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My experience being part of the millennial workforce
- Thread starter Yinyangfooey
- Start date
So explain to me how the system is rigged. People are acting like people haven't been working for people that are richer than them since the beginning of civilization.
Even if OP wasn't using their experience as evidence, plenty of other people are. Fuck me for refusing to give up and complain about how the system is rigged. Bootstrap mentality isn't entirely toxic, it's helped a lot of people get out of poverty. Just because people don't like it doesn't make it untrue.
Edit: that guy's story above is a good one. And it predicated on the guy being grown up enough to acknowledge his failings. Self-accountability is a great, but rare, trait to have.
working sucks dick, when I was doing jack shit except going to the gym, playing video games and watching tv I was better off.
Money is nice but at what cost???? my soul?
once I sort through the bullshit and get my investments down, I'm gonna pursue film and open a bar or something.
Money is nice but at what cost???? my soul?
once I sort through the bullshit and get my investments down, I'm gonna pursue film and open a bar or something.
That's basically how I've been interpreting it too. I actually am in a position to maybe help, but I would not in a million years put my name on the line for someone so resistant to personal accountability. It's obvious the lazy and defeatist ideology would carry over into the workplace too: "Oh I was late for work every day because American car culture was propped up by big oil which sought to suppress public transportation which disproportionately affects the lower class. It's the system not me I swear!" So woke in the worst possible way and always full of excuses. These people never get ahead and are their own worst enemy. Wish I could put it in a nicer way.
Not once have I labelled anyone a snowflake so take your insinuating behaviour elsewhere bud. Also I am not saying that just because you got a "participation medal" that you'll end up a failure where do I say that? All I'm saying is folks have been conditioned a lot more from birth that everything is great and then when they enter the workforce they are thrown in with Gen X and Babyboomers alike who don't share their own mindsets which can lead them down a path of frustration.
Lastly, before labelling someone an arsehole I suggest you take a look in the mirror, I haven't called out anyone but yet here you go getting all aggressive and insinuating. Lovely.
Heh, running your own business; sure sounds like something you'd excell at.
So if there's plenty to do, then maybe stop complaining that the system is rigged? What does that accomplish exactly? That poster looks to be deflecting any blame, despite there's plenty they can do, and wanting to blame the system for the situation they're in. It accomplishes nothing to sit here and blame the system being rigged.
What is going to help your situation more? Sitting here and complaining it's not your fault and that the system is rigged and that's why you're fucked or looking at how you've handled things over all this time to figure out what you're doing wrong to not get a call back? The dude is educated, I'll assume bright since he keeps bragging about being in the top 10% of his class, has other skills such as being fluent in Mandarin and so forth. That person should have a leg up on other people in many ways but isn't getting a call back. That means whatever strategy they're doing isn't working and they need to look at what choices they're making and their approach and to change it. Getting hired is about marketing and selling yourself to an employer. If you continue to fail to do that, you need to change your approach and the best way to do that is to look at what you're doing and figure out what isn't working for you.
Let's even entertain that it is the reason though; knowing that the system is rigged should give you a leg up against other people because plenty of people won't even know it is and knowing it is rigged should give you an advantage over them since you understand the rules better. You should be taking advantage of that.
Plus if the system is rigged to the point of being unable to get a job for such a long period of time, does that mean everyone else in that posters class also did not get a job and had to leave the country for work? No, it means they did something differently and were able to make the situation work for them.
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No one who receives a participation trophy thinks they won something. It's just a nice memento to remember something fun you did as a kid before adults who whine about participation trophies grind your spirit down to dust.
The "people think they're special" bullshit is where the snowflake thing comes from in the first place.
Also I never called you an asshole, I said the shitty rhetoric you're spouting makes you sound like an asshole, which I still stand by.
You do realize starting your own business is like 10 times more work than a regular job right?
Lol if you need me to explain concepts like privilege and oppression to you we have nothing to discuss.
