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If you are a parent or grandparent, you need to look at these stats

No. My parents were responsible and saved to help pay my way through college. As I will do for my children. It’s part of my job as a parent.
That sounds less than grateful for what they did for you. My folks felt it was important that I paid most of my own way. It was rough, but also forced me to grow up much faster than others.
 
Yep. Bought my first house 1400 sq ft, 3bed/2bath for $110,000. Exact same house sold a year ago for over $200,000. Absolutely irresponsible.
Bought my first house west of Ashley in Melrose in 1981 for 33,000. @BR with 1 Bath and about 1200 square feet. Looked it uo about a year ago and had sold for 330,000.
 
No he didn't. They work 1 gig job part time with no career opportunity or insurance.
Well it did say for extra money, which I inferred to mean they had income from a primary job already.

But I have no dog in the fight
 
I’m guessing we really don’t want to know what they’re doing in their room the other 25% of the time.
 
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Eh. This conversation is too small for this forum. This isn’t all on a generation being lazy. The middle class in this country is dead. I know because I went from lower middle class to middle upper class in the span of 3 years just based on salary. Obviously didn’t build the assets and wealth in that short time, but I got on the path to it. Id love to say it was hard work, but honestly time and place played the biggest part.

This country continues to grow further apart from the top and the bottom economically.
This country is spread apart more than economically! Regardless of how you arose, congrats! Majority hates the one's that achieve. I got over that long ago. I hope you've retired with Coots bringing you cigars on your yathet
 
A good friend of mine who is the President of a small college called to wish the Tigers well against UNC (he really wants us to clobber them). He had been to a meeting and heard these startling statistics.
1) 47% of the male population in the US between 25 and 35 still live at home with their parents.
2) 75% of their leisure time is spent either watching tv or playing video games.
A great number of them work gig jobs to make extra money, but these jobs have no room to advance and offer no long term benefits.
I realize there are situations where moving back in with your parents short term makes sense,
but Mommy and Daddy need to boot the rest of these lazy freeloaders out.
No wonder the US is in such a mess.
A good friend of mine who is the President of a small college called to wish the Tigers well against UNC (he really wants us to clobber them). He had been to a meeting and heard these startling statistics.
1) 47% of the male population in the US between 25 and 35 still live at home with their parents.
2) 75% of their leisure time is spent either watching tv or playing video games.
A great number of them work gig jobs to make extra money, but these jobs have no room to advance and offer no long term benefits.
I realize there are situations where moving back in with your parents short term makes sense,
but Mommy and Daddy need to boot the rest of these lazy freeloaders out.
No wonder the US is in such a mess.
Why do I need to look at these stats as a grandparent? I love my child and my grandchildren, but I don’t think it works for me to tell my daughter how raise her children. Neither my parents nor my in-laws offered unsolicited advice on my wife’s or my parenting. I respect them for doing so.
 
Meh. Graduated in 2006. Went through the 2008 crash. Was a married homeowner in early 2010 at age 26.

If you’re 30 and living at home you are a stone cold loser. That’s all there is to it.
Not gonna debate your last paragraph. Not really what I’m concerned about. But right now is one of the worst times to become a first time homebuyer. Doesn’t detract from what you did in your life.
 
Not gonna debate your last paragraph. Not really what I’m concerned about. But right now is one of the worst times to become a first time homebuyer. Doesn’t detract from what you did in your life.
While you are right, if you are 30 and living at home, you should have bought something before this year. Rates were low when that 30 yr old was 29.
 
A good friend of mine who is the President of a small college called to wish the Tigers well against UNC (he really wants us to clobber them). He had been to a meeting and heard these startling statistics.
1) 47% of the male population in the US between 25 and 35 still live at home with their parents.
2) 75% of their leisure time is spent either watching tv or playing video games.
A great number of them work gig jobs to make extra money, but these jobs have no room to advance and offer no long term benefits.
I realize there are situations where moving back in with your parents short term makes sense,
but Mommy and Daddy need to boot the rest of these lazy freeloaders out.
No wonder the US is in such a mess.
This number of young adults living at home actually peaked at 52% in 2020….so seems like Covid was an obvious cause in the uptick to “record levels.” Also would show we are trending in the better direction.

