I was surprised by the negativity in the comments, although I should know to expect that by now. I was also surprised at how many people were judging the author or discounting his experiment without ever having read the book.

As others have said, the biggest advantage that Adam had was his mindset. He knew he could succeed, and he did. If you believe that the deck is stacked against you and you have no chance of success then you’re almost guaranteed to fail. I’m surprised at how many commenters seem to think that mindset is ok.

I admit being younger has advantages, but all it ultimately means is I have a lot of student debt, few material possessions compared to many, and professional skills which aren’t very marketable and only fetch low pay.

Now I’m not complaining, that’s how it should work, you work longer, you get better, you make more. I’m just saying that it’s not always better to be a younger person.

I have never enjoyed any privilege from being white or male. Being white and male has gotten me into the following situations:

- Condescending treatment and social exclusion from female coworkers because “I wouldn’t understand.” because “Men are idiots.”

- Having been turned down for a job at least twice for being white and male when I really needed a job, any job.

- Being assumed to be a pedophile.

- Being assumed to be a bigot.

- Having lost out on scholarships, grants and other student financial aid as being white and/or male means I can’t even apply.

- I have been blamed for slavery, disparity of income, and a thousand other (mostly perceived) evils because I’m a white male.

Despite this, I don’t hang myself on a cross and lament my gender and ethnicity because even though the world is full of small minded people who think being a white male is some kind of advantage when it is not, they do not control my life, I do. There will always be people who discriminate against you no matter what gender and color you are, ignore them and any such talk of “X group is so disadvantaged” lest you start to believe it.

Well, I’m an engineer in the semiconductor industry. And I’m seeing a little bit of this. At my last company, 80% of the new hires were women, with lower salaries, less vacation time, than the rest. While a certain percentage of that is related to not negotiating well, not all of it is.

Certtainly, the %, when you add up working hours and experience, is closer than 70% on the dollar. I would say that it’s 90-95% in my industry. And until recently, I was better paid than most of my male coworkers (I got more accomplished). That has changed because I had a child and elected to work part time. (my choice)

There have been, however, very interesting studies done (on female science professors at MIT, for example) on discrimination. One study I read found that the women professors got less money, smaller lab space, fewer leadership opportunities, than their male counterparts. And these women, by and large, don’t have children (30%?) – by the time they get tenure, they are often past those years. One of my coworkers noted that “obviously, they aren’t as good as the men”. Well, duh, this is MIT! They have to be the best to be there, that’s the point.

The most interesting part of the whole thing was that the vast majority of women in the study didn’t think there was ANY discrimination…at first. Once they had been in their jobs for 10, 15, 20 years, THAT’S when the discrimination actually starts. For years, they interviewed the young, new professors (who didn’t see any problems), and the older professors (who did). Absolutely fascinating. As I’m approaching 40, it will be interesting to see if I experience something similar in the next 10 years or so.

Remember that Will Smith movie, “The Pursuit of Happyness?” Everyone was saying “see, this PROVES anyone can make it if you try hard enough!”. I had a different view of the movie- at every turn, he could have been made or broken by things out of his control. What if the charity hadn’t been there to give him food and shelter? What if the hiring manager had discriminated against him for being black? What if his child or himself had gotten injured or sick? Stories of people dragging themselves up “by the bootstraps” are usually a result of lots of their hard work and determination *intersecting* with a lucky opportunity, a kind person, or circumstances simply being kind and allowing them to be healthy in body and mind while they go through their troubles.

It’s not as black and white as “anyone can make it!” or “no one in that situation can make it!”. It’s an in between of honestly acknowledging the unique setbacks certain people may have depending on their circumstances, and then adjusting accordingly. At times, the die hard belief in the ability of the American poor to do “anything they try hard enough to do” is more cruel than optimistic.

And I’ll echo what some other commenters here said–being female, you can’t just sleep in the rough (rape is a real threat, and if it happens to you, you’re asking for it), women have a better chance of having kids with them, and we do not get paid as well as men. Sure, one or two women may get manual labor jobs, but most don’t (and it’s not because we’re lazy).

