Montana’s Gen Z: Should Older Montanans Be Worried?

Growing up, I went through various phases.

I wanted to be a truck driver, a doctor, and a radio DJ. The truck driving phase went quickly, and after my parents refused to buy me a chemistry set, claiming I would burn down the house, I settled on the radio.

I'm a proud member of Generation X, which I believe to be the greatest generation of all. Or at the very least, the last of the great generations. We had the best of both worlds. We played outside, rode our bikes all over town, and half of the time, our parents had no idea where we were. But we also watched MTV, played video games, and were on the cutting edge of computers.

According to Google, after us, we have Millennials who were born between 1981 and 1996, Gen Z who were born between 1997 and 2012, and the latest group, which is called Generation Alpha, which was born between 2013 and now.

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Today, we speak of those who belong to Gen Z.

Now, keep in mind that Montana isn't as metropolitan as some of these other states, but according to some new data, we might need to be a little concerned when it comes to the future.

I always told myself that I would never become one of those old people who complain about those younger than me while saying things like "back in my day..." but it seems that is exactly who I've become. In other words, I am my Father.

This is concerning to me for a couple of reasons. First, as a kid, I thought my Father was the uncoolest person on the planet. 2nd, it turns out he might have been right about a lot more things than I gave him credit for. Take Gen Z, for example.

According to data from Shootday, when it comes to those born between 1997 and 2012, their number one career choice? A model. Yep, it seems those of a certain age dream about walking the runways and posing for pictures.

So what about Gen Z's other career choices? According to the study, this is how they rank:

• Model
• Artist
• Make Up Artist
• Photographer
• Blogger
• Singer
• Personal Trainer
• Marketing
• Dancer
• Influencer 

Notice the lack of things like medical professionals, tradesmen, agriculture, business owners, etc. Am I the only one alarmed by this? I mean, it brings up the important question: who is going to take care of us when we all get old?

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