Jobs: realistic, not optimistic

Recent studies have shown that we’re all a little more optimistic than we should be.
About jobs, I mean.
The Pew Research Center conducted a survey to find out how young adults entering the workforce feel about their prospects and the lack of offers in the job market.
Eighty-eight percent said they feel great. I hesitate to join them.
There are huge economic problems right now, not to mention all the issues we’re beginning to face with Social Security and the Baby Boomers.
It doesn’t feel like my generation, nor the few coming before or after mine, really understand what it is we’re getting ourselves into.
The way the market is right now, there’s simply not enough room for all of us.
The other issue is that Millennials, and I’m using the term extremely broadly, have become used to the idea that they will find a job in their field immediately.
I see many of my friends struggling to come to terms with the idea that they might have to accept a receptionist position here or there to make ends meet.
However, I don’t necessarily think that this shift in the market is a bad thing.
I’ve said before that Millennials and Baby Boomers live in two very different worlds.
I think in the job market this is truer than ever.
With fast-paced technology, the change in the value of the dollar and new and emerging fields, Millennials are changing the landscape of the job market and the economy.
However, they must be careful.
With the recession still fresh in our minds, many of us know first-hand the consequences of credit and inflation.
I believe instead of optimistic, the term should be realistic.
We must be realistic about our expectations.
We must start learning to work our way up a job ladder, not be handed the perfect job on our first try.
And we must not be afraid to fail. So many times Millennials feel the mounting pressure of needing to be successful.
With a college degree and the opportunities out there, most of us have room to experiment and start from the beginning a time or two before we really figure it out.
The global landscape is changing, and we can change with it, but only if we are smart enough to figure it out.

ewenning@indiana.edu