This semester, I’ve been taking a class called “Entertainment Business Affairs,” where each week we hear from a guest speaker from some aspect of the entertainment industry, from writers, to producers, to marketers. They share with our class a behind-the-scenes look at what goes on in the world of entertainment, and more importantly, how they got to the point they’re at. 

From the speakers we’ve met so far, I’ve noticed a very obvious trend in every single one of them: their careers haven’t turned out the way they expected them to. They went to college and got their degree in a variety of disciplines, like accounting, journalism, or even liberal arts. From that point on, they moved through a winding path of jobs, creative projects, startups, and failures, never quite knowing where they would be going next. 

I’ve thought a lot about this idea of an unorthodox career, which takes you across disciplines as you try your hand at many jobs and work with tons of different people. At first, the thought scared me horribly, not having a stable career within one company that offered security and benefits. But the more I’ve heard the stories of these people who dared to think outside the lines of what they should do with their lives, the more alluring this type of life seems. And quite honestly, it seems much more realistic and fulfilling than I had ever thought. 

I know I’m not alone in my crippling fear of being forced into a life consisting of an ordinary, 9 to 5 desk job and a cookie cutter home in suburbia. In fact, studies have shown that over 80% of people between the ages of 13 and 18 want to be their own boss and forge a freelance career. As our generation has watched our parents work seemingly unfulfilling jobs in order to pay the bills, we are dreaming of something more than that, a life where we aren’t making ourselves suffer every day simply in order to survive. 

The funny thing is, however, that the sort of comfortable and predictable life that we so adamantly shun was the “American Dream” that our parents embraced. A 9 to 5 job in an air conditioned office seemed like a dream compared to back-breaking factory labor. The idea of a fulfilling life has changed drastically between generations, and this isn’t unique to Gen Z, or millennials, or even Gen X. The fear of turning into our parents consumes us and drives us forward into a new standard of living, as different as possible from our parents. 

As Gen Z young adults are graduating high school and college and beginning their careers, signs are pointing towards freelancing and entrepreneurship being much more of a norm. We are already seeing young people turning creative projects into business endeavors, through things such as selling handmade jewelry or even designing their own clothes. With the help of social media, especially Instagram and TikTok, it is entirely more possible for young people to find customers and create a platform that gives them much more flexibility and fulfillment than a corporate job ever could. 

This concept doesn’t only apply in the realm of consumer products. It extends to the spread of independent filmmakers publishing content on YouTube and even Tiktok. With the new possibility of  “going viral”, something entirely impossible just a few decades ago, young people are pushing creative boundaries to try to create exciting content that reaches people all over the globe. It also applies to musicians writing and sharing their original songs on social media, and having millions of people hear songs that were recorded in someone’s bedroom. 

As common and seemingly achievable this “do-it-yourself” mentality is, there is a harsh but real undertone to it. Young adults and teens are fueled by the idea that if you haven’t made it as your own boss, then you’ve failed. By logic alone, not everyone in the world can be in charge of their own operation, and the idea that employees are less important or smart or successful as a CEO is a ridiculous and classist notion. True success does not necessarily mean being the best or being in charge of others: it’s simply being fulfilled and happy with the place you’re at. Even if we don’t realize it, that is all we as a generation want. 

A colleague recently shared with me an article that explored this deep, deep concept surrounding the present and future of the culture of work around the world. It encourages people across generations to put a stop to the notion that our career and our work defines us, or that our work must be our passion and purpose in order for us to be fulfilled and successful. It is my firm belief that we are not created to simply work, and that the current cultural norm of our work being our very essence should be dismantled. Whether it can be is questionable, since it’s so deeply ingrained in our society. However, the new mindset of our generation has already begun breaking through boundaries and setting our new norms, so I wouldn’t rule it out just yet.

My point is that in this new age, Gen Z doesn’t need to be confined to the mentality surrounding work that our parents and grandparents have had, because the current world we are living in is entirely unlike the one they entered during their adolescence. It’s understandable that our parents are uneasy when we express the desire to freelance and start our own small businesses, because back in their day, this was much more difficult. Not only is our generation challenging the norms of the manner of work we do, but our relationship with it as a whole. With all of its pros and cons, the “do-it-yourself” attitude that is running rampant through our generation will certainly shake things up in years to come, regardless of what the older folks have to say about it. 

At our young age as we enter the workforce, it is completely okay to not have an exact plan for what we want to do, and how we want to do it. Of course, having dreams and ambitions is very important to being successful, but our generation doesn’t need to jump right into the corporate marketplace fresh out of college. We are studying what we are passionate about, making connections with like-minded people, and finding brilliant ways to turn our ambitions into a sustainable career. And hopefully, we’ll all transition away from the current workaholic, ultra-competitive culture that defines older generations. With our society being as open-minded, inclusive, and mental-health conscious as ever (and only growing more so), I firmly believe that our generation will not need to sacrifice our happiness and passion to make a living.