The gig economy sucked in millennials like me. Will we ever get out?


Around 45% of all freelancers in the US are millennials, and almost half of all working millennials are freelancing. — AFP

I’M 32, and I haven’t worked a “real” (full-time) job since I was 23 and finished my two-year commitment with Teach for America. Since 2013, I’ve piece-mealed together part-time jobs that include private tutor, substitute teacher, fitness instructor, story time program leader and freelance writer.

For my generation, this trajectory isn’t unusual: 45% of all freelancers are millennials, and almost half of all working millennials are freelancing. Now, with a resume that reads like a 2010s economist’s cautionary tale, I’m colliding with the problems of part-time employment as a norm.

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