In today’s modern world, technology makes information accessible but the technological developments also involve factors such as flickering screens, glaring light, fast speeds of information processing, and increased work demands that are both physically and psychologically trying. There are numerous campaigns petitioning for people to unplug, and it behooves people to do so from time to time to conserve their energy.
I perceive that modern middle and upper class have a mindset to their advantage, of knowing how to network, utilize the vast array of resources, interpret information, and integrate multiple levels of knowledge and responsibilities in order to thrive better despite the series of recessions hitting the United States in the past few decades. Those that do not have the confidence to access these points will fall further into the gaping hole of poverty and lack of education.
There were a few segments on NPR that I listened to on the radio lately about programs to teach low-income people about resetting their mindsets which they may have learned from their early developmental socialization and other programs that set low-income individuals up with middle-class mentors to teach them how to have the assertiveness to push harder. These and other factors may help to alleviate the economic atmosphere of mass discontent, job displacement, and declining quality of living. It does take a village to assist people with the transition from surviving to thriving.
It’s not even all about money, having or getting a job, networking, or being lucky. It’s about a lot of factors. It’s about navigating through a modern world, developing analytical and perceptive thinking skills, and knowing how to look at a world full of information and connecting the right dots in order to have the information and opportunities you really need. It’s also about networking, not just to have names in your book, but to link yourself to like-minded comrades to support each other through thick and thin, and through this recession, the hurdles of life, the transitions of life, and the joys of life. It’s primarily about knowing and respecting yourself first and foremost before you face this increasingly globalized world. If you don’t run with it, it will leave you far, far behind.
These are some modern occupations millennial career seekers grapple with:
- Evaluating information, discarding information that is obsolete
- Knowing the basics of economics, personal finance, investing, financial management calculations, and financial management software/websites like Microsoft Excel or checking interest rates on Bankrate.com
- Knowing the basics of reading and understanding contracts and basic civil legal matters i.e. bill contracts, landlord-tenant laws, employment discrimination, FDIC limits
- Knowing how to search the internet for information
- Knowing and continually utilizing mathematics and understanding of statistics
- How to read and understand a newspaper, including politics and the stock quotes
- How to understand that politics is much, much, much, much, MUCH more than candidate commercials, late night comedy, South Park, and buzzwords
- Quickly processing and responding to emails
- Constantly learning new technologies and software
- Communicating with people from diverse cultures
- Speaking with higher-ups i.e. presidents, CEOs, commissioners
- Being able to quickly analyze situations during travel, i.e. navigating urban train, bus, and taxi modes of transportation, learning the cities, economy, culture, and basics of language
- Studying multiple languages in order to understand people better i.e. French, Italian, Korean, Japanese
Myself considered, I am still learning these things. I just graduated from university three months ago. I feel that I am temporarily struggling but I am fairly ambitious and connected enough to pull my weight and then some. I love to set goals and often find myself hitting walls trying to accomplish them, but I hate to give in.
I feel that there are opportunities everywhere and it takes an intrepid explorer to go out and seek them. We are capable!
The Laurels Journal 