Fri 26 Feb 2010 – 14.21
This crap has been going around the Internet for a while, but I thought I’d report on it. Pew Research has cooked up a little online quiz where users may determine for themselves how “Millennial” they are. That is, how much they have in common with us, the generation born after 1981. (nevermind that some of us in that age range already have kids in middle school!)
I’m 86. Probably would have been more if I had a tattoo or if I had played video games in the last 24 hours. Dunno if my parents’ marriage negatively affect my Millennial-ness, but that’s also a question.
Go take the test for yourself »
A study from The Oracle in synthesizes these and similar results, concluding that Millennials are more liberal, more confident, but less employed. And presumably more depressed. Or maybe that’s just me.
posted by Scott in careers, education, health & fitness, life.
Graduate Student Lives in a Van
Tue 08 Dec 2009 – 15.31
Well, the headline kind of says it all. Today I uncovered the story of a Duke graduate student who, in an effort to save money and avoid debt, lived in his van while he attended classes.
If it weren’t an English major writing, I surely would not have read. Here’s a taste.
The idea of “thrift,” once an American ideal, now seems almost quaint to many college students, particularly those at elite schools. The typical student today is not so frugal. Few know where the money they’re spending is coming from and even fewer know how deep they’re in debt. They’re detached from the source of their money. That’s because there is no source. They’re getting paid by their future selves.
posted by Scott in education, health & fitness, personal finance.
Thu 15 Oct 2009 – 18.56
Imagine that one day you’re working at a successful magazine, making $50,000 per year, and living the life in New York City. A twentysomething fantasy for many. But then suddenly you’re laid off. Now, with the market for journalism shrunk to a caricature of its former self, you’re forced to scrape by with freelance gigs and unemployment checks in search of a job that may or may not exist. Stinks, doesn’t it.
This isn’t fiction, it’s the story of Amanda Ernst, a twentysomething former magazine writer and editor of FishbowlNY, a blog about advertising, media, and journalism. Amanda recently went under the microscope and talked about her adventures on NBC’s Today Show, even disclosing figures to help align her struggle with viewers who may be suffering the same drama in their lives. Read the chronicle of events from her point of view on FBNY. (for her efforts, Amanda was blog-slapped, lightly, by Gawker) The result, in this case, is positive: Amanda survived, and is doing alright, although it definitely didn’t happen automatically.
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
Amanda Ernst discusses losing her job and coping with the financial strain
The thesis is fairly well-known: if your income suddenly drops (especially from getting laid off/fired) you need to restructure your life accordingly. Drop the expensive gym membership, cut back on lattes, quit buying fancy clothes, and of course keep track of all your spending so you know where every penny ends up. I’ve discussed personal finance at length, and even recorded a podcast episode about the cost of living.
But the struggle for employment and the fight against idleness stress more than the wallet, they tug at the very fabric of our existences. At least, they should for most of us twentysomethings, who are trying to establish ourselves in the world, trying to make sense of our careers and relationships, as well as finances. I suppose it’s like Maslow’s Heirarchy of Needs — after we satisfy our ability to eat and sleep, we start looking for more, and that usually means we need a satisfying work life.
This is the topic constantly discussed on the Chief Happiness Officer blog, which I highly recommend. For a more academic, but heartily interesting, perspective on work and life, check out the new book from Alain de Botton, The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work. And if you’re one of these Internet bloggy people, try this post from Serena Renner, a co-worker of Amanda, no less.
The great sea of the economy may be swollen and unsteady, but it will calm in time. But no matter the condition, twentysomethings will look out onto the horizon and wonder what awaits. Our careers, and our lives, are in constant motion, with waves and tides that will surely shake us loose when we least expect it. But isn’t that part of the fun.
For an amusing diversion from the often-depressing existence of twentysomething unemployment (or perhaps, non-employment), check out this article which outlines in most pityous detail, the plight of the upper class, who are struggle to pay all those private school tuitions, and whatnot, in this sour economy. Lifestyles of the Rich and Needy »
Perhaps a solution to it all is to work a different job literally every day. I know that folks change jobs more frequently in this, our new century, but this is taking things to the extreme.
posted by Scott in careers, coffee, education, health & fitness, life, real estate.
