Unemployed Millennials

By now the story feels old. And this is not a good thing. Members of the millennial generation-- between 18 and 29-- are suffering an excessively high level of unemployment. We have heard about this so often that it is almost becoming a new normal. As I say, this is not a good thing.

We know that young people cannot get jobs, and that, when they can, the jobs on offer are far beneath their educational achievements.

And we also know, as Louis Uchitelle chronicles in the New York times, that the: "American dream is elusive for new generation." Link here.

Beyond those new realities lies the fact that this generation has not been prepared to adapt to hardship. Millennials are full up with confidence about the future. Many of them are still living in a mindset that promises hope and change. They are, I daresay, casualties of the self-esteem movement.

Uchitelle's article recounts the problems that Scott Nicholson, recent Colgate graduate, is having find a job. He compares Scott's experience to that of his father and grandfather.

Apparently, Scott was offered a low level job as a claims adjuster at an insurance agency. Finding it well beneath him, he turned it down. Now, with nothing else on offer, he is beginning to have second thoughts about his decision.

As Uchitelle explains, the last Great Depressoin "damaged the confidence of the young, and that is beginning to happen now...."

Surely, this is a sobering thought. I would not say that the next Great Depression is going to cure the millennials of their high self-esteem. As Uchitelle points out, it will surely damage their confidence, and that involves the confidence that they have earned as well as the confidence that has no basis in reality.

When Uchitelle says that their confidence is "beginning" to be damaged now, he is suggesting that we are at the beginning of another Great Depression.

Since most people seem to believe that we are beginning to exit the Great Recession, his is not a very comforting thought. In fact, it is downright frightening.

If that were the whole story, I would not be posting about it again. The part of Scott Nicholson's story that struck me was the following:

"Scott Nicholson almost sidestepped the recession. His plan was to become a Marine Corps. second lieutenant. He had spent the summer after his freshman year in 'platoon leader' training. Last fall he passed the physical for officer training and was told to report on Jan. 16.

"If all had gone well, he would have emerged in 10 weeks as a second lieutenant, committed to a four-year enlistment. 'I could have made a career out of the Marines,' Scott said, 'and if I had come out in four years, I would have been incredibly prepared for the workplace.'"

As it happened, the Marines discovered that Scott had had childhood asthma, so he could not enlist.

Despite the self-esteem training that he had probably received through his education, Scott Nicholson had enough good sense to know that his academic credentials and the work habits he had acquired in college would not make him a very desirable employee. He understood that military training would have not only allowed him to sidestep the recession, but would have greatly enhanced his future career prospects.

I've made the same recommendation before. Many people took great offense at the notion. They do not think that it is a serious option, because they maintain the view that the military is just about killing.

Young people who have been taught that it is morally wrong to eat bacon and eggs are not about to rush toward the nearest Marine recruiter.

It would be useful for all of us to understand that people do not join the military because they like to kill. They join because the military provides them with psychosocial skills that are not very readily available in our current culture.

When society is going through a socially chaotic period, more and more people are drawn to a culture where things are in their proper order, where everyone knows what his job is, where people value patriotism and loyalty, where success is rewarded with the kind of self-esteem that you can take with you into the business world.