What Makes Business, Entrepreneurship, and Work So Different From Any Other Generation?

Context: 20th-Century Developments in Western Economies

Although history can seem insignificant at times, world events are inextricably entwined with economic trends, and therefore, the job market. The 20th century was incredibly economically eventful for the United States of America, and the Western world in general. Many Western European countries had created imperialist empires, most infamously Britain, but the United States of America was no exception, imperializing a number of islands in the Pacific. After that, in 1929, the great depression began, which was shortly followed by the New Deal, pushing government-funded, and therefore stable, employment and financial reforms. 1945-1975 America was considered the Economic Golden Age, with America manufacturing around half the world's products, and citizens holding a level of purchasing power rarely seen anywhere else in the world. During this time, unemployment was the lowest it had been in 30 years, prices were stable, middle-class families could afford college, and the United States was an established global superpower. From the mid-1970s to the late 1980s, there were several recessions, however around the mid-1990s, after the Cold War came to a close, the economy improved significantly due to a number of factors, largely the rapid technological development spurred by the Cold War. From the 1950s to 2019, unemployment rates didn't experience any severely high or low rates, until the spring of 2020 when unemployment went from 3.2 to 14.2.

The Rapid Advancement of Technology

Most people now have had some conversation with a member of an older generation who just did not understand how the world works. "Just go into a store and give them your resume", perhaps, even though most applications now are completely online and most employees would not even know how to accept an application, or maybe "just email the company and say you would like to work there", even though job positions have become incredibly competitive, and some aren't even real.

Overall, change in technology has completely transformed how employment is considered. Small businesses have a much higher chance of success with new, high-traffic social media platforms they can use to market their products and services for free, and now entrepreneurs have access to completely different means of funding and proof of interest.

What is a Knowledge Economy?

A knowledge economy is an economy in which the means of production are largely based on intellectual capital instead of raw materials, like an industrial economy. This is incredibly significant to the modern world, where most developed economies are knowledge economies, including the United States of America. The United States of America has millions of jobs in marketing, business, technology, and other knowledge-based industries, which is part of why it's such a long and expensive process to find a well-paying job. Most minimum wage jobs can't afford the cost of living, so one must either work multiple jobs or make themselves qualified for a better-paying job. Usually that involves attending college and maybe some kind of grad school.

What is Credential Inflation?

At this point in time, the majority of well-paying jobs require either a college degree or some kind of technical education, and so many people end up getting a college degree, leading to a form of credential inflation. For example, if there are ten applicants for a job, and five have some form of postsecondary education, it becomes an expectation for the job position. This is a reality, with about 54% of working-age adults having some form of post-secondary education, most of which belong to younger generations, creating a very intense and competitive job market, resulting in difficulties getting a well-paying job.

Another interesting and rather perplexing dilemma the younger working generations are facing is how to acquire experience when most places that will give experience require it. There is no longer a surplus of jobs, so naturally, if multiple applicants have similar levels of education, recruiters will pick the applicants with the most experience in the field. And of course, the people who have the most experience are older applicants, creating a gap in working experience between older and younger generations. To put it simply, older generations got job experience when expectations for applicants were low and a lower level of education was required, and now the new people joining the workforce are competing with people who have been in the industry for much longer than they have, therefore making it much more difficult.

Conclusion

To sum everything up, technological advancement, a further shift into a knowledge economy, and credential inflation have combined to create a job market that makes it much more difficult to become successful through a chosen job field or through entrepreneurship than in the past, with most major brands being pre-established and it being incredibly difficult to grow a small business, even though it's relatively easier to start one than in the past. If you are interested in learning more about business-related topics, visit our Instagram page (@nextstepbusinessofficial)!

Works Cited

Hall, John. "Here's How Entrepreneurship Has Evolved in Recent Years." Forbes, 27 Feb. 2022, www.forbes.com/sites/johnhall/2022/02/27/heres-how-entrepreneurship-has-evolved-in-recent-years/.