Gen Y is Not *Just* Treading Water

Earlier this year, Fructify authors pondered what high unemployment, especially for Gen Y, meant for new college graduates. We observed a high rate of unemployment, 14.1% US workers aged 20 – 24, and speculated that this would strain (but not break) recent graduates looking for their first post college job. In the months since, this number has predictably risen. The August 2009 US Bureau of Labor Statistics report indicates that, since March 2009, unemployment has increased a full percentage point to 15.1% for this age cohort. Several months after the 2009 graduation season, we find ourselves compelled to ask “how Gen Y is getting on?”

Gen Y expert and University of Notre Dame professor Carol Phillips proclaims that, For Millenials, 2009 Was a Year of Waiting:

Meanwhile,  a generation famous for being optimistic, is becoming increasingly discouraged by their ‘life on hold’ status.  The immediate response was to make the best of things, opting for low paying jobs with non-profits, unpaid internships or going overseas to teach English as a second language. Others opted to spend their time as unpaid journalists, blogging away and honing social media skills in the hope of catching the eye of someone willing to pay them for their time. Others gave up in favor of using the time to travel, hike the Appalachian trail or pursue another degree.

Phillips references a recent Business Week slideshow profiling 23 recent college graduates as they search for a career path. Phillips observes the frustrated optimism of those profiled, concluding “they cannot stay behind. The recession will push many to new heights of efficiency and creativity, but unfortunately, it will leave many with emotional and economic damage that will take years to sort through.”

I don’t entirely disagree. Phillips points to a Yale School of Management study indicating that starting a career in the midst of a recession can negatively impact long term earnings to the tune of ~$100,000. If the Yale report is any guidance, far reaching economic inhibitors will severely limit Gen Y’s ability to express wealth in a manner similar to their Boomer parents. Surly decreased earnings potential, in conjunction with constrained employment prospects, will have some negative impact on Gen Y. However I am somewhat hesitant to view these factors as generationally crushing.

Yes, money is one aspect of happiness, but it is certainly not everything. Gen Y may be forced to scale back their expectations for physical items, however, they clearly have yet to scale back personal aspirations. This may prove inspirational to other generations, especially Gen Y’s Boomer parents. Heroic may not be the correct word, but this helps contextualize why Boomers are so quick to brand their offspring as such.

But then again, what do I know, I’m just one of those Gen Y dreamers!

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