Its worth it and you wont be doing regular job stuff forever that way
And once you get used to making money it's hard to stop.
Pursuing film or opening a bar is more work than you are making it seem.
I don't think you know what you're asking for here. Coming from a family of business owners I can assure you it is the MOST time consuming and soul draining thing you could do. You will either fail, or become utterly enraptured in the going-ons of your business to the point where you will barely think of anything else.
This idea that everyone is capable of pulling themselves up by their bootstraps largely ignores the levels of privilege that majority groups are afforded to be able to have those opportunities in the first place. As an example, predominately white schools can and do receive more funding than schools that are predominately black, which can lead to students in the former to succeed more often as they are receiving more hands-on time, more materials, more teachers, and more everything. Which can then in turn lead to those people who received the benefit of going to that former school to be more likely to go to college and to make more money, or to find a well paying job.
Outside of education, there are also serious issues with discrimination throughout the entire US, and it can vary from malicious comments to being denied a job, or being denied a promotion because someone higher up has an issue with who you are.
This has a focus on trans people as that's just what I know best, but this infographic illustrates the biases that exist in our society.
When you sit here and start talking about how everyone should pull themselves up by their boostraps or how if they just focus on self-accountability they'll be okay, it comes off as ignorant and speaking from a place of privilege because it seems to be coming from a place that everyone is on an equal playing field, when we aren't.
Working at the factory I work at only requires a high school education. Unsure how manual labor is restricted by education level. I started working at this factory being 6'1" and 135 lbs, manual labor "wasn't for me" but I hadn't given myself any options.This idea that everyone is capable of pulling themselves up by their bootstraps largely ignores the levels of privilege that majority groups are afforded to be able to have those opportunities in the first place. As an example, predominately white schools can and do receive more funding than schools that are predominately black, which can lead to students in the former to succeed more often as they are receiving more hands-on time, more materials, more teachers, and more everything. Which can then in turn lead to those people who received the benefit of going to that former school to be more likely to go to college and to make more money, or to find a well paying job.
Outside of education, there are also serious issues with discrimination throughout the entire US, and it can vary from malicious comments to being denied a job, or being denied a promotion because someone higher up has an issue with who you are.
This has a focus on trans people as that's just what I know best, but this infographic illustrates the biases that exist in our society.
When you sit here and start talking about how everyone should pull themselves up by their boostraps or how if they just focus on self-accountability they'll be okay, it comes off as ignorant and speaking from a place of privilege because it seems to be coming from a place that everyone is on an equal playing field, when we aren't.
But what do I know, I was raised in a broken home, moving between trailer parks because my mom couldn't afford our rent and we'd get evicted, meanwhile my dad wouldn't pay child support. Also grew up in a tiny town in Iowa where our textbooks were 20-30 years old and our teaching staff couldn't give a fuck less, so my education was less than stellar. Halo effect is also a motherfucker when you're poor, dirty, got free lunches from the Gov't, and most of the town spoke about you like you were the reason for your parent's divorce. But yeah, I'm privileged. Fuck outta here.
What's this about? Curious if it's someone famous or an obvious meme I'm missing or I'm being mad thick.
I'm really sorry to hear that you went through all of that Frunkle. I know that it's not easy growing up in that kind of environment, and I'm glad that you feel that you've managed to pull yourself out of there.
However, if you are white, hetereosexual, and/or cisgender, then yes you are privileged in ways that you're not accounting for. That doesn't mean that your life is easy or that you've never faced any struggles, but that you aren't being denied jobs based on the color of your skin, for your orientation, or for your gender identity like so many others throughout the world have been.
As an example of that, I'm a trans woman. I'm part of those statistics posted above, and I know that my life will never be easy because of this. At the same time, I acknowledge that I'm white and that I am privileged to not be discriminated against on multiple angles like trans people of color are. This doesn't invalidate anything that I've gone or will go through, and it doesn't do that to you either. But, we can't sit here and pretend that everyone is treated equally throughout our society or that we're all afforded the same opportunities, because we truly aren't.
