My Millennial Outlook

This piece is about my experience being part of the millennial generation. I share my observations about the benefits of being born as a millennial and the challenges we face. 

The millennial generation encompasses those born between 1981 and 1996. They have grown up in an age of advancing technology and endless information. Technology continues to change the way we live and work, with social media, smartphones and artificial intelligence (AI) becoming part of our everyday lives. Millennials have experienced this change throughout both their lives and careers, and have had to continually adapt to it.

In some ways, this is to the advantage of our generation. We have a lot of opportunities and choices when it comes to studying and careers, we've had access to the internet since an early age and know how to navigate it and utilise its informational benefits, and it’s easier than ever to travel and work in other countries because of services like working holiday visas. Many millennials have already found great success through all of this. Some have founded businesses, some have travelled for volunteer work, and some have bought property and started families. Many are now experienced professionals, managers, leaders and business owners. The millennial experience has changed, and the questions we ask ourselves about our careers can change too. They may no longer be about what career we should choose, but whether this is still the career we want, whether we want to continue progressing, what success means to us now, and what we want the next stage of our career to look like.

So, with all that choice and opportunity at their disposal, you would assume millennials are all happy and content, right? Well, it’s not really that simple. Many feel unfulfilled, bored, frustrated, disillusioned with their careers, or unsure of what direction to take their life. You might describe it as a ‘quarter-life crisis’, although for many millennials that question can come at a different stage of life, after years of working in a career that no longer feels right.

It’s hard to know what the root causes of this are, but looking at my own experiences, I could see these feelings in myself being traced back to Ireland’s education system, which comes across to me as deeply flawed and outdated. The schools themselves aren’t to blame, nor are the teachers. It’s the lack of focus on teaching important life skills.

We learn how to memorise poems, historical facts, mathematical theorems, and the basics of languages we’ll probably never speak again, but we don’t learn about things like listening and assertive communication. The Irish Leaving Cert is all about getting enough points in the final exams to earn a place in university where you can study a relevant degree for the job you want. 

This makes sense in theory, but it reduces your chances of pursuing your chosen career to how well you perform during those few weeks in June. It also encourages competition among you and your peers and narrows the focus of your future. Going to college isn’t for everyone, and isn’t the only path to success, and yet it becomes the sole focus for all Irish teenagers. To the point where failing to achieve their desired amount of points can be a serious blow to a young person’s self-esteem.

Everyone’s values and interests are different, and yet the Leaving Cert is quite restrictive in the subjects it offers. As teenagers, we’re led to believe that the trajectory of our lives hinges on it, when in fact, it’s a waste of time for a lot of people. I don’t necessarily think all the subjects are pointless for everyone, I just find those years are important and could be so much more fulfilling for people than the current education system allows for.

This isn’t to say that I didn’t enjoy my time in university. I had some of the best years of my life getting my degree and most people I know would share that sentiment, but the big difference is that college offers flexibility. How much time you put into your college work and how much you put into exploring your own interests and passions is entirely up to you. There are advantages and disadvantages to this, but it’s definitely not as restrictive.

I also think, and I know I’m not alone among millennials in this, that the job I thought I wanted at eighteen didn’t turn out the way I expected. It just wasn’t fulfilling. Earning money is important of course, but it wasn’t my primary motivation. I have no issues working the standard five-day, nine-to-five schedule, I enjoy every second of that when I’m coaching my clients, but that schedule as an accountant wasn’t for me. It was a passionless endeavour that was greatly misaligned with my values.

While I did qualify as a chartered accountant, at the time I could not promise myself if I walked away from it I would regret it. I am glad I finished it out in the end as it provided me with financial knowledge and skills that will stand to me. Accounting did help me find a job while living in Vancouver and employment during the pandemic when I could not break into the recruitment industry after I returned home from my South-East Asia travels.

I travelled the same educational path as my peers. While all my decisions have been my own choice, I felt some of my peers were unaware of why they were going to university and pursuing some careers. As humans we have an instinctive need to belong. I felt with a lot of millennials most of them continue the expected traditional path into adult life because that’s what their friends were doing. This pressure to be accepted is only exacerbated for millennials by the rise of social media. I find Facebook and Instagram good for keeping in contact with friends and family. It has helped promote my coaching business. Apart from that it is good for nothing. It has promoted vanity in young people and giving them false, shallow ideals to pursue. A compulsion to be influenced by their external motives instead of internal ones. 

