Generation Y

I recently had the opportunity to attend a conference that was mainly over the brain development of children and how hearing loss is now being linked to damage in the brain. 8 hour presentation and
i have to admit i was pretty bored, except for about 30 minutes of the lecture when the speaker started talking about the different "generations." I immediately became very interested in this and proceeded to do my own geeky research once I got home. (I'd like to think i'll always be somewhat of a student at heart!) The popular and most talked about generations include: The Great Generation, The Baby Boomers, Generation X, and now Generation Y also known as the Millennium Generation.

Side note-while at this conference, the speaker asked the us to raise our hands to see the different generations in the room, out of the entire conference, there were only 2 people in Generation Y...me and some other girl wayyy across the room. (no wonder I was bored)

The way it goes is Danny and I fall into the Millennium Generation. Our older siblings would likely be Generation X'ers, our Parents are a couple of Baby Boomers, and our grand parents to be most likely in the Great Generation.

The Great Generation- Possibly, besides my own, is my favorite generation. Cheers to the wise. This is the generation that knows exactly how much a gallon milk cost, and every price of meat cut at their local supermarket.  They lived through either parts or all of the Great Depression.  This generation knows how to survive and that is through hope and hard work. I read this when doing some research, "They can teach us that if we're to get through this time of crisis a better nation with a fundamentally stronger economy, we'd better learn how to work together and organize our lives around what we need -- not just what we want."

Baby Boomers- Predominately in their 40's to 50's who hold well established positions in their careers that usually consist of power & authority. They are very work centered and goal oriented, obviously from seeing their parents being such hard workers this should come to no surprise. In the work area, baby boomers, when doing really well at their job, expect "more work," if you will. They relish long work weeks and define themselves by their work accomplishments. Therefore to "reward" a baby boomer you should give them another project to do, or ask for their help in something or seek out their advice. =)  you will thank me for this piece of advice, send checks to 10200 indep kidding.

Generation X- The 30's, Sadly the generation X people, are prone to feel "less" or insecure or even sometimes scared of what the future might hold for them. Mainly because they are the generation that is "stuck" between the massive, never going away baby boomers, and young brilliant generation Y's that are closely right behind them taking over multi-million dollar corporations at 26 years old. Generation X's are independent, resourceful and self sufficient. They usually become this way since they grew up with "work-aholic" parents, from seeing this, they have developed a motto of "work to live" rather than "live to work."  As far as how they parent their own children, I read that, " It is a blend of caution, pragmatism and traditionalism - a mix of characteristics that were shaped with the help of their parents." Since this generation is relatively small, i couldn't find as much research on it. =/ 

Generation Y- AKA the Millenium- AKA Me, Myself, and I.  We young, smart and audacious. We wear flip flops to work and might even listen to our ipods while sitting in our cubicle. We want to work but will not let work become our life. Generation Y has been pampered, nurtured, and programmed with a slew of activities since they were born. We have grown up questioning our parents and now we will question the work force. I found this, "This age group is moving into the labor force during a time of major demographic change, as companies around the USA face an aging workforce. Sixty-year-olds are working beside 20-year-olds. Freshly minted college graduates are overseeing employees old enough to be their parents" Generation Y's are known to have financial smarts after witnessing so many down falls from the generations before us. 40% of Gen Y'ers are expected to start saving for retirement before the age of 25. In the work place, if we feel we are doing really well, we hope to hear our boss give us more vacation time...not more projects. Unlike the generation X's who dont really care for change but adapt to it easily, generation y'ers are always looking for change...a new adventure. 

well class, thats your lesson for today. I hope you all found it as interesting as i did, if not i apologize for not being very entertaining today. Lets blame it on the rain. 


Pray for danny as he takes another very important test tomorrow afternoon! I have been so proud of him for all the effort, hours and attention he has given into studying to further his career. I admire him for it. He is such a good husband and hard worker. I'm pretty sure he gets this from his dad, those baby boomers. =) 


Happy monday, 
amber&danny