Is living with your parents a wise career decision?

Photo credit: Time.com

Is moving back in with your parents after graduating college actually a wise career decision? That’s the question that this New York Times article poses:

It’s Official: The Boomerang Kids Won’t Leave (nytimes.com)

The article profiles millennials who returned to their parents’ houses for reasons such as career indecision, student loan debt, and inability to find a job that paid enough. But Adrianne Smith, a 28-year old graduate, was making over $60,000 a year as a behavioral analyst. So why did she move back home?

Smith’s work treating autism inspired her to create a startup where clinics could serve patients in their own homes. She moved back home to save money that could be put towards her startup, developing a website and hiring employees instead of paying rent. And she also began using her sister’s old room as an office.

But what about millennials living at home who don’t have a career plan in mind? Annie Kasinecz, a 27-year-old graduate, did a string of unfulfilling jobs to pay down her student debt. Jeffrey Jensen Arnett, a psychologist, praised Kasinecz’s decision to move back home and decide on a more fulfilling career:

Kasinecz, he said, was still searching for the right fit and refusing to settle for anything less. Somewhat counterintuitively, Arnett said, it’s the people most actively involved in this struggle, the ones who at times seem totally lost, who are likely to find their way.

For those of you living with your parents, do you think that it’s helped your career? And for those of you living on your own, do you think that living with your parents would’ve benefitted your career?

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