By age 25, I’d been laid off twice. First, a startup tanked in 2023. Then, a “stable” corporate gig vanished in 2024 when AI slashed the department. It’s March 2025 now, and I’ve learned one thing: no job is a sure bet anymore. The old playbook—find a role, climb the ladder, cash out at 65—is crumbling, and I’m not alone in scrambling to rewrite it.
The numbers back this up. A 2024 Labor Department report shows job tenure for workers under 30 has shrunk to just 2.1 years, down from 3.5 a decade ago. Layoffs are spiking—15% more in 2024 than in 2023, per Challenger, Gray & Christmas—hitting tech, retail, and even “safe” sectors like finance. Add in automation and shaky markets, and stability feels like a fairy tale.
It’s not all doom. Losing those jobs forced me to hustle—freelancing, upskilling, building a side gig. A McKinsey study says 40% of Gen Z workers now juggle multiple income streams, a shift from the one-job loyalty of past generations. Flexibility, not security, is the new goal. I’m learning coding on the cheap and pitching clients online—moves that don’t rely on a single paycheck.
Still, it’s exhausting. Friends in their 20s echo the same: we’re wired to chase stability, but the ground keeps shifting. The trick? Stop waiting for a golden gig. Cobble together your own safety net—skills, networks, small wins. In 2025, stability isn’t handed to you; you make it.