The D5 Project: Young Chileans, a non-linear reality.

A few weeks ago, I wrote this blog post about Market Gravity coming to Chile, joining up with some forces in Deloitte Chile to go understand what it means to be a Young Chilean (YCs) in 2018. This felt like the perfect brief for our D5 projects where we openly hit the market, and in 5 weeks, find the 5 biggest insights, create 5 big ideas and find 5 ways to make them real.

Well, yesterday, we presented our findings and I’m going to share a few of them here with you. A lot of similarities with your typical global ‘millennial’ exist in Chile, however we found a few things that differentiate the generation from their predecessors as well as other young people from around the world.  

A non-linear path - either by choice or circumstance – frames modern life for young Chileans.

Different from previous generations, life for many young Chileans follows a much less linear path that is full of bumps and detours. These are seemingly delaying formal family planning* and long-term commitments in favour of personal freedom, experiences and a prolific career (the new metric for ultimate success). 

While the effects of this are seen across a large section of people in the group the socio-economic status makes this either a choice or a circumstance. Wealthier individuals choose this lifestyle whenever it’s convenient, and more vulnerable sectors are forced to embrace it.

*When YC’s have children, there is a tendency for life to default to a straighter path, in an effort to provide more stability and security to their offspring.

Higher Education is viewed as the primary avenue for economic mobility, but the way up is difficult.

Higher education is seen as the natural start of the path to independence and adulthood. It’s undeniable that education is more accessible than ever in Chile, however, the quality of education can vary wildly and the best offerings heavily favor the wealthiest groups. 

University degrees have also been heavily marketed as “the way up” for society at large, which has created a glut of college graduates in areas like psychology, business administration and law. Inversely, this has produced an anemic talent pool for heavily stigmatized yet in-demand technical careers, which are then often filled by international candidates.

As an expensive degree no longer promises a relevant, or even secure job for many young Chileans, they must find other ways to get by. 

Even candidates from top schools can struggle to find a relevant job if they don’t have the right social connections. This is made even more complex by job openings sometimes having unreasonably high experience requirements for new graduates.

People in this circumstance (often from lower socioeconomic segments) have to make-do with short term contract work, freelancing, or by working in jobs that don’t align them with their desired careers. In general, purposeful recruiting is very hard for a broad segment of young Chileans.

This creates an interesting paradox, as there seems to be a huge number of people who never get the job they want, and the people who do tend to have shorter stints at their employers in search of the perfect job.

In an environment without a lot of financial security, money is perceived as a tool to sustain the present rather than to plan for the future.

Outside of more privileged segments, financial education is limited to what was learned at home. There is a pervasive short term view around money, and misinformation about credit and debt is passed down.

YC’s aren’t thinking a lot about pensions or investments, with housing being an exception. Saving money can be difficult but when they do, vulnerable YCs tend to do so for emergencies (like unemployment or health issues), while wealthier individuals might be saving for luxury items or experiences.

Young Chileans are optimistic about the future, and feel they will personally do well - despite a sometimes bleak outlook on society.

Uncertainty in their future is perceived as a good thing for Young Chileans across social segments. They feel they have control over the outcomes within their life, regardless of events in the world around them.

They have big plans for the future and eventually want it all: a successful career, travel, a house and maybe a family – their plan to get there though, is a lot less tangible and predictable than what it was for their elders.

How might we effectively leverage these insights to create compelling ideas to better serve young Chileans? Well we’ll be sharing that very soon….