Everyday Hockaday students come across a daunting question: what do you want to do with your life? Immediately following this question is the reassurance that no, we don’t need to have it “all figured out” before we go to college. But the truth is, we do.
Graduate high school. Go to college. Earn a degree. Land a high-paying job. You wanna to settle down, start a family? Well, I am sorry to say this, but you just can’t.
Please excuse my shortness, but you have to understand: I am a Millennial. And my anxiety is through the roof.
According to a survey conducted by the American Psychological Association and Harris Interactive, Millennials are more stressed than any other current living generation. This may be due to the fact that the unemployment rate rests at 13.1 percent, compared to the overall nationwide average of 7.8 percent.
The same survey showed that 79 percent of all Millennials said that work causes the most anxiety in their life. This is closely followed by money (73 percent) and relationships (59 percent).
According to a 2013 TD Canada Trust study, 30 percent of Millennials struggle to support themselves due to low salaries, 44 percent have difficulties paying for education and 38 percent deal with loans. Basically, we all need more money.
The only solution is to land a high-paying job that can support both you and your family for the rest of your life. But, most high-paying jobs today require us to have not one degree, but sometimes two and even three. Essentially, stay in school, eat your vegetables and don’t do drugs for half of your freaking life.
My dad, who is a baby boomer, has a Bachelor’s degree. He is the Director of Sales at a Fortune 500 company. My sister, who is a Millennial, also has a Bachelor’s degree. The only job she could land, however, was an assistant at a gynecologist’s office.
Don’t get me wrong: an assistant to a gynecologist is an honorable profession. There is absolutely nothing wrong with any occupation as long as you are passionate about it and love doing it solely for the sake of doing it. But when it comes down to it, we all need money to be happy (up until $75,000 a year). So, if I can’t land a high-paying job fresh out of my undergraduate education, but can’t afford to get another degree, what do I do?
And, don’t forget about the bills from the therapist’s office. Who knows when my anxiety will meet its end.
(Maybe when I get a job?)
Don’t Mind Me: I’m Just A Millennial is a weekly column about the moments and mishaps of the Millennial generation. Written by Editor-in-Chief Erin Thomas.
