AI definitely took Niya's job and it's a warning for other Gen Zers.
I'm 33 and I experienced my first layoff when I was 23. I was 5 months into my first "real" job and I was let go after my employer lost it's government contract. My career never recovered from that layoff.
Like Niya, I did all sorts of things to try to achieve all of my goals: applied to grad school, started a business, began freelancing, traveled the country, side hustled like crazy...
Eventually, I discovered the goals I had assigned myself weren't really my goals. They were everyone else's.
If I could give my younger self a piece of advice, I would offer this: don't work harder, change your goals.
I empathize and respect Niya for wanting to pursue higher education, but the writing is literally on the wall. AI is going to do most writing moving forward. Taking out tens of thousands of dollars in student loan debt for a job that no longer exists is reckless.
I think Gen Z needs to change their goals. Don't do what your parents did and don't peg your success against society's expectations. Do your own thing.
Go WWOOFING, learn to farm, start a homestead. Teach English overseas and travel. Start an old school business in a small town.
Don't go to grad school and try to get a traditional desk job. Think outside the box.
Niya points out a real, real problem that most hiring managers have not figured out - industries do not foster loyalty so many, regardless of generation, don’t either. 3 year tenures should be considered long these days. Yet companies are still looking for people with 5 year tenures in their last few jobs.
Relatedly, I was once told my recruiters that my resume made me look like an inconsistent job hopper. In fact, I had been laid off less than a year in at 3 jobs in a row. I certainly wasn't job hopping by choice!
AI definitely took Niya's job and it's a warning for other Gen Zers.
I'm 33 and I experienced my first layoff when I was 23. I was 5 months into my first "real" job and I was let go after my employer lost it's government contract. My career never recovered from that layoff.
Like Niya, I did all sorts of things to try to achieve all of my goals: applied to grad school, started a business, began freelancing, traveled the country, side hustled like crazy...
Eventually, I discovered the goals I had assigned myself weren't really my goals. They were everyone else's.
If I could give my younger self a piece of advice, I would offer this: don't work harder, change your goals.
We've been set up to fail and things are going to get worse because of AI. I wrote a bit about that here: https://open.substack.com/pub/tomorrowtodaynow/p/gen-z-employment-crisis-part-1?r=4h8lp&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false
I empathize and respect Niya for wanting to pursue higher education, but the writing is literally on the wall. AI is going to do most writing moving forward. Taking out tens of thousands of dollars in student loan debt for a job that no longer exists is reckless.
I think Gen Z needs to change their goals. Don't do what your parents did and don't peg your success against society's expectations. Do your own thing.
Go WWOOFING, learn to farm, start a homestead. Teach English overseas and travel. Start an old school business in a small town.
Don't go to grad school and try to get a traditional desk job. Think outside the box.
Niya points out a real, real problem that most hiring managers have not figured out - industries do not foster loyalty so many, regardless of generation, don’t either. 3 year tenures should be considered long these days. Yet companies are still looking for people with 5 year tenures in their last few jobs.
Relatedly, I was once told my recruiters that my resume made me look like an inconsistent job hopper. In fact, I had been laid off less than a year in at 3 jobs in a row. I certainly wasn't job hopping by choice!