Get real

PEOPLE LOVE TO MAKE FUN OF the proverbial old fogy: the guy who takes a look at a young whippersnapper, shakes his grizzled head and grumbles that when he was young, he milked the cows before dawn, broke his fast on cold gruel and trudged seven miles to school. Uphill. Through snow. Both ways.

We’re not sure if we’ve ever eaten gruel. Nor did we stumble over snowdrifts on our way to class (at least, not on a regular basis). Nonetheless, we think the codger treatment is in order for this year’s crop of college grads, who seem to expect young adulthood to look a lot like a photo spread in a glossy magazine. Cool job, cool pad, no sweat.

According to a Yahoo HotJobs poll conducted in April, about half of the seniors surveyed believe they will earn a starting salary of around $50,000. Gen Y workers are said to demand “fulfilling work” in their first jobs. Accustomed to constant praise from self-esteem-boosting boomer parents and grade inflation from schools, they seek tons of on-the-job coddling.

And most of all, they don’t want to live like twentysomethings. As many as half of college grads each year join the ranks of the “boomerang kids” who move back in with Mom and Dad. For some, it’s an economic necessity, but for many others, it’s a lifestyle choice. They say it’s a waste of money to rent a dumpy-but-affordable apartment when they can have their old room, a phone line, furniture that wasn’t dragged in off the street, food that isn’t ramen noodles and free laundry.

In a story in The Times’ Real Estate section on Sunday, one 25-year-old graduate student complained that it would be a decade before she was able to buy in “any of Los Angeles’ hot spots.”

A dose of reality, anyone? In 2004, the average income for people of all ages with college degrees in the U.S. was $51,568. Some engineers can expect to earn $50,000 or more out of college, but engineering isn’t among the top 10 majors at four-year colleges. Liberal arts grads can expect to pull in closer to $30,000.

First jobs are supposed to be short on glamour. First apartments are supposed to be creaky dumps. First meals are supposed to be instant. That grad student should thank her lucky stars if she’s able to buy her “hot spot” home in 10 years. Many 35-year-olds today can’t buy a home anywhere in Los Angeles.

Optimism and lofty aspirations are great -- for self-esteem and for the economy -- but a bit of delayed gratification can go a long way too. In codger-speak: It builds character.