CBS on Millennials in the Workplace
Wed 28 May 2008 – 12.05
Millennials is the horrible, horrible name for the generation coming of age around the year 2000. I guess that includes me, although I figure I’m slightly old for that moniker.
Anyway, 60 Minutes has featured a clip discussing young people in the working world and how many of them (us?) are completely unprepared for office life. Who’s to blame for our awkwardness? Parents? Teachers? Television?
What’s your view on twentysomethings coming of age as business people? I’ve said many times before that I’m glad to see the twentieth century die a painful death. The only drawback is that it’s becoming harder and harder to settle in to a job where the employer wants to invest in a future relationship. Let’s not get started on that.
posted by Scott in careers, education, life.
Young, broke New Yorkers share their secrets.
Mon 26 May 2008 – 17.27
It’s a dirty truth that many twentysomethings are one paycheck away from poverty. Our entry-level jobs can’t pay the bills, and with soaring rents and an ever-increasing cost of living (mobile phones and what note), we can’t get ahead.
The New York Times has featured an article which highlights some of the tactics for survival in America’s most expensive city. Most New Yorkers don’t have cars, but their money goes to massively expensive housing, food, and drink costs. Most of this I figured out on my own: don’t shop for no reason, buy store brands, cook for yourself, give up drinking, don’t go to expensive concerts/shows, skip the cinema in favour of Netflix, and avoid Starbucks as much as possible. But if you’re interested in the unique stories of other folks, check out what the Times put together.
I’ve written many times before about ways to save money. And unfortunately, the easiest way to save is to have no social life. Since New York is full of bars and restaurants, we often wind up eating and drinking as the default social function. When dating this is multiplied. (you can’t ask a date over before you’ve had a meal together, can you?) Staying in is the best way to save cash, although it clearly has it’s drawbacks. However, if I started to make more money, I don’t know how much more often I’d be going out. I’d like to think I’d still cook for myself, but instead spend more evenings at the ballet, and such. Maybe date more.
Of course, in typical New York fashion, you have two sides of the story and a subjective view of what it means to “scrimp.” For example, I agree that a struggling musician who works as a temp and makes $15 is, in fact, struggling; but the article also highlights a young man of my same age who earns 50% more than me and lives alone in Manhattan:
Adam Leibsohn, a 27-year-old communications strategist who makes roughly $60,000 a year and pays $1,650 a month for his own apartment in the East Village, says the trick to squeaking by in the city is to swear off impulse purchases and credit cards. He cooks for himself, pirates wireless Internet access and buys electronics from Craigslist or eBay. If he wants new clothes, he unloads old ones first at the Salvation Army, keeping the receipt for his taxes. “It’s kind of a spartan lifestyle,” he says. “I eat a lot of street meat for lunch.”
Ok, first off, if you’re worried about money, why do you live alone in the East Village? $1,650/month is massive, and more than the recommended allowance for New York real estate. (the guidelines say that you should only pay 1/40 your annual salary each month, approximately half your take-home pay. This guys would have to earn $66,000 to reach that mark.) Also, earning $60,000 puts you squarely into a viable middle class, even in New York. Imagine if he were to get married or start making some smart investments? He earns about $20k more than me; imagine how my life would change if I had an extra $20k going into the bank each year.
via Gothamist »
posted by Scott in careers, life, personal finance.