Posted on 06/30/2014 3:55:31 PM PDT by dynachrome
My mother is sixty something and anxiously counting down the days till she could retire her nurses uniform for good. She's been working consistently for 40 years, and when she speaks of retiring I can sense relief still mixed with a bit of anxiety.
The sense of relief is obvious, but it boggles me that after 40 years of dedicated work, rarely calling in sick and in fact winning awards for her diligence and treatment of patients, that my mother is still concerned about whether or not she will be financially secure once she calls it quits.
I see the position my mother is in right now and as much as I admire all that she has done - raising three kids on her own on top of 60 hour work weeks - I look at her and say to myself "that can never be me." I can not, under any circumstances, put in that amount of work to still not feel completely secure about my future. Furthermore, I don't want to wait till the latter years of my life to be able to live with the level of freedom that comes with formal retirement.
Freedom 55 has no appeal to our generation
I believe that I speak for most Millennials when I say 9-5 isn't enough. Please understand that when I use the term 9-5 I use it loosely to refer to restriction. The barriers that accompany the 9-5 life - feeling replaceable, not getting paid according to quality of work, scheduled breaks, the hurdles to really create measurable impact - none of these boundaries are in line with how we Millennials hope to make our mark.
We want more for ourselves, expect more from ourselves, and are willing to put in the work to ensure more is the outcome. But the work we put in can not necesssarily be quantified by hours. We aim to be judged by the impact our output creates, not the time spent in an office or workstation. We want to enjoy our lives to the fullest right now, concurrent to our most social years. Freedom 55 has no appeal to our generation.
And while others may see this as us feeling entitled, I feel that we are, and to a large degree already have, changing the way people, employers, governments define "career." We are entitled to control our own futures, to feel certain that if we work effectively and efficiently that we will be rewarded with financial security.
So call us what you want, but by the time I am sixty something we Millennials will have changed the world more sharply then many generations before us. And we will have done so with a smile on our face every step of the way.
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Kern Carter is the author of "Thoughts of a Fractured Soul," a modern tragedy of family, failed potential and the Millennial struggle with ambition, expectation, and the fight for independence.
More from Kern at www.kerncarter.com
H/T to Karl Denninger from his fine site:
market-ticker.org
Millennials in the Workplace Training Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sz0o9clVQu8
Not to worry. Nobody’s going to give him a job anyway.
With an attitude like his, I doubt he will be working 9 to 5 much at all.
The don’t even know who Jane Fonda and Dabney Coleman are.
Pajama Boy and Julia would much rather that Uncle Harry, Aunt Nancy, and Cousin Baraq make their pitiful lives as painless as possible.
That’s why I’m not very optimistic about the future of the US. The average millennial knows more about “climate change” than the US Constitution.
There comes a time when every generation realizes its folly in considering itself a new and improved version of its predecessors. By then it’s too late for any real change, but there always is the age-old alternative of taxing the brats into covering your yacht payments.
It's all according to what you bring to the table.
If you have a 100 MPH fastball you can probably retire at 35.
But the fact that you are already trying to find something that takes the least effort and time tells me your best bet will be living at the rescue mission.
But at least I had the good taste not to talk about it in public.
Geez. I work non-standard hours, being on-call 24-7.
I work between 42 and 60 hours every week.
I never work 9-5. It’s more like 1am to 4am, then noon-6pm, then 9am the next morning to 3pm and 8pm- 2am. It sounds awful, but it pays more than I’ve ever made before. I make my own schedule, except for emergency calls. As long as I keep the customers happy, nobody in management bothers me.
Or working for government.
All I will say is that actual experience in the work force is the best teacher.
Wait until she has to work for/with someone who has no compunction about stealing or back-stabbing you and claiming credit her work or ideas.
Working 9 to 5 might be a walk in the park in comparison.
lol. These young fools.
Well, think a scheme and get rich before you get old.
"Freedom 55 has no appeal to our generation"
Laying in a ditch full of snow at the Bulge had no appeal to my great-uncle. New Guinea had no appeal to his brother. The medals those both won also had no appeal to them. Whats your point?
"I believe that I speak for most Millennials when I say 9-5 isn't enough. Please understand that when I use the term 9-5 I use it loosely to refer to restriction. The barriers that accompany the 9-5 life - feeling replaceable, not getting paid according to quality of work, scheduled breaks, the hurdles to really create measurable impact - none of these boundaries are in line with how we Millennials hope to make our mark."
So you don't want structure in your life. Its too hawd for poor baby. You're much too valuable and clever and responsible to be supervised.
"We want more for ourselves, expect more from ourselves,"
And I want a shetland bleeping pony.
"We aim to be judged by the impact our output creates, not the time spent in an office or workstation. We want to enjoy our lives to the fullest right now, concurrent to our most social years."
So you want to be paid more money for less work, on account of how astoundingly valuable your talent is. So you can screw off and get sloshed and baked with your fellow hipster trash on a more regular basis than working. Right.
"Freedom 55 has no appeal to our generation."
Yes, I believe you said that already.
>>Freedom 55 has no appeal to our generation
Freedom 55 didn’t have appeal for my generation either when we were 20 years old. We didn’t want our parents 9-5 jobs. We were going to change the world on our own terms!
Then, we started paying our own bills. We found that being hip and cool and rebellious worked great when mom and dad paid for our car insurance and had us on their corporate health plan.
These Millennials want to do what they want and they demand that someone else pick up the check—because money is something that older people worry about.
Funny thing is, I kinda agree with him. I’ve never worked 9-5 instead I worked a LOT more than that for 40 years. Worked my way through college as well an still graduated with honors. Was made redundant at 42 and started a company that has, according to most, been very successful and provided very good jobs for me and a lot of others. Still, I don’t feel secure. My life is full of deferred compensations and pleasures. So is my wife’s. We saved like fiends for decades and still we are not secure. Nobody is. Life was not meant for retirement. Only that one little charmed generation enjoyed it and we will all pay for it for ages.
bump
Oh there are lessons to be learned!
Your mother is not financially secure because she probably gave your spoiled self and your siblings everything your little hearts desired, including an excess of self esteem and a modern-day college “education.” Instead of worrying about how to relax the next 40 years until Social Security (cough-cough) — generously and cheerfully paid for by the dreamy illegals invading our nation — provides you with a cushy retirement, get a job and work your butt off. Try paying your mom back a little for her sacrifices by making her proud.
Haha! - wait
:(
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