Negative gearing, the housing bubble and the chasm between young battlers and baby boomers have garnered increasing attention.

One thing’s been made clear: it’s not as easy as it once was to enter the property market. 

For another generation, home ownership could still be a hardship. But it was generally inevitable, a rite of passage.

For many millennials?

A potential pipe dream, a giant question mark, an elusive goal. 

In some ways, we’re lucky here in Tassie: housing is still (relatively) affordable, rendering it considerably more accessible.

My dream of owning a home in trendy inner-Melbourne will likely stay that for decades, unless I win the lotto or housing prices somehow exponentially plummet. 

Even in Tasmania, our affordable housing is beyond reach of the unemployed.

Underemployment and unemployment are rife.

Tasmania’s unemployment rate was 6.9 per cent in March. 

Tasmania’s youth unemployment rate was 17.6 per cent.

A recent report, published in the Journal of Applied Youth Studies, found that increasing mature labour force participation influenced disappointing youth employment figures.

Increased immigration, along with a lack of demand for employees post-Global Financial Crisis, also contributed.

Perhaps millennials are also overwhelmed by another conundrum: so much choice. 

The digital disruption is changing careers, and as career switching is normalised, job certainty seems less likely. 

Tertiary education can be expensive, lessening the likelihood of some people attending. 

Education can create crippling debt which sticks with students long after graduation. 

And for those who do study, morale can be low.

A recent Australian Scholarships Group survey found 17 per cent of students believed they wouldn’t get a job in their chosen field after university. 

Some people may believe millennials to be self-absorbed or reckless, and some may be – but it’s undeniable that being a millennial has its unique challenges. 

Human existence is underpinned by, and reliant on, evolution. 

Due to the changing nature of the economy, education system and employment conventions, each generation faces unique dilemmas. 

The millennial generation is brimming with innovative, intelligent young people.

Many of them are adversely impacted by expensive housing or complex changes to employment, including casualisation and a lack of employment options.

Less affordable education and a lack of certainty compounds the challenges of getting qualified. 

There’s no quick fix solution to any of these issues.

But young people can still learn plenty from their older counterparts.

Younger and older people have a lot to learn from each other.

Although challenges faced by millennials differ from those experienced by their older counterparts, empathy, understanding and advice will help relieve the burden.