I just read this on Brazencareerist.com: http://www.brazencareerist.com/2010/01/29/why-don-t-gen-y-bloggers-talk-... and had an interesting reaction to it.

For those of you that don't know, Joel Zimmerman, a world renowned grammy winning DJ and Producer, is also know as Deadmau5 (pronounced 'Dead Mouse'). While the article talks about how he was able to create an incredible brand and utilize social media to build a following for his craft, it also talks about how he lived at home until he was 27. Which leads me to think the following: ".... why?"

After living abroad for 3 years in a country where it is almost unheard of to leave your house before the age of 30, and seeing how much it stunted personal growth, I would have to say that this is NOT an inspiration, but a detriment. Gen Y sometimes gets a negative connotation for being kids who are overly coddled and rewarded for trivial things. To quite the contrary, an enormous part of Gen Y are actually incredibly hard working, driven, multi-tasking individuals with values.

While working in entertainment, I was constantly surrounded by Gen Y-ers who made the same salary I did, but didn't care because mommy and daddy picked up the tab for EVERYTHING. In my mind we were all on the same level playing field coming in, and then something like having their rent payed for in elaborate apartments, definitely gave them a leg up. Were these fortunate people hard working/responsible? Yea, mostly. Was there much diversity in the office? Eh, it wasn't terrible. Were they the best employees? Almost never. Did they stick around longer than 6 months to move up? Not really.

When you live at home until you're in your late 20s, and don't value a dollar or actual hard work, you're almost at a disadvantage to your colleagues who know the difference. You're also at a disadvantage for yourself. If someone isn't giving you exactly what you want when you want it, you move on hoping to find it. Sometimes you'll get lucky and find it, but more often than not, whatever you're hoping to achieve will only be good because it was worth the wait knowing you did it on your own.

Coming home after college is understandable. Gen Y-ers are under an incredible amount of student loan weight, it's a very tough job market right now, and after all, it is home. But do yourself a favor - get out there and appreciate that you're making it on your own. Don't rely on your parents when you're 27 and successful like Joel Zimmerman is being applauded for.

Agree or Disagree?