Thu 08 Oct 2009 – 9.19
Speaking of the Walk of Shame, now there’s a convenient kit you can keep in your bag or under your desk to accommodate such a situation.
Clever, this, but it makes me think of the obvious point — if you’re prepared enough to have a Walk of Shame kit, chances are you’re not the type that ends up doing the Walk of Shame in the first place. Half the shame is being wrapped in the same soggy clothes with head throbbing, etc.
Hell, what do I know, I’ve never done it.
via Eric Hollings »
posted by Scott in health & fitness, relationships.
Thu 30 Jul 2009 – 14.50
It’s a fair assumption that as twentysomethings, we still remember our school days. We may still be friends with our school chums, we may still have our old school clothes, and chances are, we miss our summer holidays.
Obviously, summer is a good time to be outdoors. We love the sun, the heat, wearing shorts, running around, playing with dogs and children (since those lucky bastards are off from school). There’s outdoor movies and concerts, you can sit at sidewalk cafes, and the sunlight lasts all night. Too bad you’re stuck inside.
There is a dreadful cycle of guilt and pleasure that comes from skipping out on work duties to go outside, only to return and realise how much work you’ve got to do. Generally speaking, the two are mutually exclusive — you can’t bring your office to the park, and even with a laptop, you’re only half working. If only I could knock down the entire wall of my office and work at my desk, while enjoying the outdoors.
Working holidays are tempting, but somehow end up as a fiction. When you arrive at your summer destination, the last thing you want to think about is work. And then somehow you suffer the same summer guilt for not getting things done while you’re still on vacation. Not exactly relaxing.
Plus there’s that whole unspoken competition of who has a better tan. When did that become a measure of one’s worth?
We’re hard-wired from all those years of education to view summer as play time. This is especially troubling for freelancers and those who are less-than-traditionally-employed, who are forced to be their own time-managers. Looking for work, following up with clients, managing projects, and otherwise not slacking off can be Herculean labours when placed into the arena of a July heatwave. Plus when friends start calling planning trips and weekends, it’s all the more tempting to shove work aside.
So how do we break the cycle? How do we enjoy the summers while still fulfilling the duties of our life and careers? Is summer simply a lost season, where we should expect to get nothing done, or is it an opportunity to take the lead over the other slackers who are off sunning and prancing?
posted by Scott in careers, education, health & fitness, life.
Thu 18 Jun 2009 – 11.54
When it rains, it pours. The old cliché has nothing to do with weather, although this June finds that metaphor especially apt. Things are busy lately.
After many months, if not years, of suffering through the various gradients of employment, I find myself once again working a regular schedule. I hadn’t worked a 40-hour week between mid-January and early June. Add to that two commutes and the general exhaustion that comes from starting a new routine and it’s become predictably exhausting.
In addition, and with timing most strange, I’m getting a lot of clients calling to do some work with me outside of my daytime gig. So I’m doing what designers do from time to time, and going home for a night shift in an effort to fill the creative, if not financial, holes in their day-to-day.
So yes, I’m busy. And while busy-ness is generally a good thing, it has obvious drawbacks.
posted by Scott in careers, coffee, health & fitness, life, relationships.
Half of Everything Goes to Rent
Tue 21 Apr 2009 – 20.08
It has long been known that twentysomethings in New York, especially those who are straight out of school and into their first job, will spent half of their wages on rent alone. That’s half to rent, and half to everything else. Turns out this practice is no longer just for the young lot. A new study reveals that a higher percentage than ever, 27%, are crossing that tragic 50% barrier.
That percentage is up 13% since 2002, with 82,159 more NYC residents throwing more than half their income into the ravenous rent hole, as compared to seven years ago.
The numbers are quite troubling, but also a bit stoic. If you’re interested in the figures, Gothamist tells the story, as do a number of other news sources.
When I was looking for my first apartment I learned of a magic formula, relating to rent and income: Your annual income must be 40x your monthly rent burden. So if you make $40,000 per year, you shouldn’t be paying more than $1000/month. Trouble is, $1000 isn’t what it used to be. In fact, that price point almost guarantees you’ll have to live in the outer boroughs and suffer the tragic commute. Even when living with roommates, an apartment in Manhattan will cost each tenant can easily cost $1500 for something that might generally be considered puny and ridiculously small.
