Gen-Yers Still Entitled ... Not Just in Workplace, But in Education Choices

I agree with you, Jess, that the poor job and internship prospects for today’s college students are more about the underperforming economy than an over-supply of participation trophies, or any other Gen-Y generalizations on which people like to pin such trends. But I disagree that Gen-Yers’ (that is to say, “our”) entitlement is purely economy-driven. Following your theory, that sense of privilege should diminish with the foundering economy. That would mean that our peers, many of whom are getting laid off or fear they soon will be, should right about now be tossing aside dreams of jobs that let us save the world and stay intellectually stimulated all day every day—all while wearing jeans and working from home when we feel like it!—and settling for whatever jobs we can get. Instead, we’re going to grad school.

The idea that young people choose to weather tough economic times in the safety of university libraries is nothing new. What’s different this time around is the opportunity costs that we Gen-Yers are all but ignoring when we choose the post-bac path. Education is expensive—much more so that it was for our parents, having gone up at more than twice the rate of inflation over the past two decades. The federal income-based repayment plan that kicked in this month underscores how bad the student loan trap has gotten. People are rejoicing over a plan that calculates what you owe each month based on what you make (a proposal so reasonable, it’s shocking it took this long) and lets you off the hook after 25 years (right when you’re gearing up to put your own kids through school).

That’s better, sure, but still pretty bad. Even with the new repayment plan, which only applies to federal loans, a two-year master’s degree could mean an entire adulthood of paying off loans. You’ll still probably have private loans on top of the federal ones, and ever-growing interest on both. The IBR plan reduces your monthly payments, but sticks you with up to 25 years of hacking away at your debt (which Smart Money estimates as $50,000 for the average grad school grad) before the government steps in and clears you of the rest. Oh, but you’ll still have to pay taxes on what was forgiven. To make matters worse, all that debt can hurt your employment chances. And in careers where a master’s degree doesn’t even do you much good, income-wise (like, say, mine), the salary you didn’t get while you were a student combined with the salary increase you won’t get for having been one are two more reasons not to take the higher-higher ed road.

Still, 20-somethings are turning to grad school as some great liberating option. Workplace got you down? Get another degree! You deserve it! In some cases, it will pay off. But often, it seems like one more reflection of that sense of invincibility and entitlement that our generation is often accused of having: indulge in education now; hope those pesky responsibilities that come with it don’t find us later.

Photograph by Getty Images.

Tags: generation y, grad school, jobs, millenials

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Samantha Henig is the associate editor of Double X, and can be reached at samantha.henig@doublex.com.

Comments

Thank God for Lower Class

By: studentontherebound | Tue, 07/07/2009 - 18:45

Look, I'm gonna keep repeating myself I expect, but what grad schools and colleges are you going to?? I got a four year degree from a university for the bargain price of $24000. While my parents did take on about 1/3 of my loans, I am set to pay back my loans at $300 a month for 6 years. I have also refused to have a credit card until I have real estate with which to support it. Does that mean I went hungry some days, even with my 25+ hour a week job during college? Yes, it did. But it also means once I pay off my loans, I will be completely debt-free.

And yet I still got a four year degree. Does it have the prestiege of a private university? No. It was from a lower middle class, public university. However, my university was ranked top 3rd in the state, my department (history) was rewarded the Excellence in Teaching of all the public universities (winning out over the astronomically priced UW Madison), and has some of the most cutting edge technology services around.

Having to work during my years of college also gave me an edge: I spent 3 years working video editing and computer support, something completely alien to my academic skills. Because my university is catering to lower income students, they really go out of their way to provide student jobs, even to those who are not federally funded.

What's the conclusion? My generation (I'm 24) isn't necessarily spoiled because we expect a good education... it's that we expect that education with no strings attached and no sacrifices, and lack any kind of imagination to forge our own destiny. Many friends from high school went to far more prestigeous and expensive colleges than me... except now I have a well-paying job and only a small hill of debt. My peers didn't expect to work beyond the bare minimum, and then reap the rewards.

Lastly, I'm applying to graduate school right now (not to escape the work place, I've just always wanted to work in academics), and I've been told over and over again by professors that if a grad school really wants you, they'll pay for you... and that if you have to take on loans for a PhD, you must be a moron.

Entitled... or weathering the storm?