As a non Millennial (older) all I can say is as humans, we were not engineered to sit in a cubicle all our lives waiting to die.
Because I'm old and sad I have no clue what that is either, but now I have enough for a Google and 30 seconds later I'm up to speed. Every day is a school day! Teach a man to fish! Dress for the job you want not the job you have!
Etc.
I think this post gets at what the original tweet was talking about.
We should be getting back to a time of stronger unions and better work-life balance.... but going to work 5 days a week until you can't anymore isn't exactly a millenial thing.
I do think it is somewhat of a mistake to tell kids to follow their dreams and make sure to do something they love for a living.
I think it just sets everyone up for disappointment. That is for sure a great goal, but I've found a lot more peace in life by just accepting that I go to work to pay for things that I enjoy. What I do for work doesn't matter, it's what I do in my spare time that does.
Besides, the millienial generation is largely in the grunt work phase of work. All the interesting and bigger picture stuff can definitely come later.
I do think it is somewhat of a mistake to tell kids to follow their dreams and make sure to do something they love for a living.
I think it just sets everyone up for disappointment. That is for sure a great goal, but I've found a lot more peace in life by just accepting that I go to work to pay for things that I enjoy. What I do for work doesn't matter, it's what I do in my spare time that does.
Besides, the millienial generation is largely in the grunt work phase of work. All the interesting and bigger picture stuff can definitely come later.
The tweet in the OP mentioned being bored/uninspired with an at least somewhat comfortable job, but not being poor and struggling to survive.
If they had complained about not being able to find a job, pay for food, or living on friends couches for months would have been a different story and a different discussion. People are projecting their situations and it's why some people are talking past each other.
If they had complained about not being able to find a job, pay for food, or living on friends couches for months would have been a different story and a different discussion. People are projecting their situations and it's why some people are talking past each other.
Oh I totally understand that. The poster I was responding to was saying how much work "sucks dick" then proceeded to say they wanted to start his own business.
People somehow get this thought in their head that working for yourself and starting a business is easy and you just magically have success and financial freedom when it couldn't be further from the truth save a few extraordinary occasions.
Especially owning a bar. I've known a few pub landlords in my time and they never have time for anything else; up early for deliveries, restocking before opening and then being open at least 12 hours every day.
I mean I get it
I don't hate my job or anything, but it really just feels like a cycle, I make just enough to pay my bills but not enough to raise my standard of living in any meaningful way. I don't see that changing (no path upward at my job, pretty much everyone in my country gets paid shit)
Feels like I'm stuck walking in a circle. Its not a very uncomfortable walk, but I mean...it is the same one...all day everyday.
I'll be honest, I'd rather be dead, but sadly not really an option. It's not terrible, but it does feel...well pointless. Not an actively terrible negative feeling, but more like slowly drowning in apathy.
I don't hate my job or anything, but it really just feels like a cycle, I make just enough to pay my bills but not enough to raise my standard of living in any meaningful way. I don't see that changing (no path upward at my job, pretty much everyone in my country gets paid shit)
Feels like I'm stuck walking in a circle. Its not a very uncomfortable walk, but I mean...it is the same one...all day everyday.
I'll be honest, I'd rather be dead, but sadly not really an option. It's not terrible, but it does feel...well pointless. Not an actively terrible negative feeling, but more like slowly drowning in apathy.
Word?
I'd rather be consumed with the on goings of business than an office job.
OK, but working a dead end job is what I'm currently doing. I need to do something that makes me feel something other than dread.
god sipping iced coffee and podcasts till I die sounds amazing, no joke.
