up a Roth IRA or Traditional IRA. Here is the hard part. Only contribute the minimum about to your 401k to apply for the maximum about of your employer matching. Then take the difference and put that into your IRA account. The scary part of this is now you are in charge of your retirement funds. The great news is that you are free to invest anywhere you want in the market and will be paying less fees that you would with your 401k. Yes, you probably don’t notice, but your 401k has fees associated with it. Most don’t notice these fees because when you get your quarterly report from your 401k, they report your total gains or losses including their fees.

Finally, sign up for a high interest savings account, such as ING, to keep the bulk of your savings. There is no reason to gain a fraction of a percent interest with traditional banks. Start building your 3 months’ salary nest egg in a much higher yielding account.

So to recap, get the maximum out of your employer’s 401k matching program, contribute to an IRA, and start saving in a high yield savings account, and start enjoying financial success!

– Tim Ferro

Thank you Matt for your article pointing out the difference between the two. There is a distinct and important difference that needed to be explained.

I have seen numerous 5/10/20 year awards given out and half the time I think, “That person isn’t loyal, they’re stupid for still being in that position after all these years.” Even worse is when I see people who are getting these awards because they aren’t talented enough to get another job. Those bother me the most.

On the flip side, I know many employees that work longer, harder, and smarter than most other employees and they don’t get any awards or appreciation. This happens a lot in many jobs but it is especially discouraging to Gen Yers because we see our hard work is not getting the recognition that it rightly deserves. We don’t need to be constantly patted on the back but on the other hand, if all we see is longevity getting awarded and not loyalty, we will get discouraged and start looking for greener pastures.

Reward what matters!

– Tim Ferro

I was reading The Office Newb’s blog post about intra-company SLA’s and I could not agree more. One of the biggest gripes at my last company was that human resources was completely inept. It would take multiple emails and phone calls to just get an address changed. I once had to bring the issue to a company VP just to get some results. It was during these experiences that I was involved in a group that was helping to make the company a better place to work. One of our main ideas was to institute a service level agreement between the employees and the human resources department with measurable metrics to then evaluate their service. This is not a post to complain about human resources as there are plenty of good ones, my current company is wonderful, but more to bring this issue to attention for all internal company departments. Leave comments about how to help others address this issue at their places of work.

– Tim Ferro

Nadira A. Hira’s article over on CNN Money got me fired up! Not only do I completely agree with her assessment of the current situation in corporate America but I have more to add to it.

When shown “true” loyalty from a company, not only Gen Y but all employees, will show loyalty back. The problem is that it is rare when a company is truly loyal. Bottom lines are the way of business and they aren’t loyal. This is why we job hop and hopefully this will cause enough of an issue that companies will wake up to this reality.

We don’t mean to be revolutionaries but it is much easier for Gen Yers to job hop because we have little roots in anywhere we go. Usually we don’t have kids and a lot of us don’t have mortgages.

So here are a few tips to companies who want to know what loyalty is to Gen Y.

• If the employee is doing their job well, a raise should be cost of living plus a percentage based on evaluation.
• Pay employees what they are worth. Being underpaid is a sign of disloyalty from the company.
• The employee needs to know that they have a future with the company and a plan to achieve it.
• Annual reviews should mean something.
• Training and certifications should be encouraged.
• Bonus Points for companies who ask Gen Yers about how they can better be utilized within the company.

–Tim Ferro

The first 2 seem obvious, the 3rd, not so much. Here’s why, unless you stay active after college, you will gain weight. Sounds simple, but graduates don’t realize just how much walking they do in college. After graduation, most will get some sort of office/desk job where they will be mostly immobile during the day. Conversely, they will continue to eat the same things post graduation.

This combination will lead to many graduates gaining weight or an “office ass”. This can lead to a number of problems associated with obeseity, including high blood pressure and high cholesterol. The latter of which I had a problem with.

After just a couple of years post graduation, I was diagnosed with very high cholesterol. I had access to free gyms at my apartment complex and work but I never went as often as I should and never ate as well as I could. This year, after another cholesterol test revealed that I hadn’t been doing much to get better, my doctor wanted to put me on Lipitor. This was the kick in butt I needed. I told him “no way, refer me to a nutritionist”. I followed the nutritionist’s plan and also got a new trainer at the gym, which I had joined a few month earlier.

Only 3 months later my cholesterol was completely fine and lost 38lbs. I should never have let it get to this point, but for those that have, you need to get healthy. Let this be an example to those graduating, keep in shape or face real problems. When you are in your 20s, you are no longer “invincible” like you were in college.

– Tim Ferro