The 40x rule comes into play when signing on to a lease, especially through a proper leasing agent. If you do not reach that magical threshold, you’ll have to find a guarantor to back you up on the lease — usually a parent with deep pockets. I’ve heard rumours that some agents require this person to earn 100x the month rent, which is pretty absurd by anyone standards. Hell, my parents don’t make $100,000/year. But the 40x rule kinda makes sense as a guideline; doing the math in reverse reveals that figure to be approximately half of you take-home pay. But this is half of overall pay, leaving an even tinier slice for … everything else!
Considering the rising cost of healthcare, food, fuel, utilities, New Yorkers are getting squeezed even harder. It’s more of a struggle than ever to afford those $14 martinis.
Since moving to Jersey City, my rent has gone down quite a bit, but so has my income. In fact, my income these days comes largely from unemployment, but I’m still not quite up to that 40x mark. Times are tough, my friends.
What percentage are you paying?
posted by Scott in careers, health & fitness, life, personal finance, real estate.
For Girls, Binge Drinking Not Sexy
Wed 11 Mar 2009 – 17.26
Finally, other men are coming around to what I’ve been saying since age 16: girls who drink aren’t attractive at all. (trust me, that’s an understatement compared to the colourful rants of my teen years.)
A recent study from two American universities concludes that women have in their heads the wrong ideas about drinking to impress a fella. Truth is we prefer you sober.
It turns out 71% of these female co-eds were vastly overestimating the amount males wanted them to drink. On average, they overestimated by one-and-a-half drinks. Over a quarter of the women thought men were more likely to buddy up with a women who drinks five or more drinks. The true answer? Men expect women to consume around 2.5 drinks. 16 percent of women thought men would be most sexually attracted to women who downed the 5+ servings of their choice poison. In actuality? Men prefer nearly half that amount.
I think that whether we admit it or not, men want a women who is graceful and elegant, even when being “one of the guys.” Where a taste of male-like bonding may be playful, too much is not a good thing. For example, we never want to carry you home — women are tough to carry because their weight is distributed different. Plus you look like a creep carrying off some helpless woman. When a women drinks too much, she becomes louder, less funny, less witty, and more of a burden than anything else. No thanks.
Head over to PopSci for the full article »
posted by Scott in health & fitness, relationships.
Wed 21 Jan 2009 – 0.52
A quick search of the site reveals that somehow I’ve never mentioned Alex Kjerulf, the Danish business consultant and author of the Chief Happiness Officer blog. His area of expertise: workplace happiness.
While it happiness may sound like any oxymoron, Alex argues, quite convincingly, that workplace happiness is not only a luxury for certain companies, but essential for every company that hopes to last. Considering the relatively tragic state of the American economy, perhaps injecting some happiness may be the thing to get yourself through.
Recently, Alex posted an episode of AMA Edgewise where he was interviewed about this subject matter. If you don’t have all day to review the old posts on CHO, definitely have a listen to this show. In spite of the sometimes unnatural and vaguely-rehearsed tone of the show, the content is quite inspirational.
Now if I only had a job…
Listen Now
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posted by Scott in careers, health & fitness, life, podcasts.
College Admins Say Drinking Age Should Be 18
Wed 20 Aug 2008 – 12.45
For those who don’t know, the minimum drinking age in America is 21. It used to be 18 back in the 60s and 70s, but after pressure from highway safety groups, the Federal Government decided that any state with a lowered drinking age would not receive highway funding. So every state raised it back.
This is, of course, one of the most fundamental social oddities in our society. ‘Underage’ drinking is an institution all its own and has spawned an entire subculture dedicated to scoring booze, not to mention half the police force of every town exists solely to bust kids from drinking before they’re legal.
But now the presidents of many universities are pushing for a lowered drinking age (back to 18) in an effort to control binge drinking and the elicit partying by students. They figure that if students can have legal, legitimate access to alcohol, they won’t go fuckin’ nuts trying to get drunk. Makes sense because most people I know will testify that they didn’t drink the same once they turned 21.
However, the plan has come under fire from MADD and other groups who say this will cause the number of drunk drivers to skyrocket. More teens drinking mean more teens dying on the roads.
So who’s right? Well, both groups have a good point.
posted by Scott in education, health & fitness, life.