Young adults' recession response
After a dinner party with two couples, also parents of young-twenties children, I re-read an article from the NYT: "Home Economics: What the Great Recession has really done to family life" by Judith Warner, here. My parents, married in 1931, had little nostalgia for the Depression. Though they passed their Dirty Thirties lessons on (save for a rainy day, don't buy on credit, help those worse off), they were delighted when Dad was paid in cash again, rather than with chickens and potatoes.
Today, when families say they're closer now that they've replaced ringside seats with board games, I think, Good for them. But I wonder whether their young adult children will desire their families' scaled-back lives, once they are in the workforce.
Many of my sons' contemporaries have chosen the professions–especially law and engineering–not for love of the field, but for future financial gain. These kids seem to be thinking, If job security is a thing of the past, better get into a highly-paid profession.
I don't see many twenty-somethings aspiring to a reduced lifestyle. They want what they enjoyed growing up in prosperity, whether they spent their summers at the cottage or worked for decent pay at a seasonal job.
To paraphrase Sophie Tucker, they may be thinking, I've been a rich kid and I've been a poor kid; believe me, honey, rich is better. Many middle-class young adults, raised on easy credit and immediate fulfillment of consumer desires, were value-programmed way before the 2008 recession hit.
A few are saving turtles in Costa Rica or studying Anglo-Saxon poetry; altruists, artists and intellectuals endure. But among friends' children, I see fewer choosing to follow bliss and more prepping for the LSAT.
This recession, with the pain and loss that Warner describes, will create a cohort determined to get back to where they once belonged, whether it's the local half-pipe or Aspen.
I hope that, as they plot their financial future, they examine their values closely, rather than endorsing those of my maxed-out generation.
Perhaps they can hit the sweet spot many of us missed: a life of prosperity and responsibility.
Comments
I think for many of us in the boomer generation, our prosperity HAS been real. Of course I live in somewhat of a bubble surrounded by friends who have been responsible with their spending and have not gone overboard. In other words, none of my friends have purchased thousand dollar purses and Rolex watches. We've watched our pennies for the most part.
I see our sons doing the same thing. Our scrappy younger son has managed to meld his idealism with a very decent salary for a twenty something. He works in the solar power industry with an idealistic liberal arts degree. He uses his research skills in a world of technology and scarce resources--so he feels good about what he is doing and aspires to a certain level of prosperity.
Susan: Glad it's working out for your sons. However, many young people face difficulties. Incomes for young men are dropping; note these US stats:In 1969, only 10 percent of men in their early 30s were classified as low earners (less than the federal poverty rate). By 2004, it was 23 percent, and it has continued to grow.
(Source: http://www.wsws.org/articles/2010/feb2010/yout-f08.shtml).
In other parts of the world, youth unemployment is at record highs, and is expected to remain in the high double digits through next year. (Source: http://www.wsws.org/articles/2010/feb2010/yout-f08.shtml).
I do think education (and a broad education) is key. You never know what direction a career with take and what you may have to learn on the job.
Our younger son added a language (Mandarin) which helped him get his foot in the door of an industry largely controlled (right now) by the Chinese.
I think thinking creatively is key.
And you are right. It helps immensely to have no debt. We worked very hard ourselves to save and send our sons to college so that they would have no debt. This was our main financial goal in the years we were raising them.
This is a fantastic article:
http://tinyurl.com/2e2ur2c
I've seen a very noticeable shift; YMMV.
LPC: Whether they know or not-any more than we did- they still are concerned with making the choice. Job loss and instability have affected the choices of a number of young adults we and our friends know.
Fuji: There will always be brilliant innovators, but when youth unemployment tops 20% in developed countries like France and Spain, the next generation are challenged to gain experience and skills.
I've never worked as a journalist. I've been a teacher, a textbook writer and editor, a marketing executive, and now am beginning my career as a life coach. There was no real plan for this career path when I was in my 20s, and yet I look back and see that I was in the right place at the right time, over and over again. The common denominator was a sense of adventure and passion. Nothing practical about it all. And while you couldn't call really call me prosperous, I wouldn't have done it any other way.
I hope the generation coming up now is as lucky as I have been.
From my observations, very few people really get to pursue their dream job or interests if they are facing supporting themselves or a family. There is always the option to get the law degree (or something else deemed to give options to earn money) and then pursue your interests.
The bottom line is that life is not easy for anyone and most people have to make their way in the world one way or another.
Not all lawyers are prosperous, but the degree is salable in a variety of ways and does give some security. I applaud today's young people who are trying to be prudent. Do I feel sorry for them? No.
We've had downturns before (think the Great Depression) and many of the young people of that day did what they had to in order to survive. The good news is that this generation is thinking about what might be best.
I didn't grow up in a world where people my age uniformly pursued their interests instead of marketable skills. Perhaps others had a different experience, and, if that is the case--I would enjoy hearing about it.
Toby: That scenario is affecting young adults now- not sure how much, but it is similar to the Depression, when my aunt was called home to work in a candy shop because there was no longer money for college. I am glad your boy has that job right now.
Quite frankly, I think it is his breadth of education which has brought him the most happiness. While he has supported us practicing law, it is his ongoing history research which has brought him joy. This next month he will be presenting a history lecture at Oxford University. So--he is with Le Duc on this point. And I am also.
Of course this sort of education can be seen as a luxury by some. I honestly think it leads to more success monetarily. My husband's brother has an engineering degree and a Stanford MBA, but has not approached my husband in earning ability. I think a broad education gives one a certain facile ability and adaptability. Does this make sense?
In practise, though, most of these high-earning friends have found it difficult to maintain their enthusiasm for helping others once out of grad school. Their work peers use their solid incomes to buy beautiful cars, rent cottages, go on exotic vacations; replacing their old Toyota or getting the garden landscaped becomes more pressing than supporting women's rights in 3rd world countries.
All very natural, no doubt. Definitely fascinating to watch.
Neither of my children have a "passion", and I am dubious many do. If that is the case then it isn't a bad idea to simply study something you are good at.
If someone decides to spend three or four years (depending on the degree) in a program that does not readily translate to earning a living, fine. But in these times, I would say get the practical skills, a trade or occupationally-oriented degree- not necessarily the professions.
One can read medieval history or semiotics on one's own, before, during and especially after academic life- as I suspect your husband has done. The academy is not the only route to learning and development.
As I said to my son, ready yourself silly in anthropolgy, minor in it, but do not get an anthro BA degree unless you plan to get a PhD.
s. For over 40 years, I have met a great number of people in all levels of corporate life, and many of them joke about their "weird" academic backgrounds: medieval history, philosophy of math, comparative religion. They picked up the business skills later.
The difference now is that the corporate world formerly viewed these degrees as entirely appropriate, and now prefer people with finance, business or law backgrounds, especially if they have co-op experience.
Fuji:
The "study what you;'re good at"- which I call "follow your talent- is a sound strategy.
I know a number of kids who deferred going to university and took temp or construction jobs because they did not want to waste money studying until they thought more carefully about what field they would pursue.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/12/business/12yec.html?hp
Another trend I see here is kids going to (community) college programs to train in skilled trades after they find their BAs are not getting them jobs.
Our lawyer son was fortunate that we had budgeted to send him to both undergraduate school and professional (law) school--so he has no debt.
Our younger son has only an undergraduate (history) degree, but is making his way in business--overreaching and overachieving, you might say.
The article I provided the link for may well be slanted, but I found it interesting and somewhat on this topic.