The middle and even upper middle classes of adults in their twenties and thirties are really struggling. The New York Times article is sobering. Indeed, do not read it if you are prone to stress! As a father of three who are entering and soon will be entering the work world and young adulthood, I couldn’t help but worry about their future.
If you are reading an article on Career Counseling Connecticut’s site, you presumably are at least in the middle class and likely higher (even if you do not think so). I note because those who have economic challenges below the middle class will likely read the case studies and laugh at the privileged. Specifically, all of the families earn more money than most and a couple of the families featured earn what most would consider a great deal of money.
Nonetheless, each study, as well as the macroeconomic analysis regarding careers and money, illustrates the stress facing those entering what I call the New World of Work. The root cause emanates from the lack of career preparedness most young adults have when facing the work world. High schools do nearly nothing to address career issues. Colleges – surprisingly – are not much better. Few provide career exploration. Most of Career Counseling Connecticut’s twentysomething clients routinely tell us that they have no idea what they want to do for their career. This is after 4 or more years and, in many cases, several hundred thousand dollars have been spent on college.
The solution: start the career planning process early. To that end, Career Counseling Connecticut can help you, help them.