Ever been so frustrated with your job that you debated quitting and spontaneously jet-setting to the South of France?  Were these thoughts fueled by the desire to travel, laziness, or out of extreme frustration with your job?

Let me preface all of this by stating that I'm aware of my generation's stereotype: We're considered lazy, entitled, and often times unskilled.  I'd be lying if I said that these stereotypes came out of nowhere -- I understand why they're floating around.  Many millennial enter the workforce expecting their dream job, not wanting to work their way up, put in their time, and expect to be treated like royalty before dealing with some shit.


I too have had these thoughts: wondering why I wasn't landing a job straight out of The Hills and why I wasn't able to buy everything in my online shopping carts.  Truth is, if we stopped comparing ourselves to others and just paved our own path, we probably wouldn't think this way.

I quickly snapped out of my unrealistic daze and realized that it takes a few things to get to where we want to be: time, practice, patience, and most importantly, work.  Too often we're rushing to have a fancy title that doesn't mean much, lengthy vacation time, and have the desire to appear as if we completely have our shit together.

Stop thinking that your dream career will be handed to you on a platter.  Unless you've been pursuing something for years already and know exactly what it is you want to do with your life, it won't.  You're going to have to do some networking, long hours, struggling, and start at the bottom.

I don't think that millennials are lazy as a whole, but I do think that there are qualities that we're used to which make us seem lazier than others.  We're used to doing everything electronically in a matter of minutes.  If something takes longer than we'd like it to, we might become frustrated and wonder why it's not working in a matter of seconds.  We text, even while in a social setting with other humans, instead of putting in the effort of having a good conversation.  We learned math on a calculator, never needing to flip through pages of numbers to find an answer.  We fill medical forms, tax forms, and order everything online.

I realize that we're looked at as a lazy group, but I know there are plenty of us busting our ass.  We've lived a different life because of technology, but we also know how to use it!  Put in the time and work now.  Whatever your job may be, work to be the best at it.  Look at every day and every experience as a chance to acquire more knowledge, and use the resources that are available to you.

Stop waiting around for opportunities to be handed to you, and go out and find them.  Earn the respect that you seek in your professional career, and realize that landing your dream job probably won't happen immediately...but it can happen after hard work.