Written by Jamel Shorter, Staff Writer

The definition of what a millennial is may vary depending on who you ask, but generally if you were born in the 80s or 90s, you can be considered a part of this frequently misunderstood generation. This particular group of people has been studied, analyzed and are now being depended on due to the fact that they currently make up over a third of the workforce. And by the year 2025, they will make up the majority of the workforce. The older generations and those who are currently in the workforce have always had strong feelings, both negative and positive, of how the millennials are representing themselves.

Current managers and other high-level position holders have said millennials aren’t prepared to run companies, due to their lack of presence when interviewing, being so reliant and heavily involved in the world of social media, and that our sense of entitlement is at an all-time high.

Older generations have several misconceptions when thinking about what millennials actually care about when referring to their careers, social and political issues, as well as other aspects of their lives such as marriage and family.

Generation Y is the most racially and ethnically diverse generation ever, with 43 percent of the United States population being non-white. That diversity brings diverse opinions, values, and traditions.

Millennials are influenced and inspired by those people that remind them of themselves. People who listen to what they listen to, look the way they look and share similar aspirations. Rising millennials, in any field, have a strong desire to take over the world that they are interested in. They have a consistent and insatiable thirst to win and dominate any competition; that’s one factor that older generations fail to see.

“People our age care mostly about getting a job after they graduate, and having a good income,” Tiffany Delgado, a junior psychology major said, “Money is what everyone wants and needs. The younger generations focus on the ‘right now’ mentality.”

Millennials also understand that high-income careers require a higher education and degree. According to Pew Research Center, one-third of this generation, ages 26 to 33, have obtained a four-year college degree, making them the best educated group of young adults in US history.

Social media and the internet is no longer “a thing of the future”; it’s a part of the present. The time to grasp and take hold of the infinite possibilities it offers is now. Companies and organizational heads might complain that millennials are addicted to their smartphones, but how can they control it when most of the information that they receive comes from there? Companies such as the New York Times, CNN, Kindle and Nike have all started drifting towards the world of advertising through social media and the internet, because this generation isn’t reading a physical magazine or newspaper, or even going in-store to shop. SDL, a consumer experience solutions company reported in 2015 that five out of six millennials in the United States connect with companies via social media.

Millennials are definitely here to stay. They are a force to be reckoned with in any field of employment, and they have the motivation to pursue their goals despite the negative reputation that may precede them. The misconceptions that many have had regarding Generation Y will soon fade away.