I’m right on the cusp of Gen Y and Gen X and my habits reflect that. Sometimes I act more like Gen X and sometimes I act more like Gen Y. It all depends on the situation. But, the one thing I love about being Gen Y: We view all our options as open. I LOVE that. Gen Yers are known for thinking they have the world at their fingertips – that they don’t graduate college, get a job and work there until retirement. Nope, we are of more risk takers than our previous generations. I think that’s pretty cool.
Though I think everything is cyclical. We are like this because we saw our parents work long hours for years, decades, at the same job. We want excitement, passion and enjoyment out of our careers. Who knows, maybe our kids will reject our way of working and revert back to how previous generations did it.
Women in careers are an example of the cyclical process. My grandma’s generation didn’t work. They were expected to stay home. My mom’s generation wanted to prove women had more to offer than making apple pie so they worked and parented at the same time. My generation is left a bit lost here. We want the best of both worlds: Gen Y women want to work but don’t want to work as much as our mother’s did. Gen Yers want to be both our grandma’s and mom’s generation and we don’t really know how to create that. And again, who knows, maybe our daughters will be more like our grandma’s or our mom’s depending on their experience.
Nevertheless, it’s cool to see each generation creating it’s own path. It’s cool knowing that if you want to write a book, then you should write a book. If you want to go back to school to learn a completely different trade, then you do that. The options are open.
Previous generations probably think we’re too fantasy driven … like we should stay with a job no matter if you’re happy or not happy. But Gen Yers vastly reject that point of view. Gen Yers discover their passions and go after careers that allow them to use their passions. They would much rather be happy than spend decades working in unhappy settings.
Gen Yers get a bad rap … but I think we’re on to something. It’s all pretty cool, don’t you think?
July 25th, 2011 on 3:28 pm
Great post! It is definitely interesting to see the different work ethics and styles across generations. Phone versus email preference, how many hours they put in per week, the number of times each changes career paths entirely, etc.
What’s also interesting about Gen Yers, or Millenials, is that volunteering is something they consider important as part of their careers. Check out the blog we posted about this if you get the chance!
http://thegreenschoolhouseseries.wordpress.com/2011/06/08/volunteering-makes-good-business-sense/
July 25th, 2011 on 3:30 pm
I wonder if this is because people slightly older than you were born into an extended economic decline (late 70s/early 80s) and experienced another (early 90s) just as we were learning about money? Your generation’s approach is more likely to produce remarkable innovations–and people in their 30s who live with their parents. Mine produces more brilliant people who settle for safety. Not sure which is better overall.
July 25th, 2011 on 3:32 pm
Very true Richard. It’s interesting how different generations can be.