Millennials

There are three things that have been important for me during my academic career. If you’re a student, or know a student, maybe you’ll find them useful.

Blend your serious and creative sides. 

I’m often asked why I picked my major combination — marketing and media arts.

In my experience, outside of Bentley, students typically either have a “serious” degree — business, science or law, for example — or a “creative” degree such as art, history, English or film.

Forthwith, some random thoughts prompted by Bentley’s PreparedU research … ruminations on gender and success, workplace skills, accomplishment, surveys themselves and helicopter parents — even as we begin to turn to “Millennial Minds,” which will move center stage next month.

Traits traditionally associated with gender may be becoming less relevant, and even less accurate.

When it comes to their careers, millennial women want the same thing as men: to be successful. And while the path to success may differ on some levels, the two sides are converging more than we think.

Something in Bentley’s PreparedU study caught my eye: About a third of business executives and recruiters surveyed disagreed that a college degree is a sign that someone is ready for the workforce. 

Each year, more than 95 percent of Bentley seniors have jobs or are in graduate schools within six months of commencement. And Bentley’s Career Services Office is ranked third in the nation by the Princeton Review.

And somehow they felt they had to do better.

As we reported a few weeks ago, millennials now account for more of a third of the workforce, and are projected to comprise nearly half of all working Americans by 2020. Still, 66 percent feel misunderstood by older generations, according to our PreparedU survey.

Even as the PreparedU Project focuses on women in business, especially millennials, the topic continues to engage the media as well. In the coming weeks, we’ll round up some of the best, saving you time to further the cause of equality in the workforce — a true millennial value.

Matt Lauer Continues to Show Chauvinism on Today Show

Millennials are rapidly becoming a significant part of the workforce — accounting for more of a third of all workers today, and projected to be close to half by 2020. Still, our PreparedU survey reveals that 66 percent of millennials still feel misunderstood by older generations. The media is trying to help, devoting a bunch of recent coverage and commentary to millennials. Here’s a quick summary of some of the best.

How College is Like Sunscreen

Editor’s note: Respondents to Bentley’s PreparedU study believe that men are more likely than women to have an entrepreneurial spirit (62 percent versus 38 percent). Even a majority of women felt this way. Yet, reports of successful women entrepreneurs continue to grow. What follows provides some insight into how and why.

In a previous IMPACT post, I wrote about what skills millennials will need in the accounting field of the future. A high-school business teacher asked, in response, what I’d like to see from high-school students who are interested in pursuing accounting in college. It’s a great question.