Millennials May Be the First Generation to Lose a Majority of their Jobs to Automation.

I'm glad you were able to have plenty of opportunities that have allowed you to find work and commute to it effectively.

You're post seems to be implying that I, or the group I represent, is either lazy or entitled. I started college in 2008. This is about the time that college tuition took another spike and interest rates went up to 6-8% for a loan.

The whole idea of going to community college first or somewhere cheaper wasn't exactly an idea that had begun circulating yet. I was younger for my grade. I graduated at 17. I made all these decisions when I was 17. I did what society was echoing and what I thought was best at the time.

I was studying math and waited tables throughout my 4-year university. I got the idea that I wanted to be an actuary because it was glorified by the internet as a great job with great security. I applied for different jobs, in different cities, using many different methods for about 5 months. After I secured one, I moved in with 3 other random roommates and was laid off 4 months later.

Again, finding a job was going to take a long time as I was still entry-level. I had no savings and had a minimum on bills to keep up with. I went back to waiting tables while studying on my own. I couldn't afford my rent any longer and had to move back home with my parents. After not being able to find a job anywhere close for months, I went to the school nearest my parents for a graduate degree in Statistics. I hoped that maybe this one will get me off my feet and able to pay off my past and future loans.

After my second semester of graduate school, I knew I needed to get a job. I finally convinced a small consulting company to let me on at a reduced salary. I worked here full-time while going to school part-time and still living at home. This company is 30 miles away from where I live in a city when no public transportation. The generation before us rejected all the bills for expanding public transportation because they wanted this to be a car city. It's a little too late to expand and implement it now. (We can thank Chevron lobbying for this.) I needed to reliably get to work and get to school for this to pay off. I practically lived out of my car during this time.

Now, I have just graduated and was told that my reduced salary will not rise even though my limitations of being a student have been lifted. I've been currently searching for a job in many different cities. Most cities have a hard requirement that you already live there unless you are a near perfect entry level applicant. Perfect meaning, you are an expert in several different programming languages, have exceptional soft skills, and know theory enough to teach it to a 5th grader.

Anyways, I am now 26 nearly ten years older than when I applied for my first loan. I don't want to own a house or 'things'. I want to be able to not have to worry about whether or not I can afford the next spike in insurance, or what will happen if I can't make a payment again.

/r/Futurology Thread Parent Link - economicalmillennial.com