Generation Y in the workforce: Not So Peachy?

Those days will come. The beach party doesn't last forever! It's not just CU - it's all over. But your generation isn't the only one to face this. Remember, every generation has had its slackers, its movers, and its shakers!

 

Well, you kind of have to look at it as, people who have spent 18 or 19 years of their life living at home following someone else's rules. This is a part of growing up. college kids are in the prime of their life, and want to live it up while they can. This IS the time for you to be selfish and think only of yourself. On the other hand, you are also a freshman and as you get older you become more focused and grounded. Been there done that!

 

that's interesting because the way i think of it; No matter how many baby boomers are still working, they ahve a shelf life and companies are going to realize this and the younger generation will being to see more job opportunities opening up. Also, income levels haven't leveled off with the rising real estate market. Atleast not in the NW. Which is one of the reasons why some of us haven't moved out. No one wants to rent forever.

 

True, Boomers can't live forever, but everyone is living a LOT longer than when Social Security was initially enacted - the writing is on the Boomer's wall that retirement at 62 isn't financially responsible for their own bottom-line - and where can someone 62 or older find affordable health insurance if not through their existing employer? Boomers have the upper-hand because not only are they in most senior positions at every level, they also have the most experience and thus can realistically command those higher salaries. Gen X/Y will have little on their resume for the next several years to compete at their level - and, admittedly, Gen X/Y are currently willing to work 'for cheap' just to get their foot into the corporate door - polls I've read claim my Generational peers are sacrificing $$$ for more personal-time. True, there are many 'growth industries' that are sorely lacking new talent (Engineering being one), but Gen X/Y have NOT adequately parlayed the 'supply vs. demand' tactic to command salary levels that would afford the trappings of a middle-class lifestyle. They may not be able to anymore - Tech workers are now being 'imported' from China/India, or the jobs will just be exported there. The new 'Global Economy' means that salaried-Americans (vs. half-salaried Indians or third-salaried Chinese) are even more vulnerable to wage stagnation. Gen X/Y'ers also putting-off things like marriage - as a result many are trying, and failing, to chase a dual-income lifestyle on a single paycheck.

Add to this mess the STAGGERING rise of a college education, and kids are leaving school with tens' of thousands of dollars in student-aid debt. I'm not sure I've seen a financial deck so negatively stacked AGAINST a whole generation like this - it makes you want to just escape and bury your head in the sand.....Iraqi sand....oh, wait....the entire Iraq War is being fought, right now, on the backs of Gen X/Y....I guess we're all not lazy deadbeats after all!

 

Okay, not all Generation Yers are alike.

I was raised by baby boomer parents who have made me earn and work for everything I have ever wanted. I work full time all while going to college full time, because I pay for own tuition, books, cars, insurance, gas, food, and "luxury items." As I was searching for employment, I was offered multiple jobs by family members, and turned down every single one. I love the feeling of building my own success.

Neither of my parents ever helped me and often told me that when all is said and done, I will feel much better about myself, because I had to work for everything. To tell you the truth, as I look back, I am damn proud of everything I have done on my own. Not to rant or criticize, but a lot of my peers are spoiled brats, and they are plain losers. They can't wipe their own ass and by far, they are horrible decision makers. Truth be told, most of them will land a better job than me because of connections, but I'll feel better about earning my position.

I don't want people to read my last name and say you're so and so's son, your father was a class act! No, I want to establish a legacy of my own.

The best thing you can do for your children is to let them figure out their own problems, let them experience the real world first hand. My parents did and I thank them for it every day. If you make your child work to raise $400 for an iPhone, I can guarantee you that they will have second thoughts about spending that money.

 

Holy crap dude, I have the same thoughts as you. All I hear in class is: "I got effed up; I go out every Thursday night; I'm going out tonite; I got a 68 percent on the exam." LOL, high school is over. There is nothing wrong with making college a fun social experience, which it should be. Hell, anyone can party as hard as they would like as long as they are taking care of business and have their priorities straight.

I know of some HS peers whom went to party school like SDSU and Chico, who are now back at home, trying to detox. Unfortunate to say the least, but everyone makes their own decisions, right?

 

The entire system started screwing up as soon as they began telling children that they could be anything, do anything, etc. It all sounds perfectly good and nice, but the reality is much different. The reality is that there can only be so many presidents, astronauts, star athletes, etc. So for our "special" generation, we all expect special and decadent things. God forbid we should drink water from the tap...that is appalling. Canned tuna, you say? No sir, nothing but the freshest Ahi for this guy.

