The Millennial Problem

You’re a millennial and you’re probably familiar with the constant criticism your age group gets from the older generation. What most people don’t realize as an individual of the millennial generation, we have been experiencing challenges for our entire adult life and it’s not even our fault.

Instead of criticizing the millennial generation, people should try and understand the issues and problems that have unfortunately affected our adult lives.

Student Debt:
It’s more likely nowadays that millennials have a secondary degree versus the older generation. More jobs in today's market require a bachelor degree or more, so many millennials have felt no choice but to go to College or University to obtain an education to eventually help them land a job in their potential field.

Sadly, these degree’s come at a massive cost. Student debt is one of the biggest challenges that is facing millennials and the up and coming younger generation of students. According to a CTV article from 2021, nearly two million Canadian students owed the federal government a total of $20.5 billion, with the average loan balance exceeding $13,000 at the time of leaving school.


Unemployment:
It’s no joke that finding a job that's aligned with your values and purpose is hard to get, but it’s even harder to find a job with a decent amount of pay for the work. For most millennials, they graduated from College or University in the hopes to join the workforce immediately. In the last 10 years, unemployment has dropped, but since COVID, it quickly increased again and no one knows what the future looks like, so finding a job that aligns with your passions as well as your overall goals is not something most millennials can hope for.

Housing Cost:
How many times have you heard the older generation say to you, “You guys are still in that apartment, why haven’t you moved into a house?”
On average, wages haven't increased with the overwhelming increase of the real estate market in the last few years. On top of the pre-existing student loans, rising gas prices, low wages and the increasing cost to live, how can anyone afford a home in this unpredictable market?


Mental Health:
With all of the financial issues and inconsistency happening in the world around us, it’s no wonder millennials are under so much stress and even worse, depressed. All generations have their own challenges of course, but millennials are facing employment challenges, the high cost of living, and many other stressors. These issues can take a serious toll on anyones mental health and with the limited amount of mental health facilities available in most communities, it can become harder to tackle these issues head on. As well as be able to live a life of freedom and abundance without the overwhelming worry of how you’re supposed to stay afloat when the job market, the housing market and the current wage are affecting every aspect of your life. 


So before you judge a millennial for their choices of not owning a home, a car or even obtaining a secondary education, look at the world around us and try to understand from their perspective that living in an unpredictable world can create an unpredictable mindset.