The answer is we aren't.
That's right. Millennials are not the worst. Our generation is the last generation that experienced life before this technological boom of cell phones, internet and video games. We spent our childhood outside playing tag and if we did have a computer, it was beyond a luxury. Today, we cannot go days without some type of internet access, whether it is for work, for class or for social interaction. We take selfies, we post our opinions online and love to take naps-- no reason to hate us.
But to some, we are still considered to be lazy, entitled and overall just awful. For everyone who hates our generation, remember everything I am about to say.
For starters, we simply cannot get a well-paying job without some type of higher educational degree. Our first 18 years are spent going through the motions of grade school and high school, but there is no stopping there. We are going to be in school until we are at least 22 or 23, and that's only for a bachelor's degree. Most places even need a master's degree to have a decent salary. We drop thousands and thousands of dollars on a college education just so we can possibly have a decent paying job when we are finished-- and that is not even guaranteed. Was this a requirement for our parents? I don't think so, so stop calling us lazy.
We work extremely hard to receive our degree. I cannot tell you the amount of sleepless nights I have had, the amount of caffeine I've need to consume to keep myself awake the next morning, the tears, everything. Most parents do not understand what college does to a person. A good night sleep does not exist for a college student. I am not complaining, it is just what we have to do. Last time I checked, my parents are asleep by 10:00 pm because they have work the next morning. Not us. We are up studying until they wake up. We go above and beyond just to receive an entry level job.
"Needs at least __ years of experience." How many of us have attempted to apply for jobs and come up to one slight hiccup: the experience requirement. I am 22 years old and just finishing my bachelor's degree now. How am I supposed to have 3 years of experience? These are supposed to be entry level jobs, aren't they?
Most of us end up finding easy, low-wage jobs while we are in college-- and yet, we are still called lazy. During undergrad, I was a commuter for three years before I decided to move on campus. I also worked in food service at my school and I made $8.25 for four years. That was just enough to cover my gas to get me to and from school. I once had a schedule where I worked a four hour shift and still had 3 classes (one of which was a three hour lab) in one day. On top of that, I had an hour commute to and from school.
four hours of work + ~six hours of class + h hour commute = 12 hours before starting homework, studying, and eating.
Most days were about 10 hours, before I actually got home to start my homework. What else did you want me to do? There are only 24 hours in one day.
When I am 25 years old, I, personally, am going to be over $100k in debt from college and I won't have a house, my own car under my name, I won't be married, and I will probably still be living at home. I will still be finishing up my master's degree at that age and I won't even have a steady career yet. I am still trying to figure out how I am going to be able to receive a loan for a house or car when I already have that much money to pay. The 2014 grad had over $33,000 in loans to pay back according to debt.org. This does not even include the interest rates that will increase what I have to pay back. Again, do not call me lazy.
"Millennials take the easy way out." Do we? You are telling me that if you grew up with Google, you would not have used it and you still would have walked 50 blocks in the snow and rain, all uphill to get to the library? I think not.
"Millennials are dependent on technology." This one is my favorite. We have grown accustomed to technology. We went through high school and college with this luxury, so of course we are going to use it. Sure, many of us might be "addicted" to social media, but that is what the world is turning into, whether we like it or not. How many middle aged people do you see walking around on their phones or posting all over Facebook? Exactly, it's not just us.
Hearing someone say "you should be grateful you even have a job" when you mention that you are not making enough money. Well, once again, considering I am near six figures in debt and I just spent the last four+ years trying to receive an education so I can have decent job and make money for myself, I might become a little irritated if I do not.
Who knows, maybe your generation was just like ours, but you could not see it because you did not have the technology to do so. Most of your judgements are based off of what you see on social media. Let me tell you something, what I post on Twitter and Facebook are the polar opposite of who I am in the work force and in school. I was taught work ethics growing up and I know I present it when necessary.
Most of our issues come down to one thing: money. We cannot afford to buy a new car because we have a couple hundred dollar bill to pay to our student loans. We cannot buy a home because we cannot get another loan, because they have all gone, once again, to student loans. Forget getting married, my future husband probably has enough of his own student loans he has to pay off. If I cannot afford to get married, starting a family is actually humorous. Want to move out of our parents house? See my first example, except replace car payment with rent. We are stuck.
All in all, no, we do not have the experience, but how are we supposed to get experience if you won't give us a job. Sure, we come off as cocky, but we are (mostly) educated. Obviously, there are exceptions with every group of people. When I receive all of my degrees, I definitely expect to have a well-paying job. I worked hard for it and that should not make me "the worst."
