So this week I've been reading in the news all kinds about opportunities for New Brunswickers for employment. Of all those opportunities I've read the most common denominator is, you guessed it, Technology. I've got a Son that is heading to College in the fall he's been accepted into Auto Repair but in the back of his head he's asking himself, "should I go into technology instead?"
Auto Repair is always needed but so to is technology. Cars are no longer just moving parts and a combustion engine, they are computers and codes and safety features that run almost exclusively through chips and fuses and electrical. I can't even start my husband's car without pushing a button. There is no more key for his car. My fob's battery is dead, I have to take his fob with me to open/lock/start his car. How will my college bound son get through his job without computer knowledge? Or will that knowledge be so narrow and product specific that it leaves him only working for one car company?
My middle son is 15, almost all his friends are inside his computer. He does moderation and Sys Admin from his own computer for others playing Minecraft. They are all helping each other to figure out how things work and what they can do next. All my sons excel with 4(stupid grading system) in Tech in school. They excel because they are not afraid of technology. They love it. They do not want to be what my Hubbie (Also IT guy) calls "end users." I am an end user .Plug and play baby!
My youngest son, well he's 12, & I think I worry about how he uses technology the most. He got a DS when he was 7. I had made the rule of 7 and that was fine he waited but I guess in my comfort in what my oldest two knew about technology I forgot to point out the rules. He's watched his brothers us technology for everything! I don't even think he knows how to write a paper for school without typing it.
Then there is me, the Mom. Social Media is my thing, I LOVE it. I got married at 22 and moved away from home. I dated my Hubbie(DH**) using a computer, we bought out house over the internet, we used computers to chat with our friends and family from afar. I did all my parenting using newsgroups* and Yahoo Groups* and blogs because it helped me to feel not so alone in how I did things or how I could help others. I helped moderate Breastfeeding groups,and Mom groups and owned a few too. Facebook and Twitter added to that, but there are times I am still a 12:00 flasher when it comes to technology.
My VCR or digital thermostats are still set to Standard time vs the DLS time we are supposed to be in now. How will I learn these new skills without saying "oh Son! can you come to supper tonight?, oh and while you're here can you change the clocks?" I've turned into my Mom then again Mom maybe ahead of me she went to the local library and took a FB course.
*these groups are still active and we still chat in a place that isn't FB groups. I can be slow to change.
**does anyone still use these multi-use acronyms