I also read an article that sited the 75% of leisure time spent by young men playing video games. Those young men were also unemployed and were not in school. This wasn’t all young men…just a slice.

I’m not saying we shouldn’t be concerned about our young people…we certainly should. I just see speeches and reporting like these all the time….most get your attention because they were manipulated to do so.
 
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Just about to come here to say this… or pay close to $2,000/month for a 2/2 apartment.

I always love older people being disappointed in our youth when they were the ones that raised them or raised their parents, etc.

I’m 33 and own my own home. I’m sitting at a 3.25% interest rate and feel lucky as hell to be there. Bought in September 2019. If Covid hit 1 year prior, I wouldn’t be able to be in a home right now. My mortgage is around $1,388/month. If I bought the same exact house I’m in with it’s hike in value and interest rate, I’d be paying $3,000+/month.

Sure part of that is laziness, but our country is in a very bad place for young adults trying to live independently,
I respectfully disagree. Assuming these numbers are accurate (I saw no link), we didn't get to numbers as high as 47% due to interest rates rising just in the last few months. These same adults have had years of opportunities for the lowest interest rates ever in history.

Also, the job market has been on fire for 10 years with limitless jobs and companies basically begging for employees. These are well paying jobs and literally offering the best environment and opportunity for someone to better their situation.
.
I cannot disagree more with anyone that makes excuses for this or makes excuses that the middle class is dead and there is no opportunity in this country to join the middle class.

Yes it takes work and no one is going to hand it to you but there is opportunity abound still today.
 
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Not gonna debate your last paragraph. Not really what I’m concerned about. But right now is one of the worst times to become a first time homebuyer. Doesn’t detract from what you did in your life.

I think you are right on being a first time home buyer right now. But the OP covered an age range extending to 35. That person has had 13 post college working years and historically low interest rate periods.

Plus, you don’t have to be a homeowner to not live with your parents… The last time I lived with my parents was summer between freshman and sophomore years in college. I just find it completely bizarre that 25-35 year olds are doing that.

I’m 39, so not that far removed from that age range. It’s not like a boomer fussing about these damn kids. I am a millennial (though I don’t identify as one), and I still can’t grasp it.
 
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I worry there’s a sense of entitlement or belief that it’s not worth paying your dues somewhat because it won’t lead to anything. There is some of that, but there’s also a huge cost of living issue right now.

The middle class is becoming extinct. How are people supposed to get ahead reasonably? Not everyone can make 6 figures. Say a married couple is a teacher and police officer. Two very respectable needed professions. They have 2 kids. Explain to me how they can be responsible and get ahead with house prices, interest rates, car payments, daycare, fuel etc. Meanwhile they’re supposed to keep busting their ass putting up with entitled kids/parents or keep society safe. Tough ask IYAM.

The structure is broken if the example I gave doesn’t work.
 
That sounds less than grateful for what they did for you. My folks felt it was important that I paid most of my own way. It was rough, but also forced me to grow up much faster than others.

I’m very grateful. Grateful enough that I’m making the same investment for my children.

I did have to pay for one semester after I came home with bad grades. So I didn’t have a blank check, and neither will my kids. But they will have everything they need if they earn it. It’s my job as a parent to plan and save for that.
 
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I worry there’s a sense of entitlement or belief that it’s not worth paying your dues somewhat because it won’t lead to anything. There is some of that, but there’s also a huge cost of living issue right now.

The middle class is becoming extinct. How are people supposed to get ahead reasonably? Not everyone can make 6 figures. Say a married couple is a teacher and police officer. Two very respectable needed professions. They have 2 kids. Explain to me how they can be responsible and get ahead with house prices, interest rates, car payments, daycare, fuel etc. Meanwhile they’re supposed to keep busting their ass putting up with entitled kids/parents or keep society safe. Tough ask IYAM.

The structure is broken if the example I gave doesn’t work.
There are plenty of good hardworking families like this. And then people look and say, “Well you should’ve had a different career. This is your choice.” Completely ignoring the real issue.
 
While you are right, if you are 30 and living at home, you should have bought something before this year. Rates were low when that 30 yr old was 29.
I’m not talking about living from home.
 
