Qualified, Broke, and Tired: The Millennial Dream

A very empty pink purse

I’ve been in somewhat of a rut lately. Outside of my medical issues, I think my mental health has taken quite the blow, and ultimately, that has affected how I view and feel everything around me. One main thorn in my side, or in my pocket, for that matter—is my career and my salary.

Last month, I checked LinkedIn, as a young millennial professional does… and I think that’s where my spiral began. There were my age mates: landing new jobs, getting promotions, being movers and shakers of the world. I felt proud, happy for them—but at the same time, I felt sad for myself. Where was my progress? I had completed my M.Sc. in Marketing and Data Analytics, graduated last November. But I didn’t feel as though I had progressed to anything. There was no promotion to write about, no new job to highlight, no moving and shaking of any world— I lost some weight, so congrats? I guess.

I haven’t landed myself in an existential crisis just yet—thankfully, but it has brought up feelings of inadequacy for me. More so regarding my salary than anything else and just overall how dissatisfied I am with where I’m at in life. In a world that constantly requires so much just to survive—and perhaps even live a little, I’m clearly on the surviving end of things, and even that is hard to hold on to some months.

And as someone who has done everything by the book, went to school, got good-ish grades, got an advanced degree… why do I constantly feel so out of touch with my ability to meet my own needs and expenses? It's like the harder I work, the more reluctant the needle gets with moving.

Leaning on Maslow

When I begin to reflect on Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, a psychological theory on human motivation—I feel so far away from self-actualization. Maslow suggested that there are five levels that drive us as humans to fulfill our needs in a certain hierarchical order.

At the bottom of that pyramid, we have Physiological Needs, our need for survival: water, food, shelter, sleep, sex (reproduction). Once that’s covered, we move on to Safety Needs, which includes protection from harm, and stability. Up next is Love and Belonging Needs, where we begin to lean into social connections, intimacy, and a general sense of belonging. Then comes Esteem Needs: self-respect, achievement, and recognition from our peers. And finally, the big money—the reason for it all—Self-Actualization: where we strive to become the best version of ourselves through our potential.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Now, while this isn’t the perfect blueprint for human motivation, it gives us a basic framework for organizing the affairs of our lives. Some needs must exist before others can, but also, some can exist in parallel.

Based on how I’m feeling about my current situation, I’m not entirely sure where I’d fall in this hierarchy. I know the base level is covered—minus the sex. And self-actualization feels like a distant myth… so there I am (and I suspect many others) floating around somewhere in the middle.

And as someone who values salary and financial security as non-negotiables, I’m just not there yet. I’m one major illness away from complete financial ruin. It's honestly like a kiss with death at this point, and I really don’t enjoy flirting with her.

Chasing the Jamaican Dream—what even is that?

Truth is, many of us may never ascend the hierarchy because we’re stuck fighting to meet basic needs, despite being “qualified” or “hardworking.”

This drive for continuous self-optimization and never-ending proving yourself to the marketplace has placed us on a psychological treadmill. We improve, but continue to crave more. And our capitalistic and consumer-driven culture supports it—they work in tandem. Selling us the need for more and the idea that we’re only deserving of it by being and doing more.

I honestly don’t know if I have more left in me. At this point, I think we’ve all lost the plot on what “more” even is. So, when is enough... enough? Can we ever truly feel satisfied with our income in a capitalist world that constantly demands more?

I, for one, know that right now, my salary is definitely not the best. Everyone I’ve spoken to about it has agreed that it is. And when you have a crap salary that you’ve tied to your identity, you too begin to feel like crap. I have not done this on purpose, and I am trying to break away from it. But it gets pretty difficult when you’re a single woman in her 30s building a life… or at least trying to live one. And while I can be all fairy tale and delusional about it, I don’t think it would do me any good.

The truth is—I, we—exist in a society that often measures our worth through our salaries and job titles. And while I care very little about the latter, I know improvement in the former can, in fact, help me live a better quality of life. One where I can not only care for myself adequately but also the people around me and my community.

The Illusion of Self-Actualization

What does self-actualization look like in a world that ties worth to productivity and pay?

It often looks like people tying themselves to work that doesn’t align with them—for the sake of being able to afford a decent life. A society in which we begin to undervalue non-material forms of success (e.g., meaningful work, creativity, service) because they cannot be mass-produced or quickly quantified into dollars.

Being so focused on measurable results can diminish the perceived value of creative thinking—which, I admit, is harder to assess. So in a world that has very much told us what to do, who to be, and how to be since fertilization… is this concept of “self-actualization” even our own?

And I’m posing this question to those who are somewhat better off but continue to run on treadmills, chasing more and continuous self-optimization. Is what you’re in pursuit of truly you?

And while I know money won’t solve all my problems, I do know it will solve a good portion of them. Truth be told, I simply cannot save my way out of a bad salary.

And side hustles and gigs—yes, I do those too… they take their toll.

Economists have long said that well-being is a simple function of income. Historically, it was believed that higher income translates to higher well-being. One study by Kahneman and Deaton (2010) found that people’s day-to-day emotional well-being only increased with earnings up to a household pre-tax income of US$75,000 per year—concluding, to a point, that money does in fact buy happiness. To add to that, new research has increased this amount to up to US$500,000.

Remote salaries puts the average monthly salary in Jamaica is JM$196,626 or US$1253 but given our constant rise of living, is this what we're considering to be the livable wage that will improve our well-being? And what happens when you’re not even among the average?

Rethinking “Enough”

I hope you don’t think I’m an unhappy individual, because for the most part, I’m not. But the dynamism of my very human experience allows me to also acknowledge that something is lacking here, and it needs fixing.

So while I don’t currently have financial peace, and I do struggle with what it means to feel financially secure, I acknowledge that I am grateful for my community. And outside of the 9-5, I thoroughly enjoy the opportunities I have for doing purpose-driven work. Work that ignites and fills me and helps to make my reality a little more bearable. Work such as writing this long ass article—which I must admit, has been a form of therapy.

So, if you’ve gotten this far, thank you.

I’m not a fighter in the pursuit of more—but I also think we need to stop and ask ourselves, given the realities and expectations of today’s society:

Is the pursuit of more always a sign of ambition, or is it sometimes fear in disguise?

References

Mcleod, S. (2025). Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Simply Psychology.

Picchi, A. (2023, March 10). One study said happiness peaked at $75,000 in income. Now, economists say it’s higher — by a lot. CBS News.

Deer, M. (2025, May 27). Average salary in Jamaica for 2025. Remote People.