Many in their early 20s feel tethered to their work world and earn less than their parents did at their age, writes New York Times contributor Teddy Wayne.
"If I'm not at the office, I'm always on my BlackBerry," said Casey McIntyre, 28, a book publicist in New York. "I never feel like I'm totally checked out of work."
Ms. McIntyre is just one 20-something — a population historically exploitable as cheap labor — learning that long hours and low pay go hand in hand in the creative class. The recession has been no friend to entry-level positions, where hundreds of applicants vie for unpaid internships at which they are expected to be on call with iPhone in hand, tweeting for and representing their company at all hours.
"We need to hire a 22-22-22," one new-media manager was overheard saying recently, meaning a 22-year-old willing to work 22-hour days for $22,000 a year. Perhaps the middle figure is an exaggeration, but its bookends certainly aren't. According to a 2011 Pew report, the median net worth for householders under 35 dropped by 68 percent from 1984 to 2009, to $3,662. Lest you think that's a mere side effect of the economic downturn, for those over 65, it rose 42 percent to $170,494 (largely because of an overall gain in property values). Hence 1.2 million more 25-to-34-year-olds lived with their parents in 2011 than did four years earlier.
The young are logging hours, too. In 2011, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, full-time workers ages 20 to 24 put in just 2.1 fewer hours a week than those 25 and over. That's not a big gap of leisure for the ostensibly freewheeling time in one's life. Or, to quote Lena Dunham's 24-year-old aspiring writer in "Girls," "I am busy trying to become who I am."
Read Teddy Wayne's entire piece at the New York Times.
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