Hi I'm a Gen Y and I want it all

After watching a piece on Generation Y last night on Today Tonight (ick can't believe I was watching - I must have been home too early), and after the various articles on the subject that have been circulating of late, I feel it's time for a rebuttal from one Gen Y to another (or perhaps you are a Gen X, and in which case, you know what we're about too).

Gone are the days of working loyally for one employer for 30-40 years. Gen Y's can't imagine working in the same company for more than a couple of years. Always on the lookout for the next opportunity or the next promotion, our generation is knowledge hungry and ready for success. We want to achieve everything on our long list of goals. And I mean everything.

As a teenager I never imagined just choosing one career and sticking with it until retirement - can anyone say boring? The thought of doing the day-in day-out routine of a 9-5 job for that many years makes even the most dedicated worker, want an escape route. When it came to choosing my uni preferences I couldn't decide between Marine Biology, Dance, Education, Journalism, Photography, Graphic Design, Fashion Design and Acting... and even part way through my career, I still plan to tick many of these professions off my list. Well, most of them anyway.

It's not to say that Gen Y's are not loyal or hardworking. If anything I think the majority of us are more enthusiastic and want more challenges than anyone before us. We're not afraid of hard work... we just want to be noticed and rewarded for it. We believe we can reach the top of the career ladder and we're not going to let anyone tell us we can't.

Just like one of the girl's who was interviewed in the TT story said, we expect employers to keep us motivated, interested and challenged... and really, should we expect any less? If we're expected to slog it out for them and do well in our professions, surely we should be rewarded for the results we bring them?

I agree that sometimes our generation can be too quick to expect a promotion, or that we tend to want to take on jobs that require many more years of real-life experience that what we've got. It can be hard to sit still and wait to be ready for a dream position. But in the long run, I believe the more experience you have, in more areas, the richer your life will be.

So be patient Gen Y, but don't forget to dream big, because you can do anything you set your mind to : )

Notes on Glossy Paper