Millennials - What are your thoughts?

[Slowhand]

I don't care what the market does. I don't care how the job landscape changes. I have to make it, so I'm not giving myself a choice in the matter. I don't know if that's optimism or pessimism, but nobody's gonna take care of me and mine but me and mine. You've got to do what must be done in this life.

This, essentially.

Sure, I have some macro concerns from time to time, but so did my parents and so did their parents. Exceptionalism isn't limited to optimism; there's no reason to believe that now is any worse or any better, comparatively, than most any other time period. The world is always about to end and the current generation is always worse than the last; none of the above should affect me, and if if it truly were to I'd have bigger problems than my own pessimism or optimism.

As for those charts? Young people are prone to extremes and that's not an affectation unique to millenials.

As for me, at risk of sounding mildly hypocritical, I'm not concerned about my financial well-being. I'm over-educated and well suited (read: adequately full of shit) to the upper echelons of an industry that pays its principals unbelievably well compared to its stature among its peers. Achieving the status of "millionaire" (a rather silly concern) shouldn't be of particular difficulty in my career should I maintain my course (which is not necessarily inevitable), but I also grew up under the premise that being so is neither important nor unattainable. But I too have my unbridled, unrealistic expectations and dreams, and they generally revolve around achievements and experiences; I largely know they're unlikely, but I think they're necessary to keep me moving and motivated.

[JC316]

I got kicked in the nuts by life at 20. Here's a disease with no cure, have fun bitch. Never going to be a millionaire, but if I can make enough to get by, I'm cool with it.

[Tremor14]

[bcoop]

I don't care what the market does. I don't care how the job landscape changes. I have to make it, so I'm not giving myself a choice in the matter. I don't know if that's optimism or pessimism, but nobody's gonna take care of me and mine but me and mine. You've got to do what must be done in this life.

That isn't optimism or pessimism. It is being responsible and carving your own place in this world.


I'm not worried about a thing. I've busted my balls to get where I am and the skills I picked up along the way guarantee that I'll always be able to put food on the table. I don't give a shit about dying rich or what I accumulate on that journey. I only want my family taken care of, and to have fun along the way. My situation as far as work and income is very unique. I had multiple opportunities and I made the best decision based on the facts I had at the time. If it all ends tomorrow, I've got skills and a reputation to fall back on. I won't step right in to another ownership situation, but I'll have food on the table and my kids won't want for shit, and that's what is important to me.

[Denny]

I'm too old to reply to this thread, yet I just did.

[slow99]

Very very very pessimistic.

I dont know any age who feel they will make it. I certainly don't expect to be able to retire, or have Social Security.

I came into the workforce in 2008, right at the big leap into the depression. They say that your very first starting salary will impact the rest of your life, so getting paid 50%-60% what your colleagues made just 2 years prior is depressing and i feel that a lot of my peers, including myself, are quite angry.

I remember having to refrain from yelling at the poor TCU volunteer who called me up asking for a donation within a year of graduating. A lot of my peers who had the financial ability saw the job market was abysmal, and stayed in for grad school as a shelter while everything blew over.

The way things are going there is no way in hell i could answer that question.

I may or may not get to a million depending on future market conditions, but since my expenses are only $20k/yr, even with my recent car purchase, I don't necessarily need to either.

I'm 29, A new house owns me, i have a degree, and I work 60 hours a week. I lived at home for 3 years after college and managed my debt extremely well and went directly into full employment because I knew what I wanted to do

My wife on the other hand could not find a job her first year out of college, they only wanted to hire teachers with experience. She finally got a job in Arlington, but between commuting, getting an apartment and student loans she is still very backwards finally from where I am at financially.

I will never collect social security, and my outlook on life in general is why should I quit smoking. I'd rather die when the going is good than die 88 years old wearing diapers and not knowing my own name

31 here. I have a stable job and I'm comfortable, but definitely not making what I should given what I do.

It's tough for just about anyone if you are trying to either get a good job or move to another one without knowing someone who's already there. That seems like the golden ticket to jobs these days so being "fresh off the boat" as a recent college grad, not really knowing anyone on the inside, and in this economic climate............yikes.

This, essentially.

Sure, I have some macro concerns from time to time, but so did my parents and so did their parents. Exceptionalism isn't limited to optimism; there's no reason to believe that now is any worse or any better, comparatively, than most any other time period. The world is always about to end and the current generation is always worse than the last; none of the above should affect me, and if if it truly were to I'd have bigger problems than my own pessimism or optimism.

As for those charts? Young people are prone to extremes and that's not an affectation unique to millenials.