Some of these house prices being thrown about in this thread are kinda misleading. A later 20s young adult doesn't need a house on Daniel Island or in a nice downtown urban area. Or heck even an upscale area anywhere. That's ridiculous. It's their first home.....

While overpriced, I can definitely agree with that, there are still options to buy a place to live that is affordable for the cost of living/salary in their respective areas everywhere in the country. Problem is that in today's culture every kid thinks they should be making 100K+ right out of college and move into a house as nice or nicer than their parents by the time they are 30. It's completely unrealistic. They don't believe in starter/affordable homes or working their way up to those nice homes.
 
I respectfully disagree. Assuming these numbers are accurate (I saw no link), we didn't get to numbers as high as 47% due to interest rates rising just in the last few months. These same adults have had years of opportunities for the lowest interest rates ever in history.

Also, the job market has been on fire for 10 years with limitless jobs and companies basically begging for employees. These are well paying jobs and literally offering the best environment and opportunity for someone to better their situation.
.
I cannot disagree more with anyone that makes excuses for this or makes excuses that the middle class is dead and there is no opportunity in this country to join the middle class.

Yes it takes work and no one is going to hand it to you but there is opportunity abound still today.
I actually found where pew research had some supporting data to the claim but obviously taken out of context. Also gaming data came from a .org who raises money to fight video game addiction (also taken out of context) which ‘might’ have some bias.
 
Some of these house prices being thrown about in this thread are kinda misleading. A later 20s young adult doesn't need a house on Daniel Island or in a nice downtown urban area. Or heck even an upscale area anywhere. That's ridiculous. It's their first home.....

While overpriced, I can definitely agree with that, there are still options to buy a place to live that is affordable for the cost of living/salary in their respective areas everywhere in the country. Problem is that in today's culture every kid thinks they should be making 100K+ right out of college and move into a house as nice or nicer than their parents by the time they are 30. It's completely unrealistic. They don't believe in starter/affordable homes or working their way up to those nice homes.
Yeah that just isn’t the case. Look at “starter homes” in Atlanta.

But that’s a nice narrative you tried to build though.
 
I’m very grateful. Grateful enough that I’m making the same investment for my children.

I did have to pay for one semester after I came home with bad grades. So I didn’t have a blank check, and neither will my kids. But they will have everything they need if they earn it. It’s my job as a parent to plan and save for that.

I was fortunate enough that my farmer grandfather and grandmother paid for my education at Clemson.

The deal I had with both of my sons was that half of their student loans would be in my name and half in their name. If they graduated in 4.5 years or less (how long it took me), I would pay off the loans. If they did not graduate, they would owe on the loans in their name. They also received the Title to a new Toyota or Honda I bought them while in school if they graduated.

Both graduated from Clemson (one just this past August) and have good jobs with no student loans and no car payments for their first few years. The second does have half of one loan since he took 5 years. The rest will be on them, but I gave them the best start I could.
 
There are plenty of good hardworking families like this. And then people look and say, “Well you should’ve had a different career. This is your choice.” Completely ignoring the real issue.
This is a completely different discussion than the initial post. I certainly am nkt going to argue that teachers and firefighters dont deserve to be paid more. Extremely honorable professions and thankful for what they do. Those really are outliers from the original post.

I can share from my line of work that the US job market as been on fire for 10 years with companies in multiple industries willing to lower standards for talent unlike we have ever seen. Salaries for many jobs have increased substantially in the last 5- 10 uears at a pace I have not seen in my lifetime. There is no reason for a young professional to not be able to find a job, educated or not. There have never been as many job openings (well paying I might add) as we have had for the last 2+ years.

I couldn't have afforded to buy a home or rent a place by myself right out of Clemson either, so we split and I shared a house with other guys/girls.

Too many excuses for those that simply want to sit in a basement and play games all day in my opinion.
 
My father asked me if I wanted a job at the start of the summer after I finished 8th grade. I told him I thought I would just spend most of my summer at the lake. He told me “you start Monday “.
Made my son work in high school and he has done great.
Maybe that’s not the right approach, but it sure has worked for me and most of my friends.
This was my life.

Greatest education I ever had.
 
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Yeah that just isn’t the case. Look at “starter homes” in Atlanta.

But that’s a nice narrative you tried to build though.
Seems like quite a few that would work that arent outrageously priced relative to salaries in the atlanta area.


