The dream is dead for millenials. What is there to work towards anymore?

Just wondering if anyone also has these thoughts on their mind and how they cope.

It seems as though all goalposts of modern life are out of reach for the millennial generation, especially here in Canada. The dream is dying fast. Everyone's shackled in student debt, rents are sky-high, and most people with jobs are drastically underemployed. We end up moving back-and-forth from our parents house living paycheck to paycheck just to break even...is this all that's left to look forward to?

Personally, I just don't know what I'm living for and working towards anymore since everything from children, home ownership, stable income, decent standard of living, etc is just so far out've the question. It looks like this depressing life is all I have to look forward to and there's no way out.

Yours truly,

Stressed and depressed millennial.

What did you get your degree in?

Middle class millennials are being screwed in many ways, but by and large by parenting rather than the economy itself. I do sympathize for folks raised by boomer parents who showed them out the door and pushed them into a university because they weren't quite aware that the communications degree they got for a 1/3 of the cost (accounting for inflation) doesn't go quite as far for their kid. But there are ways to adapt. It might require you go to graduate school to expand on more marketable education and skills, or you may need to look into vocational school for a trade that's in demand.

Speaking generally and not so much case-by-case, there are areas we no doubt have it worse. But there are areas that the people before us had it worse, likewise speaking generally. You can be sure there are many people before you who gave up and many people after you who will do the same. You can lament reality or you can adapt to it.

Again, not saying some people objectively just have a ****ty hand dealt to them, but you have to do what you can with it. Best of luck.

Just wondering if anyone also has these thoughts on their mind and how they cope.

 

It seems as though all goalposts of modern life are out of reach for the millennial generation, especially here in Canada. The dream is dying fast. Everyone's shackled in student debt, rents are sky-high, and most people with jobs are drastically underemployed. We end up moving back-and-forth from our parents house living paycheck to paycheck just to break even...is this all that's left to look forward to?

 

Personally, I just don't know what I'm living for and working towards anymore since everything from children, home ownership, stable income, decent standard of living, etc is just so far out've the question. It looks like this depressing life is all I have to look forward to and there's no way out.

 

I know very successful millenials who have opened their own companies, are junior VPs at companies, etc. Its not everyone in the generation.

I think the problem is the expectation. My parents didn't own a home until they had three children and were married 11-12 years. They rented apartments and small houses until they achieved that level. My grandparents first lived downstairs in the two-unit building my grandpa's parents owned and rented them for awhile. Instead of complaining about what you don't have - use this time to get the skills and experiences you want. I think my generation was where i saw people buy their first home when they got engaged.

 

You are not going to have things handed to you - you have to go out there and work for them. I think we forget that most of our grandparents and even are parents started out with nothing and worked to where they got today.

 

If you are not employable, figure out what kind of jobs are hiring and maybe go get some training -- There have been signs near me for machinist apprentice positions for $60k to start that never get filled and other trades where a philsophy major need not apply - but by and large, the biggest obstacle i have seen to jobs right now are lack of soft skills (showing up on time, making eye contact, researching the company before you interview, tucking your shirt in, looking like you want to be there and for certain jobs deciding that maybe green is not the best hair shade for you) than i do for reasons of the unfairness of life. There are companies that also can't find enough workers because people can't pass the drug test. There are lots of people not working in their field but got the job for other intangible reasons. I was offered several different jobs that were way better opportunities when i was a restaurant hostess. I ended up in a good customer service job that was entry level but better wages and then was noticed there and went into a good commission sales job.

 

So figure out how you can make your opportunity and don't be afraid to move out of the area.

I don't know what else to say to you other than I totally understand. I'm from the US. I went to college straight out of high school, got my degree and have been working as a nurse. I hate my career. It doesn't pay enough to cover the bills, let alone live comfortably. I hate the work, but leaving my field would be starting all over, so I'm stuck. Advancing my degree is quite risky seeing as, like I said, I HATE the field. I refuse to put in 50+hours a week, I have a young daughter, and regardless of money, my time with her is more important. If I had known this was the reality of the job market, I wouldn't have gone to college. I would have learned a trade and started my own business. The only way to get ahead is to work for yourself. Figure out a way to do that and you will win this game of life.

Hi OP.

I’m posting this link, not in a judgemental way, but rather in the hope it might help. Personally, I believe it to be true. Hope it helps.

