Subscribe
No author has been assigned to this article (because it was written by a guest who has not yet set up a profile). If you are the author of this article please 
Email Guest
Read more from Guest
New here? Employee Evolution is dedicated to helping the Millennial generation answer the hard-hitting questions that come with the biggest transition of our lives. Be sure to visit our about section for the full story. Since you're here, check out our best articles in the archives. We've also put together a list of some Millennial-friendly employers on our jobs page. Any questions? Feel free to contact us.
Ever wonder what truly drives a person to succeed without the security of the typical 9 to 5? Here’s a chance to get into the entrepreneurial brain of a Gen-Yer and see what’s possible when you actually love what it is you’re doing.
Thanks to our friend Matt for a little perspective from an entrepreneur. Enjoy.
Currently our country is in the largest entrepreneurial boom the economy has ever seen. More people are venturing out of their cubicles and leaving their comfort zones than ever before. Over the last 30 years a new wave of thinking has begun. College kids now have the option to wrap their brains around this concept of becoming an entrepreneur. Top universities have begun to offer entrepreneurial majors that let students pick and choose the classes that they feel will prove to be the most beneficial for their respective futures. In 2005, 672,000 new companies were started with employees, claims Fortune Small Business. Self employment has become a nation wide trend and I don’t see any signs of it letting up soon.
I’m twenty two years old and fortunately will never share the hatred of a 9 to 5 with most people. I graduated last year from a great school that had an amazing job placement program. I never interviewed. I never even stepped foot in a career fair. I never put on a shirt and tie and tried to impress a complete stranger that I most likely would never see again. I never wanted to be shipped off to a random city with thousands of other college grads to push papers for 8 hours a day. Who would? The problem with people taking jobs out of college is that they think that they have to have a job right away or they will be seen as a failure.
So kids take jobs with Hewlett Packard and GE and other huge companies so they can sleep easy at night thinking their peers and family believe that they “made it.” But they didn’t make it. The only place they made it was the fast track to credit card debt. Did they take a job with HP because they love computers? Did they enter GE because they think electricity is the best thing in the world? No, they made a blind decision and now most regret it terribly.
One of my friends, who is happy (or so it seems) with her 9 to 5, recently said there are two types of people out there; People who work to live, and those who live to work. The Gen-Y’s that think the 9 to 5 doesn’t work for them are people that should never have taken a “BS” entry level job in the first place. The Gen-Y’s that have no problem with their jobs are the ones that seem to be working more for a purpose. Some, found a passion in money markets, moved to New York, and now are learning the ins and outs of day trading. Others took entry levels at architectural firms to give wings to their artistic talents. Whatever the case, these are people that got jobs because something inspired them.
I conclude this entry with a small piece of advice. Go back to that age old question posed to you in 3rd grade, “What do you want to be in life?” Think about what you said then and what you would say now. And then do it. Quit your job. Get a job with someone that does what you want to do. Learn all you can in a year. And then do it for yourself.
No more 9 to 5’s, no more bosses, no more meaningless busywork. Stop bitching at corporate America like your CEO is going to walk up to you tomorrow and apologize for not giving you more meaningful work. Entry level jobs are just cogs in a master plan of making a business run. The company wouldn’t run without them. The founders of GE, Sony and Hewlett Packard were people that couldn’t do the 9 to 5. They knew they were over qualified to be working at a desk for a random company, so they did it on their own. The 9 to 5 has begun to not work for more and more people because almost anyone can start a business nowadays. There are start-up businesses that fund start-up businesses. So start it up, or don’t, what do I know I’m only twenty two.
Popularity: 7%
I’m glad you found something you like; I hope all recent grads find the same high level of satisfaction with their work as you have. I also have recently graduated but I haven’t started my own business and I can honestly say I love what I’m doing. I’m lucky enough to fall in to the small percentage of us who take an entry level job and enjoy it. But after reading your post I started to think about the reasons why Gen Y’s like us, who have completely different work experiences, can both love our work. I started to think about the parallels between our two experiences. What are the core, underlying fundamentals that make our jobs similar? I’m not sure if I have the complete answer, but I think I have found a similar theme.
I currently work at an asset management firm in an “apprentice� type position. I’m teamed up with a senior manager and we basically run our own business within the larger context of the firm. We find clients, ask for their money, and make them more money. Of course we receive support from other departments within our firm, but the most important aspect our “team� is that my manager and I are compensated above and beyond our regular salary, based on performance. Just as the profits you pull from your small business are dependent on your effort, so is my pay from a large firm. If you want your small business to perform well, you make it part of your life, because you know that everything you put in the business means more can come out of it. I get the same feeling in my entry level position. My experience is different from the typical 9-5er who gets their salary check every two weeks. Where’s the incentive? Why should that person work harder? Why should they like what they do? Liking their job more doesn’t mean they get paid more, right? For me it does. The more I research and the more I educate myself, directly affects my career. I think this is one of the main reasons why so many Gen Y’s hate their first job. If more entry level positions could be based on performance, maybe there would be more of an incentive to find something you like, instead of succumbing to that job your Dad’s friend got you. If Gen Y’s knew that their career (compensation, responsability, promotion, etc.) was a direct function of their effort, they might find their true passion. Maybe if entry level positions could be more often teamed with senior managers, we would feel the ability to voice our opinions. I think that if more of these “business within business� type environments were created, corporate culture, and graduates’ lifestyles could greatly improve. I don’t know how this would be implemented in every industry. I leave that to other Gen Y’s who haven’t found what they are looking for.
I want to conclude by emphasizing what has been said in the past on this blog. Find something you like, and soon enough many of these issues we’re discussing, will no longer exist.
Chris
Chris
I absolutely love your comment. Its amazing that nearly every comment posted so far has directly tied to something we plan to write about. The entrepreneurship in the work place idea or “intrapreneurship” has been on my mind for months now. Thanks for confirming that I wouldn’t be the only one to feel satisfied in this type of system.
It sounds like Matt has really found something that makes him passionate about what he does but I wonder, could there be more than one right answer to every situation? For instance, he quoted one of his friends who said “There are people who live to work and there are those who work to live.� I am also a recent college graduate, but I took the more common path of job fairs, interviews, and ultimately Corporate America. Since graduating and being abruptly shoved into the real world of bills, rent, and responsibility, I have striven to live by the second half of that quote; meaning the primary factor that defines my life is not my job, rather, my job is a minor element to who I am.
I don’t have the most demanding and rewarding job but I am satisfied with my life and my choices because I know it doesn’t have to lead me down a one track road. I am not stuck in a rut just because I am a cog in the master plan of a successful corporation; I have the opportunity, education, and experience to diverge from this road at any time. Who knows where I’ll be in the future? At a time in our lives with little responsibility beyond ourselves, what is the rush in dedicating our entire life to the job? I am sure those creating their own business make many personal sacrifices in the name of success. I’ll get where I want to be in my career some day. In the meantime, however, I appreciate the paycheck that the aforementioned corporation sends me every two weeks without fail, because it allows me the opportunity to continue living my life and doing the things I love….outside of work.