But I'm sure you are going to tell me it isn't where you would want to be or its not conveniently close to downtown or something. Of course it isn't. Its a first home......
 
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I think too many people come out of college and are dead set on a job relating to their field of study. People hire good people, not resumes. Also- if you wasted 4 years with a major that is useless, that’s not the worlds fault. PLENTY of people want to hire and doesn’t mean you have to live in thornblade right out of school. Embrace the grind.
 
I think you are right on being a first time home buyer right now. But the OP covered an age range extending to 35. That person has had 13 post college working years and historically low interest rate periods.

Plus, you don’t have to be a homeowner to not live with your parents… The last time I lived with my parents was summer between freshman and sophomore years in college. I just find it completely bizarre that 25-35 year olds are doing that.

I’m 39, so not that far removed from that age range. It’s not like a boomer fussing about these damn kids. I am a millennial (though I don’t identify as one), and I still can’t grasp it.

Yeah, 22-35 is a huge range. I didn’t buy my first home until I was 30 and it wasn’t a new house. It can still be done but it takes more discipline with your finances and work ethic than most are willing to commit to.

I’m fully immersed in the workforce right now in my late 30s and people act like 2 years is a lifetime. People want two raises in 6 months etc. It’s crazy. So it doesn’t surprise me that the younger generation doesn’t wanna live with roommates for 2 years and grind etc.

Now, I will say part of it is corporations won’t pay a realistic living wage. You can’t keep growing revenue at 7% and keep the stock pricing pumping while cost of living increases for people and expect them to hang around when there’s ample job opportunities. The smart ones leave.
 
A good friend of mine who is the President of a small college called to wish the Tigers well against UNC (he really wants us to clobber them). He had been to a meeting and heard these startling statistics.
1) 47% of the male population in the US between 25 and 35 still live at home with their parents.
2) 75% of their leisure time is spent either watching tv or playing video games.
A great number of them work gig jobs to make extra money, but these jobs have no room to advance and offer no long term benefits.
I realize there are situations where moving back in with your parents short term makes sense,
but Mommy and Daddy need to boot the rest of these lazy freeloaders out.
No wonder the US is in such a mess.
Lot of TIers on list I'm certain
 
Just about to come here to say this… or pay close to $2,000/month for a 2/2 apartment.

I always love older people being disappointed in our youth when they were the ones that raised them or raised their parents, etc.

I’m 33 and own my own home. I’m sitting at a 3.25% interest rate and feel lucky as hell to be there. Bought in September 2019. If Covid hit 1 year prior, I wouldn’t be able to be in a home right now. My mortgage is around $1,388/month. If I bought the same exact house I’m in with it’s hike in value and interest rate, I’d be paying $3,000+/month.

Sure part of that is laziness, but our country is in a very bad place for young adults trying to live independently,
Am clapping
 
I’m very grateful. Grateful enough that I’m making the same investment for my children.

I did have to pay for one semester after I came home with bad grades. So I didn’t have a blank check, and neither will my kids. But they will have everything they need if they earn it. It’s my job as a parent to plan and save for that.
I agree it is our job, but even well intentioned people can struggle. My father had serious medical issues while I was in middle school and high school (and college, he died 3 weeks after my graduation) that left him unable to work for long periods and also left us with massive medical bills. It wasn’t that my parents didn’t do their job, it was that sometimes life throws you a curve ball so I think it’s important to not speak in absolutes.

But I am cooling on the importance of college. There are a lot of bad degrees and today anything you want to learn can be accessed in the phone in our pocket. I’ve seen more lives changed by enrolling in 10 week coding academies than I have any other program. Many colleges now are treated like four years of camp. Why spend $40k a year on that?
 
My wife and I bought our first house at 12% interest. At the time, there was also high unemployment and you had to hang onto the job you had. My employer forced me to work 7 days a week for 6 weeks in a row to put a new product into production. I never got any compensation for all that overtime and a just keep up with inflation raise. We didn't eat out much, took cheap vacations, and didn't purchase a lot of "stuff". My next home (in South Carolina with a better employer), was financed at over 7% interest. We paid the mortgage off at that rate.