Real talk OP, I find that work as a millennial falls into two categories:
I'm lucky enough to feel a part of both groups (really love my job) but I especially love my time outside of work - I try to work through games on a regular schedule to write and talk about them, I do creative writing on my spare time and plan to publish a book in the next 2-3 years if possible, and I'm also scheming with my friends to make a clothing company together, collaborating on graphic design and screenprinting ideas. Many people I know make indie games in their free time or have a band. Or, dedicate their lives to their family, finding fulfillment and enjoyment out of the pure act of raising children.
I'd suggest making a list of bucket list crazy things you'd like to do - write a book, make a game, visit europe, form a band, make a screnplay, learn a foreign language, whatever. Pretend like there are no limitations. Then, pick one thing, and scale it down. Do an indie game, or write a short story, or write a 5 minute short screenplay, or make a music demo with your friends and your band. And check it off your list, moving upwards in scope and also attaining that feeling of accomplishment. That has helped me find a little more joy week to week, having a notepad of things I've done and am proud of. We really don't place a lot of value on accomplishment and goals in our generation, so starting small is the key! Best of luck.
Real talk OP, I find that work as a millennial falls into two categories:
- You truly like your job or industry, and dedicate your life to that craft. That means putting in more work now while you're still in your 20's and 30's to get payoffs by the time you're 40, holding influential positions in your company or industry.
- You are lukewarm on your job or industry, or don't like it, but treat it as a means to an ends to support your creative or personal endeavors. Find a job that isn't too bad, supports you well enough for your 9-5 that you can pursue your passions during the other hours.
I'm lucky enough to feel a part of both groups (really love my job) but I especially love my time outside of work - I try to work through games on a regular schedule to write and talk about them, I do creative writing on my spare time and plan to publish a book in the next 2-3 years if possible, and I'm also scheming with my friends to make a clothing company together, collaborating on graphic design and screenprinting ideas. Many people I know make indie games in their free time or have a band. Or, dedicate their lives to their family, finding fulfillment and enjoyment out of the pure act of raising children.
I'd suggest making a list of bucket list crazy things you'd like to do - write a book, make a game, visit europe, form a band, make a screnplay, learn a foreign language, whatever. Pretend like there are no limitations. Then, pick one thing, and scale it down. Do an indie game, or write a short story, or write a 5 minute short screenplay, or make a music demo with your friends and your band. And check it off your list, moving upwards in scope and also attaining that feeling of accomplishment. That has helped me find a little more joy week to week, having a notepad of things I've done and am proud of. We really don't place a lot of value on accomplishment and goals in our generation, so starting small is the key! Best of luck.
Could be better but it beats working in a farm or 12 hour factory job like 100+ years ago. I've come to terms with the fact that I'll work a solid 9-5 job for the rest of my life. That said, I support people who go independent and solo (ironically a large amount of podcasts I listen to!), as well as progressive politics that ail this issue.
I wish I could listen to podcasts while at work. Then it would be more tolerable.
That said, the way I manage to get by is by not conflating my career goals with my life goals, and working on the latter while on my time away from work.
That said, the way I manage to get by is by not conflating my career goals with my life goals, and working on the latter while on my time away from work.
I think this is probably the underlying issue. Most people spend more time at work than necessary while being unproductive due to historical preconceptions about proper work ethic. Just because I'm at work doesn't mean I'm working.
Most people are only productive around 60-70% of the time they are at work regardless of the amount of hours they work.
There seems to be two issues in this thread: (1) work is boring and not worthwhile or fulfilling and (2) it's tough to stay afloat even when in work.
(1) is kind of tough shit - most people don't like work, and even those that do wouldn't do it unless they were getting paid for it. (2) is different though; millennials are swimming in debt, have ridiculous housing costs and likely shitty pensions unless they've got a government job. Gen Z are probably even more fucked - so I can see that the general perception of hopelessness is going to get way worse before it gets better over the coming few decades.
You're not cut out for either of those things if you think they aren't work.
