Every single millennial I know is incredibly hard-working. It seems they always have at least one job, sometimes two. Now, they may not be the best paying jobs. In fact, they’re usually not. What boomers seem to forget, is that things were way different back when we came of age. Most of us got out of school, and got a job, in the field we wanted. And that job usually paid enough that we could rent an apartment (of our own!) and maybe buy a good used car, or maybe even a very cheap new one. We weren’t rich, and we couldn’t buy a house right away, but we could survive. That isn’t true for millennials. The job market is just not the same. Sure there are jobs, but a good number of graduates now don’t get work in their field. So they take on something different, whatever they can get actually. And it’s usually pretty low paying. Also, when I was in college, I made enough money in the summer to pay for my tuition (though not room and board) for the entire year. That can't happen anymore. Tuition has risen so much, and summer wages have mostly stagnated. So many graduates now have tons of student debt. This is something we had no concept of.
So it's not surprising that many millennials move back home. Or share an apartment with two or three roommates. They really don’t have much choice. They don’t have enough money to do much else.
But on the other hand, there are things about millennials that I do have trouble with. First of all, they spend more at restaurants than we ever did. Taco Bell and McDonald's have been replaced with Starbucks and Chipotle (or some other restaurants that I'm not cool enough to know about!) A $12 burger isn’t uncommon. They also drink better beer. Yes, PBR has made a comeback, (for which I’m grateful!) but also craft beers at $6 a glass are pretty common too. And finally, they travel way more than we ever did. It’s not unusual to hear of a recent college graduate take a three week trip to Europe “just to relax.” Or maybe Asia, or just a short jaunt down to the Caribbean. Trust me, that’s something we never did. Didn’t even consider it. So yes, they do spend more than we did.
But on the other hand again, my parents said the same thing about us: that we spent too much money and didn’t work hard enough. My dad always seemed annoyed that I didn't always have a summer job; I think he thought I was pretty lazy. And I remember one time when I was just starting out, in my first year of teaching, and my parents came up to visit. My dad saw an 8-pack of Pepsi in the kitchen. And he immediately said “What’s that?” Like it was some kind of accusation or something. So I said “It’s Pepsi!” His response was classic. In fact, I’m pretty sure I remember it word for word. “Pop? You have pop? We couldn’t afford pop when we were your age!” And he shook his head with disgust. And yes, that’s a true story.
And finally, if millennials really are as bad as some say, whose fault is it? We are the ones that raised them, that gave them their ideas and values. I really don’t think there was a mass set of mutations that caused these people to be different. No, it’s what they learned from their parents, teachers, and other role models. So if they’re lazy and entitled, let’s look at who taught them to be this way.
Maybe I’m wrong, and feel free to disagree with me, but this has been my experience. In all seriousness though, I think part of the backlash against millennials is part of the “blame someone else for the world’s troubles” idea that we as Americans seem to have. We never want to take the responsibility ourselves, so it’s always someone else’s fault: millennials, immigrants, people of color, welfare queens, people of the LGBT community, democrats, republicans…. You get the idea.
Now, if there are any millennials reading this, this isn’t an excuse to be lazy! Keep working hard, keep trying for the career you want, and never ever settle. Really, don’t ever, ever settle.
It may take a longer than it you would like, but you’ll get there.