Millennials may be qualified and putting forth an image of professional success, but many still feel disconnected and lacking in a sense of identity. It’s how I felt numerous times in my 20s, and it’s what led me to travel. This was something I greatly benefited from, and it gave me many different perspectives on the lives led by people in other cultures. I wouldn’t say it was an opportunity to ‘discover myself’ as such, but it definitely afforded me some time to reflect on my life and clarify my goals for when I returned home.

What I realised is that millennials, like every generation gone by, already have the answers inside them, but may lack the emotional intelligence to bring them to the surface. Building a sense of self-awareness gives you more control over your own actions and how you react to external forces.

A harsh reality for millennials and those in generation Z in Ireland is that housing prices have skyrocketed. And so, despite all the opportunities out there, many of us are experiencing financial distress and may never end up on the property ladder. And other countries are similar. I lived in Vancouver in 2019 and travelled a little in the United States and what I discovered was a very different work culture, with much of the same consequences.

America is a heavily divided place and much of that has to do with their long-standing commitment to capitalism. Many people there are struggling to support themselves and their families financially, while those who have managed to find success may not realise how deep the divide goes. It is common even among millennials in America to have the attitude that they live in the land of opportunity and that if you’re poor, it’s your own fault. I find this hard to accept, especially when people working full-time in demanding jobs, often after years of training, still struggle to make ends meet.

I view this is part of what the capitalist market, combined with a strong sense of patriotism, has contributed to in America. Millennials have had to navigate a work culture that can be toxic and damaging. People can become caught up in a society where they are living to work rather than working to live. While many millennials recognise the problems with this system and want something different, financial pressures and other responsibilities can make it difficult to step away from it.

The pressures of work and life can also lead to stress, overwhelm and burnout, particularly for experienced professionals, managers and leaders who are often carrying significant responsibility. When this continues for too long, it can affect your health, relationships and overall quality of life. It is important to recognise when the demands of your career are coming at too great a cost. 

Some may turn to alcohol or drugs to cope, while others experience much more serious struggles. The pandemic brought a period of reflection for some millennials. Although it was a great tragedy, the opportunity to work from home and spend more time alone gave some people the chance to think about their lives and reconsider their approach to work.

The negative side of this was isolation, loneliness, a halt to the progress of projects, being unable to spend time with friends and family, and even unemployment for some. It was a double-edged sword, but the experience helped me understand the importance of not taking opportunities for granted and appreciating the time I have.

There was an interesting development during the pandemic known as ‘The Great Resignation’, which saw many people leave their jobs in search of something better. Although this was a risky move for many, it was encouraging to see people moving away from careers that weren’t working for them. I also think it was partly a reaction to companies not allowing people to work from home, even when it was a more reasonable approach for many jobs. Remote working cuts down on travel time and costs and can reduce work fatigue from spending long hours in the office. It has its drawbacks, including challenges around communication and productivity, but many people have adapted to it. I find working from home should remain a more widely available option because it can also free up time to explore one’s passions.

I often hear the word ‘fear’ from other millennials. We have been conditioned to fear because we’re told that without a stable job, we won’t ever be able to own property, that we may fail to secure a pension for when we retire in 30 or 40 years and that if we have any gaps on our CV it will hurt our chances of finding employment. Now there is another layer of uncertainty with AI and how it may change the way we work and the skills that employers need. We shouldn’t allow these fears to consume us. We should be focusing on learning how to maximise the present moment to explore our passions as much as possible, and not letting fear hold us back from what we want to do. Affording power to fear is an act of self-sabotage that will keep you from your full potential.

If I was to offer advice to millennials or anyone who feels lost right now, it would be to remember that this is a temporary feeling as long as you are prepared to make changes and improve yourself. You can start with some personal development work. Getting clear on what your values, strengths, principles, passions, and interests are and then figuring out why all of those specific things are important to you. This can help you to envision a path for your future on which you can put more focus on these things.

And check in with yourself regularly too. Stop and reflect on how you are feeling to see if what you’re doing with your life is making you happy. Keep a journal if that helps. And remember, you can always find support out there if you don’t think you can figure things out alone. Coaches, psychotherapists, career guidance officers, and job support officers are all ready and willing to help you if you need it.

Everybody is driving their own car, and life is not a race. So, choose your own destination and go at your own pace. Look at life as a game of ‘win and learn,’ and one that you can play on your own terms.