As far as us making the “choice” to have kids and stay home, men are not told that they are horrible people and bad parents for working outside the home. EVERY mother I knew of got pilloried by the peanut gallery when they went back to work. Men are never told they can’t have it all, but we hear that litany every day (as well as complaints that it sure would be nice to come home to a clean house and a hot dinner), but if you then stay at home and your husband ditches you or loses his job and you have to go back to work, it’s your fault that you’re not doing well.

@Todd–ITA. One thing you can say for Erenrich in Nickled and Dimed–she didn’t pretend that she didn’t have advantages and biases. This guy is just being an arrogant jerk. Given the trashing that some folks here are giving women, minorities, and the poor (and their simultaneous whining that people pointing out the privilege of white men is somehow *worse*), I’m disgusted.

Let’s face it, slumming is not poverty and it’s not really even frugality. It’s self-promotion. I don’t thiink it has any place alongside the posts on frugality on this website.

As a teacher, I agree with DB – I am paid according to education level and experience, equal to my male colleagues at the same level of education and experience. There are also a large number of female administrators in my district.

As a pregnant teacher, I bristle at the fact that my career should take a backseat to my family. That is not how my priorities work. However, I also accept that this means I will never be putting in time to climb the corporate (or administrative, in my case) ladder. This is a choice I have made, and over the years, I will be compensated accordingly. I don’t believe that this is because I am a woman – I beleive that it is a direct result of my choices, which are a reflection of what I have placed importance on. I’m ok with this. I don’t feel that this is gender-based discrimination.

However, there is something that I have always wondered about, re: insurance. As my husband is a student, I currently carry him, and will carry our child, on my insurance. I pay out the nose for our insurance coverage each month! My district will cover the full-time employee entirely, but the cost for spouse and family coverage is through the roof. I have wondered if this is a reflection of the expectation that most children will be covered by the father’s insurance, and thus, the district has no real incentive to negotiate for a better deal with the insurance company (which has offered substantially better coverage rates to those in other areas of employment).

I agree with about … half of you :-)

I’m not discounting his can-do attitude, which,IMHO, makes a huge difference, but it is important to see the advantages/disadvantages he has as well as our own lenses/bias we operate out of.

Now, let’s look down the road. Just exactly WHO is going to take care of you when you get old, or sick, or injured in 30 years? Who is going to be paying into Social Security so you can collect it? Who is going to shovel your snow and mow your lawn when you are too old or ill to do it? Who is going to run the government when everyone is over 70? Who is going to run the groceries and warehouses and buses and trains and planes and everything else that requires youth, strength, clear thinking, etc.? Who is going to build the homes and buildings and assisted living homes we’ll need? Who is going to staff these?

As long as society punishes behaviors that are essential to the society’s overall health over the generations, that society will have the better-educated people having no or few children, and the less-educated having more. This is not a desirable situation and will lead to that society spiraling down.

A very courageous enterprise, not unlike a rite of passage – My admiration goes to you Adam!

(I’ll get a copy of the book at once!)

I personally know high-level professional women who, because of this lack of support, “chose” to not have children. We need more children being raised by higher-income people, and failing to provide the logistical support for women to be the best they can for themselves and their children by productive, rewarding employment doesn’t help anyone. And there are many women who are better mothers for having a rewarding job.”

Regardless all that – this I know (and it may be a difficult pill to swallow, but it’s true and I’ve seen it every year I’ve been a teacher): A female teacher chooses to have a baby (at least I believe she’s chosen to do so) and she is out of the classroom for 6-8 weeks. A long-term sub comes in to take her position. Her students suffer. Her co-workers suffer. Certainly her sub could be a fine teacher – but if she (the full-time teacher) is truly outstanding (as she hopefully is) she cannot simply be replaced by a sub without any consequences to her students or co-workers. How can this not be a consideration when hiring? I’m sorry, but there is no getting around that for each of her 2-3-4 deliveries, students will suffer in the process. Harsh, but true.