Blogger Dallas has a good post about Generation Y and ‘Voluntourism’ at her blog.

Part of my thesis research looks at the increasing trend of “voluntourism” (a type of tourism that mixes volunteer work with sightseeing), and the generation that has both fed and gravitated towards the voluntourism industry, my generation.

I’ve seen a number of friends spend their summers on so-called ‘voluntourism’ projects, venturing to third world countries to plant trees, build schools or do scientific research. Universities do a lot to encourage them by generally offering class credits to those students ready to sign up. I’ve always seen it as a bit of a dubious practice, as these trips are generally only available to students willing to pony up a lot of money (often double what a typical semester of university would cost), it’s not difficult to find a conclusion that points to a big post-secondary cash cow.

The money thing

Back to Dallas, who also points to the huge cost of these trips:

Although volunteering may be about free work, it is certainly not free to volunteer. Voluntourism, what journalist Laura Fitzpatrick has called “Vacationing like Brangelina,” seems to be a privilege of the privileged.

I’ve generally been critical of the people I’ve known who’ve gone on these trips. Sure, some — particularly the more scientific, ecology-focused excursions — seem more than a little worthwhile, but I’ve never quite understood what good a second-year BA student brings to the third world.

I suspect when Dallas asks “Does our generation genuinely want to help, or do we just want pictures to make us look worldly on Facebook?” she’s hitting on some truth, cynical as it might seem.

But we’re still good

Not that this is particularly damning for our generation or anything. Extravagant and exotic trips to far-flung locales has been a staple of university students for a hundred years. What IS interesting, and Dallas points to this too, is that Gen Y has, in large numbers, traded in the spring break trip to Cancun for vacations that are, at least in theory, far more socially mindful.

Generation Y’s overwhelming devotion to social and environmental issues is undoubtedly one of our hallmark traits, but I think we’re more than a little lost on what to do with it. We tend to desire fast, active, personal solutions to the issues we’re passionate. And we’d like to lead them, too. In that light, voluntourism starts to make sense.

Voluntourism is an issue that reveals a lot about the changing attitudes of Generation Y. But still the cynical side of me still wonders if these voluntourism organizations aren’t exploiting Generation Y, valuing their money far more than their involvement.

Photo by thomaswanoff. Licensed under Creative Commons

I found an interesting article by Tara Weiss at Forbes.com today (via The Ivey Files) about the influence parents have (or want to have) over their Gen Y kids’ careers.

In some human resources circles, these over-involved moms and dads are known as helicopter parents. They’ve hovered around their children (the Millennial generation) their whole lives, over-scheduling their childhood and pushing them throughout college. With graduation comes the next step: the job search. Now, more than ever, career counselors and recruiters say parents attend job fairs, accompany their adult children to job interviews and even make their interview appointments.

This isn’t new. Universities and high schools have been dealing with overly involved parents for years now. In fact, the effect on universities has been profound, as universities have adapted to the watchful eyes of parents by becoming more co-dependent, collaborative spheres of learning, as opposed to the live-and-let-die linear approach to academics once taken.

But parents holding influence over workplaces, while probably a natural extension of that, is definitely taking us into a place where we, as a generation, should not go.

Weiss continues:

But it raises the question: Do companies want employees working for them who can’t even set up their own job interview? Daphne Atkinson, vice president of industry relations at the Graduate Management Admissions Council, says society need to understand where this generation is coming from. Unlike their parents and grandparents, if the Millennials had a problem, they didn’t have to wait hours or days to get in touch with their parents for advice. They simply picked up their cell phone or shot them an e-mail, text or instant message. Millennials also came of age in the aftermath of Sept. 11, which made for some very nervous and protective parents.

The most surprising part about this article was not that parents are pushing to get involved, but that companies are actually starting to understand, adapt to and even encourage it.

But here’s the issue I have with that approach: a career has, traditionally, always been something people attain out of necessity. In simplest terms, people need the money a career brings. This isn’t good or bad — it’s just the reality of our era. Up until now.

Kids in their early 20s do not really need to work. For a lot of them, post-graduation, their immediate goals in life tend only toward adventure and continuing the lifestyle they enjoyed during university or college. And, with parents who tend to be financially stable and present welcoming environments in which they can live, there’s not really any need to work a “career job.” There’s enough wealth and stability in a job at Starbucks to pay for the hostels in Europe and weekend bar tabs.

It’s my belief that parents get involved with their children’s careers not purely to benefit their kids, but instead to benefit themselves, as parents. There’s a linear thinking that has dominated the way older generations raise us, and it says that we need to go to good post-secondary school and then get a good, stable job with benefits and a 401K. That is, I guess, the traditional measure of success. Once the kid has a degree on the wall and drives to a big office building every day, the parent can sit back, pat themselves on the back, and rest assured that they did everything they were supposed to do.

Not so.

Much of Generation Y has been blessed with great, supportive and financially accessible parents, but when those parents attempt to help their kids lead that traditionally successful life they end up hurting more than they help. Yworkers needs to understand that they have options and different pathways toward success, and that they should take the time to make the right choices totally independent of their parents or other outside influences.

Photo by slushpup. Licensed under Creative Commons