It's like you don't understand that we get what you're saying but you're not understanding that it's not as constructive as you think it is. How about offering tips on how to build a resume, what places to apply for, how to network yourself, places to best take his education into the work force, etc. People know to change their approach but how is the best way to do it?
But do you get it? Because the poster in question is literally saying take my resume or fuck off and then stating they didn't do anything wrong and it's the systems' fault because it's rigged. On top of that, that poster is going around claiming they have a Masters in something that they don't. Nothing that poster is saying that they get it. Their approach is abrasive, comes off as not actually getting it and isn't asking for specifics or giving enough info to provide further details. The first steps is like I said before; take a look and analyze your current approach, find what the possible weaknesses are and then ask for help in those areas and ask if the help they're looking for makes sense. You can't help someone if, they won't look at what isn't working for them.
The thing is giving out more specific advice would require more specific information from them. There's plenty of resources around to help that poster if they look for them - but we can't say (for instance) what to do with their resume without seeing exactly what's on it currently - and that's something that should definitely not be posted here.
You're not getting it. See how easy it is to throw that out and be meaningless? See the above poster too. The person in question did not ask for specific help. Throwing random info out without knowing details won't help either. You're also ignoring how that poster literally said take my resume or fuck off too. Great approach there. All that person did was blame the system and yelled at people.
Are you kidding? Podcasts are a fucking miracle. They're endless entertainment and learning opportunities and they're an audio format and can be multitasked with almost anything. And they're FREE.
If there's one thing I'm thankful for as a millennial in the workforce it's the podcast. I love them with all of my heart.
If there's one thing I'm thankful for as a millennial in the workforce it's the podcast. I love them with all of my heart.
Thats valid but opportunity is a product of a wide variety of factors and choices in and of itself. The variables are nearly endless and there will always be anecdotes that suggest success is achievable for the worst hypothetical or not achievable for a better than average one.
At the end of the day its important to separate one's own situation from the overall trend as much as possible. Understanding and acknowledging the trend is important but someone living their life with that constantly at the forefront will wind up with a deterministic result. And probably an at least mild case of depression because yeah, there is a lot of hate in the world still.
Also, for discussions like this no one can speak to the individual challenges anyone personally has faced. This isn't a close knit group of friends with some perspective, its the void of the internet where 99.9% of everything posted is universally ignored or misunderstood.
To give some slightly higher level than anecdotal observations of my own - I suspect the average millennial with enough internet presence to see the tweet in the OP will struggle with finding career fulfillment because of two primary factors:
1. failure to honestly assess their opportunities.
2. failure to have perspective on what success is.
The first is a problem with how we've built the narrative as a society. For example we had a thread on here a little while back for someone who couldn't find a job living in a first world economy near/in a major metro area. I'd recommended looking into the trades/labor. Their response was that they'd never thought about it because they didn't think they'd like their coworkers. At the end of the day liking your coworkers should be pretty low priority in the grand scheme of things. (not a jab at that person, but something people need to consider).
There are a lot of really rewarding jobs in the trades. Construction actually ends in a real building existing. Running yellow iron is a pretty cool job overall if you get good at it. Plumbing/electrical/etc. actually requires some real forethought. And a good mechanic is like a magician to most people. A large part of the millennial workforce was steered away from that for various reasons, but those are highly engaged professions with really good pay scales starved for good labor.
Additionally, what better chance is there to be the change you want to see in the world? I'm college educated. I did a lot of labor to pay for it. When I meet with the non-college educated workforce in my current position its worth a lot that I'm not just another upper middle class kid who worked part time at Dad's/Dad's friends' firm to get pocket change during the summers while going to college on my parent's dime. Within my area of coverage a position that used to be viewed as a bullshit position that only existed due to over-reaching gov't. regulation as a net positive for everyone. A resource to help them be better at their jobs while, yes, actually meeting and exceeding those gov't. regulations. All thanks to not making the relationship about whether or not we'd be friends if we met at the bar.
