1ºThis happened with the “boomer” generation too. My aunt is about ten years older than I am and experienced what I consider the true boomer culture described all over media. I’m a “late boomer” and resented the h&!! out of all of these generalizations that never applied to me. Recently discovered that someone coined the term “jones generation” for us and her description rather aptly described us and our “sandwich” position not really “boomer” not quite Gen X or whatever term it is they slap on us born within a 20+ time span. Just as older millennials aren’t much like the younger ones, so too, are younger “boomers” not much like the first half of that generation. As the author states it’s too broad a brush for an entire span of twenty years. Other factors aren’t being considered and frankly we all need to label less.
2ºMy daughter is a millennial and I'm a boomer. She's much more money oriented than I am, as in she prioritized a career that will give her financial security over excitement. She likes it, but she's only 29 and she's been in the field since she was 16. I eat way more avocado toast than she ever has. She hasn't shown a real interest in having children, but I think that's because she's really never had a secure relationship and I think that's because of the internet, not her. She's going to have a more secure retirement than me most likely, yes, she will have traveled more than me. She probably does spend more on Door Dash, but guess what, she's going to be able to buy a home by herself and I lost mine in my divorce. There's just no true blueprint. Media contrivance that just keeps getting perpetuated.
3ºTrina Lorigan Gen X and millennials no longer have the luxury of working for the same company for 40 years because after decades of boomer union busting, companies no longer offer us the security that makes that kind of loyalty worth it. No pensions, no guarantee of promotions or raises after paying our dues. So we have to prioritize the financial futures of our families and go looking for the highest bidder every few years. I've been at my workplace for a decade (my entire adult life) because it's one of the few that still offers that security and I am a rarity among my friends.
4ºAmy Wells that part about constantly increasing efficiency is the kind of Millennial quirk that primarily seems to drive other generations (particularly older generations) nuts. We're improvement oriented. We spent our youth tweaking everything starting with our parents' electronics, then our own/friends' stereo systems to computers. We fixed everything and pulled everything apart to figure out how things work, replacing parts, customized everything ourselves...we generally bring this aspect into everything. Language, relationships, culture, music... Work. Older millennials like me often raised our siblings (and hippie parents) and kept everything running... typically without meaningful accolades (so yeah, we actually kinda hate participation trophies) and focus on rewards containing actual substance. Like raises. "Because this is the way it's always been done." Isn't a real reason for anything to us.
5ºAt 21 I knew everything I had the world all figured out. I was going to be a millionaire by the time I turned 30.
At 30 I looked back and thought how naive I was in my 20s. But I'm in my 30s so I know life isn't perfect but I'm really an adult now.
At 40 I looked back at my 30s and thought I was an idiot. Thought I knew everything but I'm in my 40s and I know where I'm going.
At 50 I realized that I will never figure life out and go with the flow.
What will I learn at 60?
6ºMy father lost his mother at age 2 after his brother's birth who also died. He and his brother were born at home. His father traveled alot so he always thought himself as an orphan. His father's cousin raised him. My dad was born in 1913 ... my grandfather worked in the coal mines and would travel to mines after veins depleted in others. At age 5, my father would sharpen coal miners axes for a penny. He always said marrying my mother gave him what he missed so much ... a family. They handbuilt their home ontop of an old barn foundation ... and not only did he work in a coal mine ... he hauled coal on the side to peoples homes after work. He built a small barn and we had chickens ... he also HAND TILLED 1/2 acre for a garden which my mom canned and ensured we had enriched food on the table year round. BY FAR the most efficient and hardworking generation was named properly for they are and will always be the GREATEST GENERATION.
7ºTrina, you can’t isolate a single sentence - you have to read the paragraph as a whole. Perhaps the location they chose for the picture is causing confusion, but the rest of that paragraph explains what is meant by the first sentence:
Obviously people earlier in their careers shift jobs at a higher rate than people later in their careers,” he says. “Millennials have not been uniquely more likely to job-hop earlier in their careers. Actually, they’re switching jobs less. There’s actually been a big decline in job-switching since about 2000.”
ETA: The put a finer point on it, the sentence you pulled doesn’t precede the point I mentioned, it’s part of the same point. The first sentence introduces the point and the rest of the paragraph explains what was meant by the first sentence.