Sorry, I cannot relate to those crying about rates climbing to 6%. Jobs are easy to get and employers cannot treat people badly and stay in business (there is always the trade-off between what you get paid verses what you will put up with).
 
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Some of these house prices being thrown about in this thread are kinda misleading. A later 20s young adult doesn't need a house on Daniel Island or in a nice downtown urban area. Or heck even an upscale area anywhere. That's ridiculous. It's their first home.....

While overpriced, I can definitely agree with that, there are still options to buy a place to live that is affordable for the cost of living/salary in their respective areas everywhere in the country. Problem is that in today's culture every kid thinks they should be making 100K+ right out of college and move into a house as nice or nicer than their parents by the time they are 30. It's completely unrealistic. They don't believe in starter/affordable homes or working their way up to those nice homes.
Yeah that's just not true. Maybe that is some of my generation, I'm 35, but the vast majority are not expecting that. What is true is most people in their 20-30s have no problem living in a decent apartment in a downtown area. I literally don't know 1 person who "doesn't believe in a starter home" in that age range and I know a lot of people in the 25-35 age range from all walks of life and income backgrounds.
 
I respectfully disagree. Assuming these numbers are accurate (I saw no link), we didn't get to numbers as high as 47% due to interest rates rising just in the last few months. These same adults have had years of opportunities for the lowest interest rates ever in history.

Also, the job market has been on fire for 10 years with limitless jobs and companies basically begging for employees. These are well paying jobs and literally offering the best environment and opportunity for someone to better their situation.
.
I cannot disagree more with anyone that makes excuses for this or makes excuses that the middle class is dead and there is no opportunity in this country to join the middle class.

Yes it takes work and no one is going to hand it to you but there is opportunity abound still today.
I agree with a lot of that. We have had a lot of opportunity with jobs since Covid, I agree. Most middle class friends I have were struggling to find a house that made sense for their family because these houses were being bought up left and right with cash buyers. Part of that is where I live(Appalachian Mountains - Boone area).

I’m not saying 25-35 year olds haven’t had opportunities, but to blindly say the reason they are still home is strictly laziness isn’t the whole issue or truth. It’s a lot more complex than that.

My younger brother(27) works his butt off and has a decent job. He’s on his own, but is supporting himself and his fiancé who is finishing up pharmacy school at Auburn. I’ve still had to send him some money through the past few years to help make ends meet. He’s highly productive in society, he works his butt off(50-60hrs a week), and lives on his own. I just feel he would be set up for success if he did what he’s doing now and I helped financially or if he stayed with our parents until his fiancé graduated and got a job that allowed her to contribute as well. It’s no secret that the cost of living is pretty insane right now and as a young adult trying to make ends meet is harder than most have ever had to deal with.
 
I agree it is our job, but even well intentioned people can struggle. My father had serious medical issues while I was in middle school and high school (and college, he died 3 weeks after my graduation) that left him unable to work for long periods and also left us with massive medical bills. It wasn’t that my parents didn’t do their job, it was that sometimes life throws you a curve ball so I think it’s important to not speak in absolutes.

But I am cooling on the importance of college. There are a lot of bad degrees and today anything you want to learn can be accessed in the phone in our pocket. I’ve seen more lives changed by enrolling in 10 week coding academies than I have any other program. Many colleges now are treated like four years of camp. Why spend $40k a year on that?

Agree on both points. We really need to focus on non-college paths after HS. Trade schools, tech schools, etc. It makes it even harder to understand why the government invested in student loan handouts instead of forward facing opportunities like that.
 
Yeah that's just not true. Maybe that is some of my generation, I'm 35, but the vast majority are not expecting that. What is true is most people in their 20-30s have no problem living in a decent apartment in a downtown area. I literally don't know 1 person who "doesn't believe in a starter home" in that age range and I know a lot of people in the 25-35 age range from all walks of life and income backgrounds.
This.
 
I agree it is our job, but even well intentioned people can struggle. My father had serious medical issues while I was in middle school and high school (and college, he died 3 weeks after my graduation) that left him unable to work for long periods and also left us with massive medical bills. It wasn’t that my parents didn’t do their job, it was that sometimes life throws you a curve ball so I think it’s important to not speak in absolutes.

