Talkin' 'bout my generation...

The instant gratification generation. That's what I've been lumped into.

Supposedly, the recently employed members of the workforce expect for all the benefits of a career to be handed to them within the first year of employment. Forget hard work - we want to leave early, receive the same amount of vacation time as our elders and, worst of all, we want to be handed the big jobs as soon as we step foot into the office.

Shame on us. Where would we ever been given this idea?

The truth of the matter is that we are merely adjusting to an ever-changing workforce. We're required to have years of experience before we even take on an entry-level job. To gain this experience, many of us accept unpaid internships in expensive cities, futher adding to the massive debt we're incurring from rising college tuition. Adding to our misery, starting salaries are barely enough to pay our rent, let alone pay off our college debt. How can we be happy about our jobs, many of which could be completed by those with only high school diplomas, when the outlook for our future looks so bleak?

The state of employment in the United States is disheartening. When I look at my closest friends from school, none of them, including myself, were able to gain jobs in their home cities or states. Some might call it ambition, but I believe it has a lot more to do with where jobs are available. There are certain sacrifices people in my generation have had to make that might not have been there in the past.

Also, with the addition of hi-tech electronic equipment, such as BlackBerries, many in the instant gratification generation are making themselves available in ways that Baby Boomers never were in their day and age. Sure, they might have worked longer hours, but, in all reality, is it really a vacation if you're still checking your BlackBerry every five minutes?

Overall, our generation probably does expect more because the generations before us have provided us with so much. But, at the same time, we've made certain sacrifices and have prepared ourselves for a few years of hardship right out of college. Is it so wrong for us to want a better position with a little better pay simply to guarantee that we can provide a future for our own families? I think not.