Millennials are Bailing on their jobs

I find this somewhat older post fascinating. It would appear that more and more millennials are waking up and realizing that there’s more to life than just overworking. Sure they get big $ but they’re burning out too.

“I wanted to travel more — I didn’t want to have to ask for time off and grovel for extra days, you know?” says Solomon, now 25 and living in a rental house in Kauai, Hawaii, overlooking the beach. I’m seeing this trend first hand. My niece and her husband are leaving South Africa to travel and work on the road. Of course, they have no children or pets to tie them down, so I’m all for it. Do it while you can, experience the adventure. While travel may be uncomfortable at times, it’s an adventure.

“I do have to budget more, but the freedom is so worth it,” she says. “There are different ways to do work . . . The world is changing.”

True, the way to work is changing, but the one thing the article doesn’t mention the most important thing to make this work. You need to be experienced and have a valuable skill in order to be able to live this lifestyle. Not everyone can just quit their job, hit the road, and be able to eek out an existence. You need to have a skill in hand that’s valuable and have the experience to go with it. This is why coders, journalists, and English teachers have typically done well in these situations. They have skills overseas employers typically want and need.

Still, there’s something to be said for the 9 to 5 rat race. You are trading your time for money but if you do it right (save/invest/low debt/etc), you can get rich and retire early.

Still, it’s not for everyone and certainly not for my niece.

Do it while you can

I was never more alive than when I woke up on a cold airport floor in Utah. The last flight out of Salt Lake City was canceled due to mechanical problems and we were rebooked on the earliest flight out at 6AM. I opted to crash on the floor wearing my business attire and promptly fell asleep on the cold hard floor. I was cranky, pissed, and very tired when I woke up. I sucked down some coffee, made it to my gate, and flew home.

It wasn’t until a few weeks later when my friend Richard reminded me that I was one of the lucky ones. I’m one of the few that gets to fly around the country, meet new people, learn new things, solve problems, and be in one of the hottest tech industries of my time. If waking up on the occasional airport floor didn’t make all this adventure worthwhile, then I was a fool. He was right.

So I say to you my family and my loyal readers. Do it while you can. Get out there. Build a life filled with adventure, but do it wisely. Learn a good skill, be entrepreneurial, work your butt off to build the life you want. Then live go it.