But I am cooling on the importance of college. There are a lot of bad degrees and today anything you want to learn can be accessed in the phone in our pocket. I’ve seen more lives changed by enrolling in 10 week coding academies than I have any other program. Many colleges now are treated like four years of camp. Why spend $40k a year on that?
Sort of relevant.

I sat next to a guy on an airplane recently. He said his son was about to graduate and loves welding. The dad wanted him to go get a mechanical engineering degree from a D1 school that he was accepted to. The dad was pretty dead set on it too. The son wanted to be a welder. I spent the entire plane ride trying to convince him that trades are actually quite lucrative and you shouldn't force the unnecessary debt if he would be doing something he really enjoys. I'm in electrical engineering so I could at least speak something of what his son might be doing.

Anyway, I think by the end of the flight I had him convinced to let his son choose.
 
Agree on both points. We really need to focus on non-college paths after HS. Trade schools, tech schools, etc. It makes it even harder to understand why the government invested in student loan handouts instead of forward facing opportunities like that.
I would have much rather created a scholarship fund for trade schools. I’ve argued this relative to NIL that many four year college degrees aren’t worth 💩. When schools like High Point are putting hot tubs in dorms, and North Florida is building a lazy river, you can tell something is wrong. (Not to mention what coaches are getting paid these days).
 
Sort of relevant.

I sat next to a guy on an airplane recently. He said his son was about to graduate and loves welding. The dad wanted him to go get a mechanical engineering degree from a D1 school that he was accepted to. The dad was pretty dead set on it too. The son wanted to be a welder. I spent the entire plane ride trying to convince him that trades are actually quite lucrative and you shouldn't force the unnecessary debt if he would be doing something he really enjoys. I'm in electrical engineering so I could at least speak something of what his son might be doing.

Anyway, I think by the end of the flight I had him convinced to let his son choose.
That’s the main problem. The ego of parents not accepting that it’s ok for a kid to not go to college. There are plumbers who make a ton of money. If my daughter decides she wants to move to Paris and be an artist, I will absolutely encourage her to spend a year doing so. She can always come back and go to school with the wisdom she learned having to live on her own.
 
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Agree on both points. We really need to focus on non-college paths after HS. Trade schools, tech schools, etc. It makes it even harder to understand why the government invested in student loan handouts instead of forward facing opportunities like that.
I don’t disagree that the student loan forgiveness is a mere bandaid to the issue. But also, you talking about non college paths and investment there isn’t going to solve the main issue.

Almost everyone grows up wanting to go to college and have that life experience. It’s extremely valuable for the person to grow personally and socially too. That will still be there even with more trade schools etc.

The issue is that colleges shouldn’t be as expensive as they are. Not even close. It’s one of the more disgusting things we all kind of just accept today.
 
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When I was 23 I got a job with benefits and moved out my parents house. I then rented a house and built my credit for a year. At 24, I purchased my 1st house on my own. 10 years later I sold that house for profit and built my family home at 34 years old.....

During that time I still watched TV and/or played EA Sports NCAA football games 75 % of the time. 😆

I have no clue what all these numbers actually mean, just thought I would share.
 
I want Loan Forgiveness to end right after my wife's are forgiven. After that its just not right making hard working citizens pay for others student loans....😁
 
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That’s the main problem. The ego of parents not accepting that it’s ok for a kid to not go to college. There are plumbers who make a ton of money. If my daughter decides she wants to move to Paris and be an artist, I will absolutely encourage her to spend a year doing so. She can always come back and go to school with the wisdom she learned having to live on her own.
As someone who probably does fall into the 75% of leisure time playing video games, I can also say that I have 4 or 5 friends who flunked out of college for one reason or another. They are all self taught programmers now that are making a very comfortable living. Most of the people you described, go into the video game profession. I know several people who work for Microsoft, Google, Riot, EA Sports, and Activision/Blizzard (recently bought by Microsoft).

I also know 2 who sit around, smoke weed, and play video games all day. That's 2 out of the roughly 30 people I know who play video games for leisure though.

Edit: one of those 2 has a non-compete buy out clause from Tencent (think Chinese google for those who don't know what that is) where he's getting paid $200k over 3 years to not work. He was formally a PM and programmer for them so it's not like he couldn't work.
 
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