MILLENNIALS: CREATE YOUR OWN JOB OPPORTUNITY

MILLENNIALS- CREATE YOUR OWN JOB OPPORTUNITY

By Domenick J. Maglio PhD., Traditional Realist

Millennials are perhaps the most academically educated generation in our nation.

The media has tagged them as the most overindulged, self-aggrandizing and “plugged in” group of young adults ever.  The millennial’s major gripe is that there are no educationally appropriate jobs for them in this economy.

The answer to their present and temporary dilemma is in their hands. Instead of complaining about their economic limitations on social media, they need to create their own opportunities by their own effort, brain power and perseverance.

They should learn from other periods of economic downturn. The same limited job opportunities existed for citizens during these times. Every immigrant group throughout our history had to face employment resistance. The Irish, in the mid 1800s were confronted by signs saying “No Micks Wanted.” The Swedes, Polish, Greeks, Jews, Italians and Hispanics overcame the roadblocks to work by first doing jobs no one else wanted.

The veterans returning from war, especially from WWI and Vietnam faced difficult employment reception. There were virtually no government safety nets to support them. It was work or amount to nothing. The GI Bill was there for Vets after WWII but many of them had personal responsibility to their families. They worked while getting an education. Most joined the labor market full time before reaching their educational dreams. 

Today, educated retirees are taking whatever jobs they can get due to age discrimination. They are employed in supermarkets, retail sales and as assistants in small businesses to survive these tough economic times. These retirees did what they had to do.

Overcoming job discrimination has never been easy. All these previous groups had to take positions below their ability, talents and education. They had to start at the bottom to reestablish references that could vouch for their present work ethic and abilities by actually demonstrating them on the job. The networking that they did was not through self-praising in a social media site but rather by developing a profile through the sweat of their brow.

After learning the business they became employed there and some moved to higher paying jobs. Some with entrepreneurial spirit created their own small business operations, often as a second job. They worked most of the time without getting a profit until the business became viable enough to quit the other job. They earned the privilege to run their own businesses and began to work for themselves at last.  A person’s sacrifice and effort is the key that opens the doors for employment and advancement

Today ivory tower credentialed students gain a dubious piece of paper. These graduated college students have an over inflated impression of their value to a businessman. It is not about how many credits or grades a students has earned in gaining an academic degree but what a person brings to the business to make it better, which is usually shown by starting at the bottom and working up the ladder.

The beginning employee has to prove his worth not believe he is entitled to start at the top. The arrogance of the millennials could be their worst flaw in developing into viable employees. They expect to begin their position making top dollar in a high level position. Most millennials refuse to “pay their dues” as did past citizens.

Today a person who wants to make $80/hour as a plumber initially serves an apprenticeship. He has to start as an assistant. He has to do whatever dirty work the master plumber wants until the plumber thinks he has studied his actions sufficiently to do more on his own. The apprentice earns his status in the same way a mentored teacher reaches a level of competence to be considered qualified.

Institutions of higher education have made the millennials believe that their piece of parchment paper would be the key that effortlessly and automatically opens the door to a high paying job in their field of interest. Instead, it has fostered angst, disenchantment and paralysis for these young adults.  The promotion of higher education has misrepresented the acceptance of college diplomas as a union pass. This misconception is angering many millennials, which prevents them from eagerly beginning to climb up the ladder to success.

Domenick Maglio, PhD. is a columnist carried by various newspapers, an author of several books and owner/director of Wider Horizons School, a college prep program. You can visit Dr. Maglio at www.drmaglio.blogspot.com.

CAN THE TENTH ANNIVERSARY OF 9/11 REIGNITE OUR FREE MARKET?

CAN THE 10^TH ANNIVERSARY OF 9/11 REIGNITE OUR FREE MARKET?

By Domenick J. Maglio PhD Traditional Realist

This is the 10^th anniversary of the terrorist attack on America. People are remembering the way we felt when this attack occurred. It brought us all together to appreciate what we have and to realize how fortunate we are to live in The United States of America.

