Self-made individuals
And there are definite groups that are part of economic change: the eternal student who remains in college to postpone entry into an impossibly challenging workforce. The adult who reverts to a young person by moving home (90,000 over-30s in Ireland currently live with their parents; more than two-thirds of them are men). The emigrant. The borderline emigrant. The young person who can’t afford to emigrate and is stuck in a cycle of unemployment previously reserved for those on the fringes of society. The intern who works free of charge just to get a foothold in their industry.
Eventually, society will endorse some of these changes, for better or for worse – exhibit A: JobBridge.
Generation Next: The online comments
The Generation Next series has been running all week in The Irish Times. Here is a selection of reader comments on our website
ADVICE FOR GENERATION NEXT
RoMolloyLife is fantastic but short – enjoy and treasure it. Take an interest in politics: it affects your daily life. Think before you vote. Question everything. Every once in a while do absolutely nothing.
PatrickCusackRobert Emmett was dead at 25, Wolfe Tone dead at 35, Michael Collins – 32. All made an impact early in life. So can you. Ireland needs its youth more than Australia or Canada.
JohnNagleNever take advice from other people.
MartyMooreThe time to wait for something you love and find rewarding is gone. You have to pay your bills. One of the problems that came out of the Celtic Tiger was the attitude that you can do whatever you want and certain jobs were beneath people.
Sue KelleherIn my mid-30s, my main advice would be to be guided by whatever makes you feel excited . . . You will always feel like you’re in the right place.
GENERATION NEXT REPLIES
JessicaThe generations that have come before me are responsible for the burden I now shoulder as a professional in my early 20s. But the biggest issue facing my generation is the mistakes that the generations preceding mine continue to make.
The recession has created an acceptance of exploitation. Young, intelligent and enthusiastic people who are being exploited by the very ones who left us in this situation in the first place.
This culture of pro-bono work, of overtime and underpay, is damaging in more profound ways than you could possibly imagine. Slapping the label “intern” on a position does not make this exploitation acceptable. Nor does the emotional blackmail of: “Aren’t you lucky to have a job?”
Read more comments or add your own at irishtimes.com/ generationemigration/category/ discussion/