And yet this mentality has absolutely no end. Want proof? Look at Tivo and iTunes. No longer do we have to live our lives around someone else's schedule. There is no more sitting around at home waiting for Dick Clark to come on the air with the current hits. You want the latest top 10 hit, you better have it right now for $.99. Then again, why even pay for it? Rock stars are cool, right? You should get this for free! While that may seem minor, I think it has infiltrated the general mind structure of the generation. Everything has to be immediate, and everything has to be custom built for you...fast food industries realized this, "Have it your way"

I think a lot of this has had a tremendous impact on people's interpretations of relationships. Why? Because you have thousands of "counselors" and "life coaches" telling you that you have to do what makes you happy, regardless of the consequences. They want to see you, week after week, telling you things like, "He/She is not ready to change yet, so do what makes you happy." And the divorce rate?

I was born in 1981. I didn't experience WWII nor the "coolness" of the 60's. I did however see the Challenger explode, the Wall fall, and the towers collapse. I thought I was going to be a rock star. I thought that I was going to be the next Axl Rose. Then I took some business classes at the Berklee School of Music in Boston and realized that the entire industry is a fabrication. The Axl Rose's of today are like middle class America...working hard to make their minimum monthly payments back to the industry.

You look at it right and it's like...is going home and jumping on the PS2 the end of your effort? Why do we even have a PS2? I can sit there attempting to set new virtual lap records at the Ring while children are defending small plots of land with AK47's. I think about this sometimes and wonder if my generation is totally screwing up.

In terms of addiction, the only thing that is more sad than an addict, is an addict who realized his problem and yet can't do anything about it. The future of the U.S. is in that position. We all know that there are many problems facing us...pollution, the war, the housing crisis, social security, etc. The question is...are we, as a whole, the junkie that gets help, or the junkie that dies face down in the gutter? After all, we are the "special generation" and we deserve special things.

- Christopher, 26

 

I think it's safe to say that we are turning into an idiocracy, plain and simple. What are we appalled by? The decisions being made by the parents and children. Why are we appalled by these decisions? Because they are horrible decisions, in which any person with common sense would not make.

True: Every generation has its winners and losers. But in particular, it is becoming rarer and rarer to find a winner. We have an excess supply of stupid.

 

Now that you mention it. I think the greeters at Wal-Mart are there to hand out a free ration of that stuff.

 

Boulder. Ah, yes. Someone should test the water and air out there. Thankfully, for you, they will never make it to to the boardroom.

 

unless Dad owns the company.

 

The greeters at your Wal-Mart speak English?

 

maybe this is a slightly different generation but I sit in class all day and listen to kids talk about what colleges they want to go to and i am hearing more commonly a thread of I want to go to school for "business" or "ill only go if they have a good business program"... they refuse to take a broad curriculum and want only what will fit into what they want... 95% of them interested in business for the $$ I guess, such a broad definition of business is hard to understand what they want to do, the majority of them dont even have any idea about general things like the stock market and global economics even though they take classes about that. Basically they look like a bunch of idiots and they probably are going to have trouble succeeding

 

Some. Not all.

 

When colleges started charging $20,000+ per year for an undergraduate degree, students need to maximize their potential return on their educational investment. Broad curriculums only water-down one's chances of getting out with a degree in four years. At least kids aren't wasting BIG $$$ taking basket-weaving courses to 'discover themselves' and 'broaden their horizons'. That's the kind of crap a US Marine Corps Recruiter loves to hear......

 

Did I mention that I got accepted to Berkeley, but attend SJSU? Put me against and Berkeley graduate and I'll prove to you that it doesn't matter where one obtains a degree from. Although, without a doubt, my starting pay will be much less.

My total cost for a state education? About 20k for the entire 4 years. Berkeley? About, 120k for 4 years, excluding a lot of other costs. Is Berkeley worth it? To me, absolutley not.

 

Parents telling their kids they can do anything isn't the problem. It's those same parents who give their kids every little thing without instilling the value of hard work that are just as much a part of the problem as the kids themselves. These days, so many kids are so used to having everything handed to them, they don't know what to do when a real work ethic is required to accomplish something.

 

To be honest, i agree with everything you have said. So...

+1

 

Or, the Look-What-The-Spork-Brought-Club.

 

I had to make a leetle adjustment, there...
Please forgive.

 

Fear not for Gen Y-ers and the future! We overlooked and underappreciated Gen X-ers will carry the load for you, just as we dutifully did the grunt work for your slothful boomer parents (while expecting little in return) when we entered the workforce! Our responsible, conservative Silent Generation parents taught us well, and we won't let happen to our kids what the boomers let happen to theirs. lol

 

You're right on the mark, Tony -- very well stated!!