I don't know what else to say to you other than I totally understand. I'm from the US. I went to college straight out of high school, got my degree and have been working as a nurse. I hate my career. It doesn't pay enough to cover the bills, let alone live comfortably. I hate the work, but leaving my field would be starting all over, so I'm stuck. Advancing my degree is quite risky seeing as, like I said, I HATE the field. I refuse to put in 50+hours a week, I have a young daughter, and regardless of money, my time with her is more important. If I had known this was the reality of the job market, I wouldn't have gone to college. I would have learned a trade and started my own business. The only way to get ahead is to work for yourself. Figure out a way to do that and you will win this game of life.

Why do you hate your career? I owned my own business for 13 years and it's not it's all cracked up to be. I had some great years but also some lean ones. Very stressful.

thanks for the replies so far, including Fry's self-pity video. It's definitely something to keep in mind. Currently I work part-time in health care, part-time as a live event A/V technician, and do freelance audio engineering and music production work on the side...definitely keeping busy but I feel like I'm a hamster on a wheel that's stuck in place. I'm also quite unhappy with my healthcare work (it sounds like many people in this line of work are...) and would love to do go back to school, but I hear horror stories of engineering and science graduates working as restaurant servers I can't help but feel very desperate. Not just for myself - for my whole generation. Tuition is way to expensive to make any kind of gamble and it really just causes me to overthink and freeze with anxiety.

Again, thanks for the replies so far.

I know what you mean. Here in NJ, education and housing costs have skyrocketed over the last 30 years. You don't get a lot for your money anymore. But there are some places (not NJ!) where you get more bang for your buck. Have you considered moving?

Oh I totally feel ya. I’ve been there. felt the same way and was in a crummy situation a few years ago. Jobless because of the recession, living at my parents home, student loan debts, credit card debts, suffering from a difficult breakup, feeling super alone, and ultimately not sure what to do with my life. Life sucked and I was stuck.

I wasn’t sure what I should do, but I knew I never wanted to go back to school to get a masters or any other credentials because that would only mean MORE DEBT. For the first time in my young life, I experienced how hard it is to get out of debt, and how much debt holds you back in life. Living paycheck to paycheck sucks as you obviously know! First real adult life lesson learned,ding!

To make some kind of income during the recession, I went back to jobs I did when I was a teenager, doing customer service retail work temporarily for a few months. It was embarrassing and I felt like such a loser. I knew I needed to hack my way into a better job situation somehow. I eventually landed an office job and that bumped up my pay. Unfortunately, even with the pay bump, I was still at poverty level. From there, I kept job-hopping to build up my resume with more experience. The only way to get a raise fast, is to job-hop, at least that’s been my experience.

Fast forward to now, I have a great paying job, my own place, a small nest egg of savings built up, my student loan debts will be completely paid off by next month(finally!), and a loving boyfriend who makes me so happy. Not trying to rub “how great my life is” in your face, just trying to show that life can change for the better, even for a doomed “millenial” like myself.

I never would have imagined that things would turn out this well. Especially when I was struggling so much only a few years ago. I definitely felt hopeless at that time. It’s amazing how much better life becomes when you’re paid well for once!

Please note, the great things I now have didn’t drop out of nowhere into my lap. I got to where I am now because I was very INTENTIONAL, and very HUNGRY to get out of the crappy situation I was in. I knew that if I did nothing, I would be stuck where I was. I could’ve easily drowned in depression and self-pity, which I did allow myself to feel from time to time, but I didn’t let it hold me back. I wanted a better life for myself and so I went out there guns blazing to get it.

I worked freaking hard to build up my resume and got each job, by doing self-study and learning essential technical job-skills that are in demand(without going back to school mind you!). In a few situations, I’ve had to grit my teeth and swallow my ego, to work at mind numbing boring ass jobs under crummy bosses who mismanaged everything and were just plain difficult people to work for. I kept my focus on the long-term though, and knew that the hard times at these jobs would just be another bullet point on my resume to build career experience for a better job eventually in the future.

