Guest Post Series

Today we are introducing the first post in our Guest Post series. Since creating the Write Your Own Post section, we have received multiple requests to be featured. Currently we are working with five people to be featured in the upcoming weeks. The more interest we receive, the more frequently we will publish these guest posts. Anyone interested in discussing their career decisions, office culture or anything remotely similar to the topic of Millennials at Work, please send an Email to Employee.Evolution@gmail.com.

Self-fulfillment through Self-employment

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 3^rd 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.