Our nation was built on the hard work and lives of many who fought so we can have our freedom. However, the United States is not for everyone. It is for the rugged competitor who values freedom above all else. Unless a person comes from a wealthy family, he has to work to survive and prosper. The USA safety net is intentionally small and fragile. Citizens are expected to use their energy, creativity and effort to labor up the economic ladder. They are supposed to make their wealth through their own effort not to take the wealth of others through accepting public assistance.

America is and has been the land of opportunity for people who are willing to start at the bottom and work their way up. The choices in the USA are many but each comes with consequences. Accepting government assistance, except for the truly impaired, is seen by most as an admission of laziness. A person temporarily unemployed has the personal and civic responsibility to take a lesser position until he finds a better job or creates one. His work record sends a strong message to future employers that the person is a motivated worker.

A person with a spotty or no work record ends up sending up a red flag. An individual on the dole loses his motivation to show his worth in the free market. The decision to accept government handouts undermines a person’s resolve to remain outside the seductive clutches of government “largesse.

Freedom loving people want nothing with strings attached. They are willing to work in exchange for a salary and a chance to prove and improve themselves. Some may be exploited but sooner or later they understand another job or business opportunity will materialize to prove that he has the perseverance to be a success.

This courageous climb to the top in the free market is negatively called the "rat race". It is competitive and difficult although there are great rewards at the end. The higher one goes, the greater the risks but the bigger the prize.

Anyone in America with courage and initiative can choose the journey. At this point in time government meddling in the free market is growing but it is still far less than most developed nations. There are licenses and educational restrictions to limit joining in the adventure but as of now, the motivated and creative people find a way to get around bureaucratic red tape.

America is at a crossroads. The past several administrations have been enlarging the power of the federal government at the expense of the people's freedom. The proponents of big government are offering citizens more governmental services and even redistributive money. Citizen’s only requirement is to remain passive as the federal government dismantles our Bill of Rights, Constitution and our economic solvency.

The recipients of unearned government handouts usually are unaware once they start this process they are at the mercy of the bureaucratic decisions and lose all power to control their destiny. They become victims surrendering their freedom for entitlements that dwindle in value as more join their ranks. Too many Americans are willing to sell their souls for supposedly “free” health care. These people are unwittingly accepting government telling them what they can eat, drink, smoke, drive and what jobs to take in order to remain in the good graces of the big hand of government.

Fortunately there are many aware patriotic citizens who understand we are being stripped of our rights and freedoms. They want to keep their spiritual and economic freedom and are fighting to keep government out of our lives and pockets. They are uniting to choke off the money gushing into the "beast"-Washington, DC. It is a peaceful but powerful insurrection to stop the centralizing of federal power.

The saving of America would be accomplished by breaking the federal government's chaining of the entrepreneurial spirit. Self-reliant entrepreneurs have made America an economic dynamo. Government must stay out of the way of small business for us to continue to prosper.

The choice for us has never been clearer. It is up to all Americans to decide if they want a nation that controls all the choices and actions of its citizens, a nanny state, or one that allows citizens to determine their own destiny, a free market state. Rejection of government's seductive promises (lies) will keep the USA functioning at the highest socio economic level the world has ever witnessed.

Our nation cannot endure a civil war where half our citizens are productively working while the other half is given government payoffs to vote for the ruling political party. This is a failed formula that results in bankruptcy that tears apart every fiber of society that binds us together and leads us down a path of decline.

Our tenth anniversary of 9/11 can act as an historical, galvanizing event like the end of the Civil War to bring all Americans together revitalizing our nation. Abraham Lincoln in his Gettysburg Address stated:"...this nation under God shall have a new birth of freedom in that government of the people, by the people shall not perish from the earth."

At this juncture all citizens should be inspired to non-violently fend off government’s intrusion into every aspect of our daily lives. Being victorious in the struggle to preserve our economic opportunities and freedoms will pay generous dividends to all American citizens and will be a beacon to the rest of the world.

Dr. Maglio is the author of Invasion Within and Essential Parenting. He is a psychotherapist and the owner/director of Wider Horizons School.

Visit: www.drmaglio.com.