Jewelyn Cosgrove

Bio

Jewelyn Cosgrove is a writer for the Identities Section of Policy Mic. She writes primarily on millennials in the workforce. Jewelyn attended Tulane University and George Mason University. Jewelyn knows how to blow glass, has ancestors who haunt a hotel in New Orleans, and is a die-hard Who-Dat-ing Saints fan. Originally from Denver, Colorado, Jewelyn now lives in Washington, DC.
How Internships Will Ruin Our Careers
By Jewelyn Cosgrove
Internships are a rite of passage for many millennials. Half of all college graduates have participated in an internship over the course of their studies, more than double the percentage of two decades ago. Internships offer students and young…
In Defense Of Our Boomer Parents
By Jewelyn Cosgrove
Millennials get plenty of flak on the internet, so much so that I could spend hours ranting against the myriad incorrect assumptions of bloggers and so-called experts. (And I have.) But this time, I’m going to defend a different, unexpected…
5 Things My Gen X Manager Taught Me About Millennials
By Jewelyn Cosgrove
Concern over our careers (or lack thereof) continues unabated for all of us 20-somethings entering the job market full speed ahead. While plenty of people have proffered advice to the newly minted generation of workers who do manage to get a job,…
The Market Demands That 20-Somethings Demand Raises
By Jewelyn Cosgrove
As we all probably know, millennials in the job market find themselves staring into a vast vortex of student loan debt, high unemployment, high underemployment, and un- or underpaid positions. Millennials graduating straight from high school or…
My College Dream Might Be This Generation's Nightmare
By Jewelyn Cosgrove
If we millennials got paid a quarter every time someone asked, “Is college worth it?” there would be no more student debt. The chorus of voices urging young peopleto think long and hard about the relative value of a college degree in their field, to…
My Response to Boomers Who Think Millennials Are Broke Because We're Lazy
By Jewelyn Cosgrove
The Atlantic published a series of graphs earlier this week showing poverty by age group in the United States. Unsurprisingly, the analysis showed that 25- to 34-year-olds represent the demographic with the greatest percentage of individuals…
Our Generation Isn't Lazy, We're Broke
By Jewelyn Cosgrove
An article in the Boston Globe by Boomer Jennifer Graham interpreted last week's release of the Opportunity Index not as a bunch of kids struggling to find jobs or procure a decent education but as millennials, once again, being lazy and…
5 Ways Being Under 30 Actually Makes You A Big Player in the Job Market
By Jewelyn Cosgrove
You don’t need to look far to know that millennials are having a tough time in the job market right now. But as the economy begins to show signs of life, and industries begin to recover and new fields open up, millennials also have a lot of…
Our College Debt Will Cost Us Our Retirement
By Jewelyn Cosgrove
The choice to pursue a college degree is an investment, but not just in your future. An investment in a college education is comparable to an investment in a home, a car, or a retirement account, especially for those with student loans. Any single…
The Real Reason Millennials Can't Find Old-School Mentors
By Jewelyn Cosgrove
Older generations have long told millennials that, in order to be successful, we must find a mentor. To that I say: why should I bother? It's not that I don't have mentors, our relationships are just different than generations past. Take the former…
The Cold, Hard Fact About the Geography of the American Dream
By Jewelyn Cosgrove
A study developed by Measure of America and Opportunity Nation was released on Monday in the format of an interactive database that evaluates and measures access to basic economic, academic, and social resources in communities across the country.…
Millennials At Work: How 'Going Viral' is Paying Off
By Jewelyn Cosgrove
A few weeks ago, Marina Shifrin made a video about why she was quitting her job at Next Media Animation (a Taiwanese animation video production company) that went viral. When I first saw the stunt, I thought it was unprofessional; for my field in…
Advice For Millennial Advice-Givers
By Jewelyn Cosgrove
Jason Nazar’s recent advice in Forbes to 20-somethings would be so much more useful if he didn't get such a kick out of making fun of us (like when he suggests a satire video by "Official Comedy" as an actual training video for millennials in the…
I Finally Figured Out Why People Love to Hate Millennials
By Jewelyn Cosgrove
Lately, I have run across more and more articles bashing millennials. It’s the spigot that won’t stop, and why not, when the articles are just the type of fast-food philosophy to perform spectacularly well on the internet? Most recently, Elizabeth…
The First Text I Sent After the Capitol Hill Shooting
By Jewelyn Cosgrove
I'm OK. I've learned who to send that message to over the course of many years. I know the list of friends or family who are going to reach out and ask if I don't let them know or respond with a certain period of time. I know who to preemptively…
What the Government Shutdown Means to Real D.C. Families
By Jewelyn Cosgrove
It’s shutdown time. I’ve accepted it. I live in Arlington, Virginia, just outside of our nation’s capital and mere miles from where Congress is teetering on the edge of a federal government shutdown. For most of you living outside of D.C., a short…
A Generation Raised On Bitter Partisan Politics Will Put An End to Them
By Jewelyn Cosgrove
If I had to bet on it, I'd say the government will be shut down next week. We are inching closer to that reality, with the Senate and House yet to reach an agreement on a continuing resolution to keep the government funded through either November…
This Viral Blog Post Says Millennials Think We're All Special Snowflakes
By Jewelyn Cosgrove
You've likely seen the anonymous, viral blog post about millennials that's circulated through social media over the last few days. In it, the writer seeks to encapsulate all that is wrong with the "special snowflake" mentality of Generation Y (or…
These Activists Are Crowdsourcing the News
By Jewelyn Cosgrove
Have you found yourself frustrated with media coverage, wondering who is behind the messaging? Join the club. Take, for example, the folks who started Channel 98 Take Action News. Aware that corporate-owned media has a bias, they decided to take…
Suicide is the Third-Leading Cause Of Death Among Millennials — Here's How I'm Trying to Stop It
By Jewelyn Cosgrove
This weekend, I am returning to my home state of Colorado to participate in the South Metro Out of the Darkness Walk near Denver on Saturday. I will be walking with Team Spanky, to remember my best friend, Jason, who died by suicide in 2010. Suicide…