Who is coming out ahead, Millennials or Baby Boomers?
The competition between generations is never-ending. The new youngsters always want to prove themselves. And the older generations trying to tell them how it should be done. It’s a vicious circle. Baby Boomers and Millennials have taken it to a new level. They seem to have forgotten about the generation between them. Maybe the Gen Xers like it that way. Check out the studies that have been done on how their choices affect their lives.
Wealth
Money doesn’t mean everything, but it is a way of comparing the two generations. According to a survey published on Marketing Charts, Baby Boomers are ahead. The study looked at Gen X and the Silent Generation, along with Millennials and Baby Boomers. Three categories were made. They are total household wealth, affluent household wealth, and net worth household wealth. Baby Boomers were at the top of the charts more than double what any of the rest were. Gen X and the Silent Generation were close to the same in all the categories. Millennials are coming in last. Baby Boomers are the breadwinners of the families right now.
Education
Getting an education has become more critical. Many employers will pick a resume with college degrees over one with a high school diploma. A survey done by the Pew Research Center gives us some insights into each generation’s education levels. Millennials are far more educated than previous generations. Baby Boomers with a Bachelors’s degree or higher are only at 25%, while Millennials are at 39% that have a Bachelors’s degree or higher. Higher education can open more doors. There were more opportunities for Baby Boomers with higher educations since there would have been less competition. With close to half of Millennials getting degrees, there is more competition for the same positions.
Health
Millennials want to be healthier than previous generations. When asked health was the second most important thing to them after family. According to the CDC reports all generation are steadily becoming more obese. All ages have been failing on the health front. Aetna did a study where they asked which generation people felt was the healthiest. The three choices were Millennials, Gen X and Baby Boomers. The majority, 45% picked their generation. After that, 32% chose the generation before them. Only 23% feel the younger generations were healthier.
Equality
Watching the news will tell you that women are the same as men. Education and employment have come a long way. The Pew Research Center has done multiple studies on what women of each generation have done. The men of the Baby Boomer generation were more educated than women. That changed with Millennials more women than men are getting higher educations. As far as women in the workforce. Millennials are closing the gap, compared to the Baby Boomer generation. Millennials are changing the dynamic.
Each generation has its strong points. Maybe the next generation will be better than both.