The second: Not everyone gets to have a book published, direct a research institute, design a video game for AAA production, etc.. If your passion lies within a creative field its important to understand that many, many other people have similar passions and desires. The mass media products we see are an incredibly small sliver of the total creative output and desired output from the collective whole. The floor to be handed an opportunity here is incredibly high and starts somewhere around "my parents are rich and gave me the starter capital". If that isn't what you have its going to be an incredible grind for anyone.
Which brings me to the cure: love your side hustle. If you have a show up and fake it 40 hr./week grind where you drink iced coffee, listen to podcasts, and put the data thing in the spreadsheet thing or whatever then great, you're getting a lot of secondary recreational time in at work. You should have plenty of creative energy waiting to be utilized on your side hustle, whatever that might be.
Maybe your side hustle never pays off, but if you do what you're passionate about the payoff is in doing it first and foremost. It gives a playground to exercise your desires for creative output. More than that is like hitting the lottery.
To give an example - I'm a mid-level manager for a fortune 500 company overseeing environmental and engineering compliance/projects. It is, to me, very fulfilling work. I work probably 55-60 hours a week on average and will take phone calls/answer emails and texts from when I get up at ~5 AM until I go to bed sometime between 10-12PM. I'm still carving out time to study for my geologist's license and planning the road map for two other certs., while also chipping away at python courses on udemy and learning some free GIS software as I see an opportunity for my industry to be far more engaged with data analytics and data science.
That's my side hustle. Because I'm a big science geek and I see a path to make the world a safer, better place. I'd rather try writing (schlocky) fiction or make dorky video games but I have a clear enough path on my current hustle to where it might not be as fun but its clearly more realistic and likely to be more rewarding.
The biggest hurdle to get over in today's economy is to stop thinking about how you aren't being given work/life balance and recognize that work is part of life, if you want to enjoy it you can't push it away and then expect to find anything resembling balance.
Don't get taken advantage of at a job, if you're putting in a lot of extra time, especially as a salaried exempt employee, it should be with a realistic end goal that you can make happen.
Don't forget to have mental health/self care days, but plan them in advance and when you do them make them truly worth it. If you ever get to the point where you just need to punch out of the day you've waited too long and need to be honest about that going forward.
Do show up with a positive attitude to your place of work or any collaborative side hustle things you do. Even a forced optimism is infectious enough to shave the edges off a less enjoyable work place. It is also an invaluable tool in interfacing with people who you might otherwise not mix well with culturally/politically. Put good out and people are more likely to respond in kind while those who do the opposite are more often seen as the problem. A good way to be an office/workplace pariah is to be the cultural/political outlier while bringing a negative attitude to work each day.
In short - life feels like you're going through the motions when you are, in fact, just letting yourself go through the motions. If punching the clock and then tuning out to a movie/show/video game doesn't do it for you then choose to engage with something, anything, that sparks your interest.
I feel you. Cept where I work its feast or famine on workload and I'm either bored with nothing to work on or exhausted and filthy working overtime in industrial heat and grime.
Id switch careers if I had the option but college debt means I can't take any paycuts for life. Trying to move into a slightly better shithole is all I'm about now. Hopefully I can fill my nonwork time with the things I love and meet similar folks to share it with along the way. As is...I just feel isolated, bored and tired. I'm learning 2 musical instruments, and been working on a game for years and hobbies only go so far.
I was thinking the same thing lol I install sewer/water mains up to 20 feet underground and work around heavy machinery, if my coworkers and I were sipping iced coffee and listening to podcasts than somebody could get seriously hurt or killed.
Most of the people that say shit like that had never had to do any hard labour.
I'm thankful daily that I get to basically sit in front of a computer every day.
Spent 5 years slaving in a hot ass kitchen, sweeping and mopping dirty as fuck floors, emptying trash cans with the most god awful smell - that shit was the worst. Not quite digging ditches, but I'd never go back!