The Millennials

I am part of Generation Y, also called the Millennial Generation. We are described as having been raised by cajoling parents who have coddled their children too much. As “narcissistic praise hounds,” as the 60 Minutes episode notes, we lack responsibility and often still live at home with our parents while in our twenties.

This episode, which first aired in 2007, does not take into account the economic woes of the times. As a twenty something who lived with my parents for a year after college, I feel that it was the only plausible and affordable solution as it took me 6 months after graduating to find a full-time job; this was in 2005 prior to the official announcement that we were in an economic recession and long before 60 Minutes covered the story.



Although our generation spends time “playing computer games at work while (they) wait to grow up,” there is also a lot of good in our work ethic. Millennials have a can-do attitude, want a variety of assignments, and easily multi-task, taking on more than one can handle but succeeding in completing all tasks. (Taking on more than what is asked of us sounds a bit grown up to me.)

However, we approach a job wanting positive reinforcement and praise from our superiors, and with all of our new technology knowledge, (again, despite the economic climate) we have the attitude that we can move on to another company if our structural needs and praise-seeking are not being met.

When someone else describes this generation, it sounds like we are pretty whiny and unlike our grandparents we are unwilling to accept situations the way they are; instead, we want it all from a job. So, I understand that I fit into this type in many ways, I too want recognition for my work (doesn't seem too much to ask for) and I enjoy the social aspects that accompanies a job. I do not necessarily, however, have the best technological skills compared to my peers. 

I always had support from my parents, although I wouldn't necessarily define it as coddling. I succeeded well in school, so my parents were never the type to have to call up my high school teachers and complain about a bad grade until the teacher gave-in to some sort of extra credit, although I did hear about this happening growing up. I’ve always been able to measure my merits through grades, but in the work force the way to really do this is by achieving a raise.

My first boss quit and now I am reporting to his boss, the Editor-in-Chief, in the interim. However, the Editor-in-Chief is so wrapped up in her own workload that I have to keep on top of all our books. I develop the five-year-plan for the book list and the revision plan for our Mathematical Proofs text.

The marketing manager for our book team is out on maternity leave and her assistant also quit, so I am in charge of completing the feature walk-through (a marketing tool shown in the inside cover of the book that demonstrates how to use the book’s features). I coordinate the e-mail campaign to market our newest books to our current customers.

Olivia, the boob-exposing, self-loathing Editorial Assistant gets fired a few weeks after HR put her on probation but not soon enough. I am left to take over her book lists and fix her mistakes like collaborate with Accounts Payable to redo the $1,000 purchase order she put in for a photocopy job. How the common sense that photocopies would cost that much money escaped her, I do not know. (Annoyingly enough, she is now in a Creative Writing program at NYU.)

No one ever stops to thank me or asks if I need help with all of these projects. I thought by doing all of this work it would get me somewhere, but I seem to still be on the first rung of the ladder.

So, I go to the VP of the company, who I had also been working for as an administrative assistant part-time, and tell him that I deserve a raise.

I explain all of the jobs I am currently doing, and the ways in which I succeed in performance, like bringing in a $170k sales order by being on top of the book adopters needs, and representing the company at the JointMath conference.

He informs me that he isn’t quite sure if I am ready to be a full on Editor, and there is no money for a raise at this time.

For the first part of defending myself, I am able to hold back tears, but after being shut down, my eyes start to swell.

I leave his office defeated; I know more than ever that publishing is just another business and I am just another expendable worker-bee in the trade.

Perhaps, I should move on as Millennials do when they feel unwanted.