As for me, at risk of sounding mildly hypocritical, I'm not concerned about my financial well-being. I'm over-educated and well suited (read: adequately full of shit) to the upper echelons of an industry that pays its principals unbelievably well compared to its stature among its peers. Achieving the status of "millionaire" (a rather silly concern) shouldn't be of particular difficulty in my career should I maintain my course (which is not necessarily inevitable), but I also grew up under the premise that being so is neither important nor unattainable. But I too have my unbridled, unrealistic expectations and dreams, and they generally revolve around achievements and experiences; I largely know they're unlikely, but I think they're necessary to keep me moving and motivated.

I got kicked in the nuts by life at 20. Here's a disease with no cure, have fun bitch. Never going to be a millionaire, but if I can make enough to get by, I'm cool with it.

Sobering thoughts, guys. Thanks for your input, and best of luck to all of you.

[Dlachance]

If and/or when the SHTF, my generation will fold like 7-2 off suit hand in poker.

[Sean88gt]

If and/or when the SHTF, my generation will fold like 7-2 off suit hand in poker.

Perhaps initially, but a kick to the testicles brings reality and a near immediate hardening of one's resolve.

[Denny]

Perhaps initially, but a kick to the testicles brings reality and a near immediate hardening of one's resolve.

And out come the savages... or targets, as I like to call them.

[Ruffdaddy]

If and/or when the SHTF, my generation will fold like 7-2 off suit hand in poker.

Maybe of your generation is the 65 + generation...

[Sean88gt]

Maybe of your generation is the 65 + generation...

I think every generation has been viewed unfavorably by the prior, to eventually be viewed as a burden by the following generation.

I have said for years that the baby boomers fucked us, they still are, and the depth and duration are still unknown. They have forced Gen x'ers and the following generations to become more pragmatic, more financially conservative, and more afraid than prior generations ever were. They built a system on constant growth and the ability to start a fresh that didn't extend beyond them because they poisoned the well to such a degree that there was statutory and regulatory changes (read: student loan discharge in BK and the act of impossibility it is to do NOW). They lived with very little foresight to their actions and in a lot of respects acted like pirates, and not the fun/sharing kind. They secured everything they could, leveraged themselves out to the hilt, and passed the ultimate cost on to those that had nothing to do with their irresponsibility.

Throw in cheap & easy credit, and many of us have had our senses of priorities, values, necessities, planning, etc., all warped to a point where they see us as destroying their system of self-gain, and we see them as the problem/reason that we have to over-plan for their seemingly total abandonment of planning for the shit storm they so kindly brewed for us.

Ultimately, we'll have the last laugh as we'll out live and outnumber them, so we can revise history to blame them for everything we feel they should be blamed for, until we praise them, much like the hippy generation did with the greatest generation.

[quikag]

The data set has to be inaccurate at drawing conclusions because such a massive amount happens for people between 18-25 and 25-34. An 18 year old will have a wildly different perspective and social/economic status than most 34 year olds.

[Sleeper]

I see my parents generation as being nothing but greedy and selfish fucks.

They are not giving back like the generations prior.

[Baron Von Crowder]

Im 32, and being in sales, I dont see it going well for the future. The drive and ambition to work hard to get ahead just isnt there with the younger folks coming into the work force, at least from what Ive seen.

Im pretty cynical, mostly because of events in my childhood/high school days. I was one of the last of those that had "shop" classes before they were phased out in favor of "everyone goes to college" plans in schools. My dad owned a construction/remodeling company, and I worked for a paycheck when I was old enough to do it. A big group of my friends I grew up with were college bound, and had no desire to do anything that would help them later in life, only to get a few hours on a paycheck to put in their pocket while mommy and daddy paid for everything. Even today, that same mentality shows. I get to see them complain that nobody will GIVE them a good job. One of them quit a week or two ago because he didnt want to work overtime. Now he's complaining about the lack of good jobs available, and how his student loan payments are too high, etc. I hate to see it, but it seems like most that went to school came out with a degree that isnt marketable and no actual skills, with 50k in student loan debt. Obviously, there are those that had enough brains to see that a masters in classical greek literature wasnt going to help, and went into finance, engineering, etc and arent doing bad.

I do like to see that the push for mechanical and trades jobs/education is back, and very strong due to a shortage of qualified and skilled workers in the market. Maybe Im biased due to low sample rates, but the friends I have that are plumbers, welders, mechanics and the like seem like they are happier with their lives than the office types, and dont seem to have the financial woes the others do.

[fordracing19]

A million net worth isnt much.