By: LK | Tue, 07/07/2009 - 16:56

With the job market what it is, I'm not sure many Gen-Yers know even HOW to "settl[e] for whatever jobs we can get." What jobs would those be?

I am an "early" Gen-Yer; namely, someone who grew up with friends on the tail end of Gen-X. I myself just finished graduate school and even then I was the ONLY one in my subject's graduating class who found a job (and that's only because I was willing to literally move anywhere in the country). Many of my friends are now weighing their options: do they go for a job they KNOW they can get but which has NO health insurance and barely pays rent... or go back to school yet again for a PhD in order to get health insurance built into their tuition, a stipend teaching job, therefore more experience, and have their student loans temporarily on "hold" (even if they are increasing via more school).

One close friend I have is an engineer with a specialty in Green Energy, who made over $60,000 last year. He was just laid off and spent months searching for a job ANYWHERE in the country that would be about equivalent, even for a slight pay-cut. No bites. So, he's going to grad school! Why? "Well, what else am I going to do?" he says. His unemployment runs out soon, and hopefully in a few years all of the funding for green energy that Obama keeps promising will kick in. So, for now, he plans on becoming a student again, getting back in shape (unemployment has meant a lot more time at the local gym for him), and just waiting.

Yes, we're all wracking up debt, but like using a credit card to pay for groceries, I think many of us are focusing on what we need short-term and crossing our fingers for long term. Right now, we think, I'll have a place to sleep, some money to spend, and somewhere to go if I get sick. Right now is terrifying, but the future is unknown-- hey, maybe it'll get better in a few years.

Personally, I'm IMMENSELY lucky that I have a job (and, to be honest, my master's degree did help with that) and very few student loans. But I'd never call most of my peers who aren't that lucky right now "entitled" for going back to school and waiting for more options. It's a rough storm out there; a plan to at least TRY and survive it seems to be better than nothing.

Sorry, I think I'm on a tangent ...

By: Sihaya | Tue, 07/07/2009 - 14:23

"Even with the new repayment plan, which only applies to federal loans, a two-year master’s degree could mean an entire adulthood of paying off loans."

Is that with the average private school, or does that include public colleges?

I've noticed in the last few years the rise of the trade school. My public high school had a huge automotive voc-ed program when I was a kid. It included part-time work at auto shops. There was a hotel management program, too, I think. The school district started moving to shut these programs down, saying that they undermined the district's efforts to get as many kids as possible into college. But alot of kids had graduated the automotive program to become successful business owners who earned very comfortable and reliable incomes. Their own education costs kept down, they were often financially ready to send their kids to college with less dependence on financial aid.

The big hotel program in my city, last I checked, was linked to a four-year college. The same education now requires many thousands of dollars. Apprenticeships are now nearly unheard-of, so the two year schools are exploding in my city. The two-year programs are cheaper than the bachelors, but still quite alot of money for your average voc-ed student. So yay, now my beautician has a two year degree and a bunch of debt. Now the school district and society can feel *so successful.* The education of each professional is the same, but now a shinier institutional pedigree is attached. We should give ourselves a plastic trophy.

And yeah, I think the same thing is going on at the upper ends of the educational bracket, too. We're expecting post-bachelor's educations in positions for which a college education used to be sufficient.

Again, not new

By: geml | Tue, 07/07/2009 - 14:13

I hate to keep harping, but these exact same issues were brought up as Gen-Xers went into the marketplace (or didn't, in the early 1990's.) And back then, education was more expensive for us than it was for any generation previous. It was something of a joke that every third GenXer you knew was going to either law school or getting and MBA -- often at ridiculously high costs and no guarantee of return. (Not all degrees are created equal.)

But all that said, I do just have to say that my husband and I will be paying off his law school loans for another 20 years, and we've already been paying for ten. Honestly, it isn't that draconian. The payments, spread out as they are, are lower than you might think. If he dies, it is a loan that I am not responsible to repay as his wife or through his estate. Plus, some of that payoff has been tax deductible, depending on earnings. Although he does not practice law, his earning potential and ability to select positions that interest him have been helped by the degree. If I can pay a mortgage for 30 years, I don't see any reason to get all worked up about paying for the education that helped put us in a position to be able to buy a home in the first place.

I don't doubt that all of this is something of shock for GenY, but it's a shock your generation can and will absorb. It's not fun, but it's not fatal either.