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Why So Serious, Gen Y?
Are you a GYPSY? Am I? According to a recent article by The Huffington Post, if you’re a twenty-something professional either working or job hunting, you probably are. Apparently, I am. The article examines a growing subculture developing among today’s young professionals: the Gen Y Protagonists and Special Yuppies, or GYPSYs. This sect has developed over the past few years. They’re millennials. They’re products of technology and social media. And, according to the Huff Post, they’re unhappy.
The theory is that people in their mid-twenties who are entering the job market for the first time are experiencing a sort of depression unknown to previous generations. This is, allegedly, due to the fact that they – actually, I should include myself in this – due to the fact that we were raised by people whose realities exceeded their expectations, and who embedded this self-confidence in their children. They sought stable careers at a time when the economy boomed, so many of them were pleasantly surprised when those careers brought more than just stability. They told their children the familiar mantra of you can do whatever you put your mind to. We were told we were special as individuals. That if we played the game correctly, our lives would be whatever we dreamed. And we did dream. We imagined having it all figured out by our mid-twenties, and being gainfully and happily employed thereafter. This is a nice concept, but it might not adequately prepare us for the trials, tribulations, and heartache in the current job market. It’s the modern day romantic comedy…never as easy as it seems like it should be with a happily ever after becoming increasingly unattainable.
Twenty-somethings are finding themselves torn. Jobs are more difficult to come by than they were for their parents. Competition is fierce. You need to jump through hoops before the actual interview. You need to show humor, education, cooperation, and intelligence…all in a cover letter. And all that for an average, not-so-special position. If you do get a decent paying gig, it doesn’t measure up to The Great Story that you had written in pen. Our parents desired stability. We desire stability plus some. So, when we end up with less than that, disappointment sets in. The excitement is lost.
Let’s examine this. Is this innate discomfort that comes with doing something mundane and passion-less really a negative? I mean, it doesn’t facilitate security by the same age that our parents found it, but there might be a silver lining. It is this type of person, this eager beaver who craves more, this professional looking for the next best thing, who ends up doing more that clocking in and clocking out. They create. They build. They are the reason things like crowdfunding and The JOBs Act exist. Without this anxiety, some of the greatest companies wouldn’t have been turned into the empires that are household names today. Without delving into the legalities that are still being hemmed and hawed over, it’s great that there are options out there for those who want to explore and create other options for themselves.
So, the conclusion here is that there is nothing wrong with the ambition for personal and professional greatness, but write The Great Story in pencil. However, while keeping their eyes towards the horizons, it would do “GYPSYs” well to keep their feet on the ground, and to see every job – even if it’s not THE job – as a learning experience and opportunity.
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Alexandra Saville (@CapitalistaBlog) is the Media and Writing Specialist at Law Street Media. She has experience in the publishing and marketing worlds and started her own publishing company right out of college. Her blogs, The Capitalista and Capitalista Careers, focus on the young and the entrepreneurial.
Featured image courtesy of [Garry Knight via Flickr]
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