Anonymous wrote:Did these kids have internships? I graduated the class the spring after 9/11 and everyone I knew got jobs because they already had internship experience. If you just messed around every summer, no you are not going to get a job easily after graduation.

why can't you just say you graduated in 2002? That was close to 20 years ago. Times change and internships don't mean as much these days.

Very few places are willing to rent to groups of young professionals anymore.

So you're out of luck if your parents can't pay you rent and you're only making $30,000 , have to pay $1000 in rent/utilities as well as $500 a month in student loans. It makes more financial sense to stay with mom or dad for a few years.

Anonymous wrote:What happened to graduating from college and living with two to three roommates for a few years until you can afford your own place or get married?

That is what my sister and her peers did in the 80s and what everyone I knew did in the 90s. My other sister graduated in the late 90s and her peer group did the same.

We were living paycheck to paycheck for the first few years. Very few people if any had parent help beyond setting up the first apartment, and most had none. No one would have fathomed continuing to live at home off your parents dime.

Is it that many recent grads have an unrealistic idea of how most people start their adult lives?

Like others, I moved in with my parents and worked after college. As did my siblings. My parents liked having us around I think. I’m 39 and the youngest and we’ve all been “launched” for at least 15 years. My parents live near Boston where I got my first job. It was $28k / year. I looked to get a room in an apartment in Cambridge or Boston but, at the time, they were all around $1,000 / month. This is a group house with 4-6 roommates. I spent two years living with them, then moved to DC in a group house in Glover Park for a year and then used the $24k I would have spent on rent on a down payment for my first condo.

Anonymous wrote:I wonder if it's that we (I'm 28) were all pressured to go to college and now expect to pursue more "professional" careers, whereas many in our parents' generation were able to make decent livings in more blue collar roles. The stereotype is that we're entitled, but we were pushed to be overachievers. I personally don't identify with the perceived struggles of the millennial generation, though I find myself feeling defensive when people criticize them. I graduated college with a $35k job offer, moved back home for 2 years to save money while I worked and simultaneously got my Masters. Now I have established a successful career with a 6 figure salary, I own a home, and am completely independent. I'm grateful that I had the support of my parents when I needed it, but I couldn't imagine doing that and NOT working. I worked, and continue to work, my ass off so maybe that's the difference? I often feel the effects of impostor syndrome when I hear about people my age consistently struggling to get or keep a job. On that note - my company is hiring!

Same here - however that doesn't mean I can't be sympathetic to the issues that are plaguing those of my generation who aren't as lucky. I think the advent of a globalized and technologically-savvy series of generations has really highlighted the socioeconomic differences even within generations in a much greater way than they did for previous generations. My peers, at least those I talk to, realize that they're being shafted but what can they do about it?

I wonder if it's that we (I'm 28) were all pressured to go to college and now expect to pursue more "professional" careers, whereas many in our parents' generation were able to make decent livings in more blue collar roles. The stereotype is that we're entitled, but we were pushed to be overachievers. I personally don't identify with the perceived struggles of the millennial generation, though I find myself feeling defensive when people criticize them. I graduated college with a $35k job offer, moved back home for 2 years to save money while I worked and simultaneously got my Masters. Now I have established a successful career with a 6 figure salary, I own a home, and am completely independent. I'm grateful that I had the support of my parents when I needed it, but I couldn't imagine doing that and NOT working. I worked, and continue to work, my ass off so maybe that's the difference? I often feel the effects of impostor syndrome when I hear about people my age consistently struggling to get or keep a job. On that note - my company is hiring!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In my experience the real issue is that they're not willing to take jobs "beneath" them. They come out of college expecting to earn at least $50K without any prior work experience and then want to be rewarded/promoted for doing the basics of their job. Their outrageous expectations and entitlement have led them to believe that no job at all is better than a lower paying job.

This. My brother who’s in his late 20swas like this. So frustrating

They also feel entitled to their own office, work-from-home, etc. I had someone who was just out of college and three months into the job explain how he had paid his dues and earned trust and expected to be able to travel and work remotely for our company in a few months.

LOL. what world is he in?..

The world were all the parents who work in the same office call out 2-3 times a week to 'work from home' because their brats are sick or they didn't feel like coming in. Please, we're not here to be your damned servants. If you can WFH or remotely for a reason which has zero to do with your job, we can ask for privileges to induce a more productive work environment.

What happened to graduating from college and living with two to three roommates for a few years until you can afford your own place or get married?

That is what my sister and her peers did in the 80s and what everyone I knew did in the 90s. My other sister graduated in the late 90s and her peer group did the same.

We were living paycheck to paycheck for the first few years. Very few people if any had parent help beyond setting up the first apartment, and most had none. No one would have fathomed continuing to live at home off your parents dime.

Is it that many recent grads have an unrealistic idea of how most people start their adult lives?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All depends on a college degree. If you have any kind of tech, science or anything dealing with numbers degree you are in good shape. Sociology or Art History, well not so much.

Not so. National merit semifinalist has an MA in physics from a top university and lives in an area where there are lots of physicists. Went back to local low level college to get a teaching certificate at age 29. He finally landed a teaching job this year.

You have needed a PhD in physics for decades to get a decent job. My DH majored in physics in the 90s, and realized that a PhD was the standard, so he had to look at other options. His university even had a "what else you can do with your physics degree" seminar.

Do universities have career centers anymore?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All depends on a college degree. If you have any kind of tech, science or anything dealing with numbers degree you are in good shape. Sociology or Art History, well not so much.

Not so. National merit semifinalist has an MA in physics from a top university and lives in an area where there are lots of physicists. Went back to local low level college to get a teaching certificate at age 29. He finally landed a teaching job this year.

MA in physics is close to useless.

Did these kids have internships? I graduated the class the spring after 9/11 and everyone I knew got jobs because they already had internship experience. If you just messed around every summer, no you are not going to get a job easily after graduation.

Anonymous wrote:The unemployment rate is the lowest it has been in 40 years, according to the WP.

I think that people don't want to live in shitty places and work entry-level jobs if they can kick back with the 'rents.

This. Especially when you come from a middle or upper income family. They don't want to deal with the lifestyle change and aren't being forced to.

Anonymous wrote:All depends on a college degree. If you have any kind of tech, science or anything dealing with numbers degree you are in good shape. Sociology or Art History, well not so much.

This.

If he has an MA for physics, he probably didn’t pass his qualifiers and was let out of the program. Physics ideally needs a PHD

My recent graduate is looking for jobs, but has not been successful so far. Twice, he has been asked for a second interview but didn't get the job. He is discouraged, but he keeps trying.

Anonymous wrote:All depends on a college degree. If you have any kind of tech, science or anything dealing with numbers degree you are in good shape. Sociology or Art History, well not so much.

Not so. National merit semifinalist has an MA in physics from a top university and lives in an area where there are lots of physicists. Went back to local low level college to get a teaching certificate at age 29. He finally landed a teaching job this year.