Generation Screwed: Will You Help The Millennials?

As part of the Millennial generation, we make up a quarter of America’s population. Many of us are pursuing higher education in fields that our parents never knew existed. Being that we are the most educated generation in history, it’s safe to say we should be creating our own milestones.

As part of the Millennial generation, we make up a quarter of America’s population. Many of us are pursuing higher education in fields that our parents never knew existed. Being that we are the most educated generation in history, it’s safe to say we should be creating our own milestones.

However, the smooth sailing has passed. With a tough post-graduate job market, we’ve got a hard road ahead of us. Things won’t be so easy. In fact, if this economy continues on this path, we’ll also have the record for being the most unemployed in four decades. Now that doesn’t seem like a future too bright. It seems our backs are against the wall.

Despite being more educated than our parents, Generation Y is relying on our parents more than ever. In fact, 36% of Millennials rely on parents for financial assistance and 14% of 24-34 year-olds are actually living with their parents.

That is probably because we don’t have jobs.

Or, maybe it’s because we expect a lot.

Case in point: Millennials expect their employers include promotion within a year, flexible hours, more vacation and higher pay. So, it’s no wonder that 85% of hiring managers feel Millennials are more entitled than older workers.

As Millennials, we are still optimistic, expecting to be more successful than our parents. If we are to be more successful, we probably think luck will play a role. Studies reveal that those growing up in an economic downturn believe that success in life depends more on luck than on hard work and effort.

Luck doesn’t equal loyalty

Millennials who are lucky enough to have jobs certainly are not trying to hang onto that success by giving a company loyalty. According to the Work Trends study by Rutgers, among new Millenial hires, 22% voluntarily quit their jobs within the first year, and 44% say they would renege on a job commitment if a better offer came along. The same study showed that about half had moderate to high superiority ideas about themselves.

Only time will tell if luck, work ethic, or a little bit of both will make my generation as successful as we hope.

Now you know why this generation is screwed, but the question arises – What will you do about it?