To Be Entitled?

"Don't feel entitled to anything you didn't sweat and struggle for."

- Marian Wright Edelman

Depending on which breakdown you look at, I am either Gen X or Gen Y. I never really got the whole entitlement thing. Being first generation American, I was brought up to value hard work and understand that I need to start at the bottom of the totem poll to get to the top. I guess the generation now are just looking for a way to get to the top without working for it. 

I didn't see this whole entitlement thing play out until recently. My sister, who is definitely part of Gen Y/Entitled/Millennial Generation, came home two months ago after being in China for a year working on her Master's. She, like me, is now on a quest for a job. However, she is on an ambitious job search, not settling for anything less that requires a graduate degree, because in her words, it pays more. That I get. You went to school, worked your butt off, and deserve the equivalent pay. For the past month she has been sending off her resume and wondering why she hasn't even gotten an interview. I think her expectation level may be too high, but again, it's the attitude of this generation I don't fully get. Fast forward to this week, lo and behold, she was offered a job! Only after two months on the job search! Not going to lie, a little jealous, since I've been at this for three years and all I've got to show for are some unpaid internships. Maybe I need some of this entitlement to rub off on me!

So what now? Do I need to embrace this Gen Y attitude and feel more entitled? I do, after all, have a MBA. Am I settling by taking unpaid internships? It's not like I haven't sent off my resume to hundreds of paying jobs. I haven't lost anything by taking on these internships. I've gained new skills and expanded my network. At this point, I would be happy just to get a paying job in my field of interest. Does anybody pay their dues anymore? For me, it's a sense of accomplishment to be able to say that I am slowly but surely working my way there. And when I do finally get a job it will be because I know I've struggled my way there and overcame it not because I think I deserve it. 

Has being entitled or hard work gotten you where you are today?