Millennials doing worse than expected after college

Photo credit: head4success.com

Cosmopolitan.com conducted a survey where they asked around 800 twenty-somethings whether their post-college lives were better or worse than what they had expected. The majority of those surveyed — 73% of women and 53% of men — felt that they were doing worse than expected in their careers, savings, or living situations:

Most Millennials Are Doing Worse Than Expected After College (cosmopolitan.com)

The article profiles Josh, who’s 29 years old. Josh wanted to be a coach or teacher but felt that those professions were unrealistic for living in San Francisco, so he went into sales instead. While Josh hopes to make enough money to return to his desired profession of coaching or teaching, he believes this won’t be attainable until he reaches his 50s.

Student loan debt is a major reason why graduates are struggling. Jennifer, who’s 28, works as an instructor at a state university. She has around $30,000 in student loan debt and doesn’t know when she’ll be able to pay it off. Jennifer discusses how she was unprepared to take out student loans and how student loan debt is hurting the economy:

I did not really understand what I was getting into when I signed for students loans at 18 to 21 years old. My mother didn’t understand these things either. If people wonder why the economy’s so bad, this is one of the reasons: No one my age is spending money that could stimulate the economy because we’re nearly all drowning in student loan debt.

But it’s not all gloom and doom. Mary, who’s 23, worked jobs and internships throughout high school and college, and she got a full-time job before graduating. She purchased a house through long-term financial planning and saving money throughout college. Mary believes that more people her age need to prioritize and plan for their futures sooner.

If you’re in your twenties and have graduated college, how does your post-graduate life compare to your expectations? Are you doing better or worse than you had expected?

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