When I graduated college (93), the job market was so bad that quite a few people I knew (including myself) took low-paying jobs w/non-profit organizations because it was the best we could do. I stayed with my job for two years, and I absolutely loved it- the freedom to define my own job, the chance to really make a difference, the opportunity to have a life of my own. Unfortunately, the grant that funded my position was not renewed, so it was off to corporate america for me.
While my industry (fashion) is not as
"traditionally" corporate as finance or insurance, underneath, it is the same as all the rest- and then some. It's really frustrating once you realize that 1) the bottom line is the money/product and the company is more willing to spend $50 grand a month on buying clothes to copy, (of which half are never even used) than it is to give employees more than a 2 to 3% raise; and 2) getting ahead is not so much about what you know, but who you know and what kind of sucking up you have to do to get it. On the flip side, I do get great perks, so it's not the worst place I could be.
They say that our generation is not as driven or ambitious as our parents were because so many of us don't want to work 12 hour days and live out of suitcases. I'm not so sure it is a lack of ambition so much as it is a change in attitude about priorities. I know that I don't want to be the one working until 10 pm to make money for someone else.
The non profit and corporate worlds both have advantages. I just think that it's really about what you're willing to trade off at this point in your life.
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