I’ve heard a lot of people complain about the plight of “Generation Y” and the bad rap that “we” get, but I think most of it is bunk. Complaining isn’t going to get “us” anywhere. Working hard and taking action will. There’s one exception though, and that’s with the political process where complaining is the preferred way of taking action. Right now we live in an era where older people have mortgaged our country’s future for their own benefit. Yes, they have literally amassed huge amounts of debt to pay for all of things that they want. We live in a Democracy, and there are more of them than us, so they get what they want. And when the bill arrives, they’ll have left the table—to put it nicely. This is a real generational issue, unlike the generational issues that “Gen-Y experts” are constantly talking about. Young People First is a Washington, DC based non-profit startup that is attacking this issue with fervor. They’re sick of “how much lip service was being paid to young voters, yet how little real inclusion in the political process they were offered,” and so am I. Young People First doesn’t have any jobs posted right now (they do have internships), but I’m so impressed with their ideas that I hope some of you smart readers will find a way to work with them anyway.

You First

I believe in respecting your elders. I think that paying your dues is important. But I’m angry that I’m going to have to foot the bill for a government run Ponzi scheme that ignores long-term consequences. Whether we’re talking about the budget, the environment, our currency, or our education system, we’re on a path that can’t continue indefinitely. Young People First is responding to this problem by measuring it first. They’ve created a Future Preparedness Index. It’s goal is to “empower this generation to prevent the next cycle of hidden crises here in the US, and to encourage a proactive, practical approach to successfully meeting our most critical long-term challenges.” There isn’t a ton of information on the organization beyond an interview with founder Zach Kolodin, a Facebook Fan page, and an Idealist page, but their general premise is enough to get me riled up (sorry for the earlier rants). Like I said earlier, they don’t appear to be hiring at the entry level, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t land a job with them. Reach out to Zach Kolodin at zach@youngpeoplefirst.org and see what you can do for our generation.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

• YoungPeopleFirst.org
• Careers at Young People First

What do you think of Young People First?

We've identified Young People First as having career opportunities in the following categories:

• advocacy
• all employers
• non-profit
• Washington DC

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One response to “Young People First”

1. Zach Kolodin says:

   October 6, 2009 at 9:40 pm

   Hey Will,

   Thanks for posting this! I’d love here how you found out about our work. Anyway, it’s true that we’re not hiring full-time staff right time, but we are actively looking for interns, especially in the DC and Atlanta area.

   We hope to be hiring full-time sometime in the next nine months.

   Best,
   Zach

   Reply