CNN writer Angela Duckworth has many thoughts on why millennials struggle for success. One of her thoughts is that “Millennials lack grit because our culture devalues a work ethic,” she states in her article, Why Millennials Struggle for Success. Her evidence for this is that the older the adult is than the more grittier they are because they were brought up expected to do one job for the rest of their life then retire.
In “Why So Many Minority Millennials Can’t Get Ahead” The Atlantic author Mel Jones expresses that white families provide their children with financial assistance to get a head in life, or by inheritance, unlike the minority Hispanics and blacks who have to continually make sacrifices that set them back. To begin the article, Jones starts building her credibility with a personal fact. Then she provides credible sources, she cites convincing facts and statistics, and successfully uses pathos in applying her emotional appeals. On the other hand, when nearing the end of her paper, her biased opinions begin to weaken her credibility.
“A Generation of Slackers? Not So Much” written by Catherine Rampell is an informative article about today’s millennial generation after high school. It provides the reader with a deeper look into young people’s work ethic, or what some to think to be, lack-there-of. The author does a fantastic job using research, credible resources, and statistics to support her belief that Generation Y (children born in the 1980s and 1990s) is no less productive than previous generations. I will admit that before reading this piece, I was one of those who believed that Millennials were in fact the “coddled, disrespectful and narcissistic generation” (Rampell, 2011, para 3). After reading this article, my opinion has changed. It has touched on issues
Generation Y, more commonly referred to as the “millennials”, is today’s group of young people. Similar to other generations, each cohort is labeled with unique characteristics and inevitably faces adversities while taking its place in society. Many American’s today debate their views on the youngster generation, but none the less all sides can agree the discussion has become a hot topic. Catherin Rampell creates an open discussion in her article, A Generation of Slackers? Not So Much, addressing the main issue: Are millennials a generation of slackers. I feel strongly that my views align with Rampell’s, in believing my generation has already begun to show its capability of doing great things. Through analysis of the text and my own personal experience I am able to dispute the opposition towards my generation as well as, express the positive relationship of millennials in
In the article, “Blue-Collar Boomers Take Work Ethic to College” from Writing Now, author Libby Sander talks about workers in the baby boomer generation that are attending college to get new skills for the new jobs they hope to land. Sander says that middle aged people coming back to college is becoming more common as they become unable to do physical demanding jobs but are too young to retire (Sander 642).
Not Only Are Millennials Redefining Adulthood but Are They Changing the American Dream as Well?
The myth of the millennial nation is one that describes the vision and perception held by the American people that suggests that the United States is the Nation responsible for heralding in the second coming of Jesus Christ. Hughes ties this vision to the American idea of manifest destiny which held much responsibility for our nation's growth and overpowering force, not merely in our hemisphere but in all of the world.
They want financial freedom from their debts and their bondage to hourly work. They want spiritual freedom from corporate materialism and working for companies they don’t believe in. They want the freedom to work hard doing what they love, rather than working hard simply to pay for a comfortable living arrangement. Many Millennials are now graduated from college and facing the impenetrable job market. And instead of choosing to fight for the ridiculous, and oddly demanding dream of their parents, they are seeking a humbler way to develop communities and construct society - and in less expensive communities, they are finding interesting ways of achieving
America’s youth is struggling to find success because they are suffering from an economy that was severely damaged by the previous generation. In many instances older generations insist that the reason young people are struggling to survive and succeed in today's economy is because millennials and those belonging to Generation Z are lazy and do not want to work hard in order to achieve their dream, or it is that those youths feel as if they are entitled to success so they complain when they do not have opportunities and jobs handed to them. In reality, the lack of success for the youngest two generations does not have to do with an attitude problem, but rather with an economy that is struggling to survive due to the actions of previous generations. According to Hardin and lifeboats ethics, there is a large divide between the rich and the poor and there is not a solution to decreasing that divide that would result in the survival
“We need to teach the next generation of children from day one that they are responsible for their lives. Mankind’s greatest gift, also its greatest curse, is that we have free choice. We can make our choices built from love or from fear.” -Elisabeth Kubler-Ross
When the Baby Boomer generation was questioned about the newer generation, these words and phrases was often used: “slacker”, “lazy”, “has it easy”, “entitled”, “obsessed with their phones/internet/games” and “antisocial”. On the other hand, Millennials (or Generation Y) would say this about their older counterpart: “entitled”, “ruined it for those who followed”, “had it easier”, “narcissists”, “stubborn”, and “materialistic”. The reason for why the elders would see it that way is because they had to live without the quick solutions that teens have nowadays. This “elders bashing on the newer generation” isn’t uncommon, as seen by what was recovered from Aristotle’s and Plato’s time (Rampell 389). For Millennials, some of their tension comes from the fact that they will be the first generation earning less than previous generation for the same amount of work (Roos). Not only that, but the prices for land property, and college education, which is needed in many jobs nowadays, has skyrocketed compared to their parent’s and grandparent’s. Due to this wealth gap, it sparked a lot of tension between the generations, and this can be seen in smaller environments, such as in the
On the other hand authors like 25 year old conservative David Bass writes in his article “Diapers for 26-year-olds” to prove that is not the case and quite the opposite. David Bass believes Millennials have a poor work ethic because they delay marriage and parenthood in order to find the perfect job that they are completely happy with. He goes on to say that because of this they delay “growing up” they don’t want to work hard for their money therefore having poor work ethic (Bass). Both authors are attempting to appeal to their audience but use hasty generalizations to make their
In the interview, “Millennials in the Workplace” with Simon Sinek, he implores that millennials should find a balance between social media and their physical life. One of the strategies that Sinek uses is parallel structure, where he states the four reasons why millennials are being very criticized nowadays, “ It can be broken down into 4 pieces actually. 1 Parenting. 2 Technology. 3 Impatience. 4 Environment. The generation that is called the millennials, too many of them grew up subject to “failed parenting strategies.” (2017, 1:44).
We blame the millennials for their behavior and their different characteristics compared to previous generations; however, what if we stop looking at the millennials and start looking at the reasons that they behave sensitively? Each generation contains their differences, including the way they educate the next generation. We continuously judge the millennials behavior, but we rarely judge the people who influenced this behavior. Education has changed throughout the ages, not to mention the parenting skills that vary from generation to generation, which has affected the millennials way of interacting in the world. Millennials grow up believing that they are imperative, that they are secure, that the world will conform to their generation, and that the world is a “nice” place. This teaching, causes millennials to be sensitive babies early on in life. True, millennials have the freedom to act the way they want; nevertheless, like other generations, millennials will act the way that parents and other influences taught them to behave. The millennial generation should not be liable for their
In fact, we ought to continue encouraging everyone to strive for their goals and dreams as we always have. Egoism is the solution to the problem. By focusing on themselves, millennials are doing what is right and preserving others’ opportunity to do the same. “Moving up the ladder” of success is not a bad thing. The people striving for such triumphs are not to be blamed for the misfortunes of others.
It is safe to say that the working life for millennial generation has been and will be different to that of generations past. Gurenteed jobs after leaving school, college, or university are now a thing of the past. These days placing responsibility of your career progression into the hands of someone else can even be considered passé.