Will Generation Y young men and women be able to attain their realistic dreams for the future?  Will they get the jobs they want or be able to start their own small businesses one day, from experiences they learned working in their jobs?

Who are the members of Generation Y? Typically, they are defined as young people between the ages of about 16-30. Many of them are still in school or have moved from education to employment, either on a temporary, part-time or full-time basis. Others are still unemployed, because of the aftermath of the recent recession.

Generation Y members, also referred to as millennials, are growing up in a different world than past generations did. They have been raised with cable TV, cell phones and the Internet. They connect with each other through social media, such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. They don’t pay as much attention to traditional sources of news and information as previous generations did. 

Many of these millennials are well educated, and adaptable to change and innovation. A study reported just this week in “The Chronicle of Higher Education,” found a decline among millennials in civic interest, such as political participation and trust in government, as well as in concern for others, including charity donations, and in the importance of having a job worthwhile to society.

The millennials generation has been raised in a culture that places “more focus on the self and less focus on the group, society and community,” the authors noted.

Generation Y members are fearful and uncertain about their jobs prospects. A poll conducted by Sloan Work and Family Research Network found three career concerns affecting Generation Y: “Financial security, job stability and career satisfaction.”

The present economy is depressed but starting to revitalize itself. Jobs are still scarce but the outlook is improving. Similarly, while wage rates remain low, they are expected to slowly pick up. Most Generation Y job seekers want wage security, a 35-hour work week, full health insurance, long vacation times and an early retirement deal. These benefits are just not happening at this time.  Jobs are tough to get in today’s economy, and millennials are going to need guidance, patience and commitment, to do well in future employment.

The Generation Y young people need to find work in jobs they like to do and stay in that type work for awhile, rather than making quick switches, because they will need specific experience in order to meet their full potential and eventually move upward. Job satisfaction is important, and many needed skills can be learned on the job.

Many immigrants who came here in the past started their own businesses, often because without a high school degree, they could not find a job. They worked hard and long hours and focused on what they did best to survive. Generation Y students must stay in school today and expand their knowledge, until the economy turns around with more job openings.

I remember the story of my friend’s father, who as a 15-year-old immigrant from Italy started to collect used cardboard and rags in an old, second-hand pushcart. He learned where the trash went, the prices paid, and how scrap cardboard was processed. His goal was to one day start a small cardboard processing plant of his own, which he did. He planned his dream and grew it into a multi-million dollar business.

Today, more Generation Y women are enrolled in colleges than men. In “Women will lead Generation Y,” Rebecca Thorman shows how roles traditionally filled by men are changing. Medical and management fields are seeing an influx of women job holders. Women are also filling jobs in the health care and education fields.

Our young men are lagging in going to college, and in getting jobs. Part of the reason is that manufacturing and construction industries are in a downturn, and these are job areas that traditionally went to men. Generation Y young men need to recognize how much harder it is going to be for them to be successful, than it was for their fathers and grandfathers.   

Things are changing fast, so now is the time to prepare for the job markets that are here or growing, and the skills and training that will be necessary to get those jobs.

— Bernard Featherman is a business columnist for the Journal Tribune and former president of the Biddeford-Saco Chamber of Commerce.