Professions of Fun: How Millennials Changed the Labor Market

"We are the music makers. We are the dreamers of dreams." All these words were nice and smooth, outside the work-space, twenty years ago.

"It's not a place for hippies", they said. The work-space thenadays was a place for pure professionalism and conservation with the ultimate goal of making money. Back then, passion and dreams, about more creative and artistic roles, were not really considered as a motif in the job atmosphere. However, the millennial generation has been drastically changing the labor market in Egypt to fit their own dreams and passions. It is very obvious that jobs are no longer just the traditional ones: the world is not only for lawyers, doctors, engineers, etc.

There are plenty of places for the dreamers, people with passion and visions: Writers, designers, photographers, etc. have opportunities now to join as an equal part of the labor system.

Millennials have not only made unique career choices, but they have also created a new mentality for the market, where their passion can put food on the table. Some may see these new fields as "trends," however, these trends proved to affect the demands of the work environment. Dreamers are no longer considered delusional, they are people who are needed and essential.

With the change of the market's demands, the attitudes about employment and career paths have also changed. Studies have shown that millennials are not motivated by money, when it comes to choosing a career, as much as they are driven by an aspiration to work for something that is an extension to their identity, something that doesn't require them to be a whole different person at work. These jobs are typically characterized by creativity and fluidity. The younger generations are more to act upon their passions as opposed to more traditional employment which is focused on money and conservative stability. Therefore, certain industries have seen un-deniable evolution in the type of jobs they offer and the job titles they require.

Graphic Designers:

Graphic design is not a new job title: The term “graphic design” first appeared in a 1922 essay by William Addison Dwiggins called “New Kind of Printing Calls for New Design.” However, the condition of this career has extremely evolved in the past decade. Graphic designers are no longer just needed at marketing agencies and publishing houses, even small startups need and require graphic designers. This career choice is very common among millennials; especially as it requires being up to date with the latest tools, platforms, and trends. Graphic design requires a unique visual intelligence and a sense of creativity, and many youths are up for the challenge!

Writers:

Writing has been always really romanticized and therefore, mocked as a career choice. Whenever someone hears the word "writer" they think of Shakespeare's extremely dramatic plays, Shelly who spent her time staring at tombstones, or mainly anyone who is awkwardly poetic and stereotyped into the tortured messy person with fountain ink pen stains all over his clothes. However, nowadays, writers have more opportunities to join the job market away from the traditional writing field. The marketing field has a strong game requiting content writers, journalists are more needed than they used to be, and there's a better chance for writers to publish a book at some point in their life. The wide use of internet platforms also offers writers a better sphere to show off their skills.

Travel bloggers\ vloggers:

Travel literature and memoirs have appeared when humans started traveling a long time ago. However, this type of literary works was considered an outcome of a luxury that helps you spend money, not earn it. The concept of travel documentation has evolved to shape a career, which is full of adventure and still financially fruitful. Millennials are more likely to use social media platforms to document travel, give recommendations, and offer travel tips. Their content helps them earn some cash by promoting certain brands, sponsorships, and ads. Travel blogging\ vlogging is one of the vivid examples of how passion and fun can be part of professional demands nowadays.

Photographers:

A photography-lover no longer needs to rent a place and develop photos in chemicals to be considered a photographer. The wide industrial growth makes hiring photographers much easier than before; since social media visual content is highly critical to their marketing and brand identity. However, many photographers prefer to be self-employed and work freely. Weddings, birthday, events, etc. all require photographers to document the moment and millennial photographers are vibing with creativity. Not only this, photographers now vary from ones with professional cameras to ones who take shots with their phones. This attests that embracing a photography career is now all about passion.

Not only that, the market offers more and better opportunities for gamers, young musicians and young painters. If millennials would go down the history for something, it would be for breaking the old rules and making new ones that suit their life and their time. Luckily for us, jobs and professions are no exception!