Each job I took, helped me figure out what I wanted to do or not want to do in a career too. Even now my situation continues to evolve. I like the work I do now, and I’ve got a great salary, but I’m again restless. What I’ve learned from all the hard work and job hopping, is that, there is always more opportunity and something I’ll like doing better and that will pay even better too! So, I’m on the move again! I’m working hard again to develop the necessary job skills to change into a new career path that’s a lot more intellectually challenging, creatively expressive, and yes, way more lucrative.

When you don’t have to worry about debt, bills or living paycheck to paycheck, you’re basically free! If you can figure out how to increase your income, do it now! Whether that’s changing jobs, or learning a new skill. The bigger the increase in your income, the faster you can pay off your debts. When you have no debts, that’s when you can really start to build up your wealth by putting all the money you would’ve put into your debt, into your savings!

Once you get a good income, make sure you actually keep your money. I used to have a bad habit of spending more money than I made which kept me broke for a long time. To stop the broke life, I stopped buying unnecessary things like cute clothes. Cute clothes were my weak spot, but I stopped it. I stopped spending money on going out to eat as well. After cutting out all the frivolous spending, boy, it made a huge difference, I had way more money than I thought to put aside for savings and to pay off debts.

Once you get your finances under control, a weird thing happens, you start to feel like you have control over your life! I was a huge spender only a few years ago, and now I’m a huge and very proud penny-pincher! I’ve finally learned the value of hard work, discipline and money. This is something most parents struggle in teaching their children about, but it’s probably one of the most important lessons in life to learn.

I’m a millenial and I hope my story gives you hope and motivation for your future.

Once you get your finances under control, a weird thing happens, you start to feel like you have control over your life! I was a huge spender only a few years ago, and now I’m a huge and very proud penny-pincher! I’ve finally learned the value of hard work, discipline and money.

I love penny-pinching. It's a rewarding challenge. Don't get me wrong, it's nice to splurge once in a while, but the penny pinching makes the splurge guilt-free. An accomplishment instead of a cheat. A nice reward.

I love penny-pinching. It's a rewarding challenge. Don't get me wrong, it's nice to splurge once in a while, but the penny pinching makes the splurge guilt-free. An accomplishment instead of a cheat. A nice reward.

Ahhh, I'll join in the penny-pinching love club, lol. I usually refer to it as "winning against The Man".

Hopping on my high horse for a minute, our society is very focused on spending. This is a recent thing, as in during my lifetime. As a simple example, my son-in-law noticed a hole forming in his jeans. He said he needed new jeans. I said he needed a patch on his jeans. His head whipped up - he'd never considered fixing his jeans for $5 rather than buying a new pair for $40+. We patched jeans when I was a kid, and we often got creative by covering the patch with embroidery or studs or anything else to make it look cool...you know the fancy embroidery jeans people buy these days? Yeah, we used to make those to cover patches. lol

In the past 30 years, there has been a complete switch in thinking about money. I really liked what abitbroken had to say about generations before us, and how they worked towards financial security. Here's the thing - no one is entitled to a good job. We work for them, and we work at them, and we pay our dues. That's an old-fashioned term, but it's reality. A college degree is not enough to secure great wages. A job is not enough to buy a house fairly quickly.

Focus on your goals and go after them, like londonbridge. It means sacrifice. It means changing how you think. It means cutting off tv ads, weekly sales flyers, shopping, and nickel-and-diming yourself out of a paycheck. It means fixing things you have, re-using things other people don't want, and owning what you need. It's better for the environment and resources anyway, so there's a double win.

I have a lot of respect for the millenial movement to have student loan debt assistance become part of job benefits. That's smart. The other thing we need to do is cut school tuition fees and books. We are told the costs sky-rocketed because the federal government cut its support. Lately I've been reading articles that say the real increase in higher education has come from excessive administrative jobs and salaries. I don't know enough yet to say that's true, but it's sure worth looking at and fighting against. Still, even with the debt, we earn more with a degree than without one, so if we have to finance our education, it is as good as an investment as a house because it will pay back.

Every single (unmarried) person I know who owns a house worked 2 jobs to buy it.

Every married couple I know who owns a house has both people employed, and they rented first.

Many single people I know who own a house rent part of it or do Airbnb to help with the mortgage.

Most people I know who take fancy vacations use credit, forcing them to work off that debt during the next year. Wash, rinse, repeat.

Figure out your goals. And go for them. Be creative. It's what humans are designed to do.

Be creative. It's what humans are designed to do.

Indeed!

,,,