November 2011 - Parks & Recreation - 48

futuRe leaDeRs continued from page 45

Current young professionals have the
highest student loan debt of any previous
generation coming into the workforce.
Despite the current economy, a majority of NRPA's young professionals (nonstudents) do have at least an entry level
job and are living on their own. They are
driven and want to make an impact professionally. They do not have a strong
sense of professional patience; they desire to have what their parents had while
they were growing up and most want it
ASAP. This drive, combined with their
high student loan debt, will cause most
young professionals in the field to take
anywhere from 12-15 different parks and
recreation jobs during their careers. This
trait will bother almost all of their Baby
Boomer co-workers, who averaged two to
three jobs in their career, and many Generation X co-workers, who will average
five to eight jobs in their careers. With the
expected retirement of our Baby Boomer
workforce in the next four to five years, the
opportunity to promote professionally will

be something that is very appealing to the
current crop of young professionals. Many
of these professionals are coming to the
field without a traditional parks and recreation degree. Some will see the opportunity to " job surf " as a great way to become
a more well-rounded professional.
Young professionals are very aware
of social media-their mobile devices
keep them well connected and they text/
chat/email their contacts and friends far
more than they talk to them conversationally. They are wired into technology, and
are used to managing lots of information
to make decisions quickly. This will be
key as the parks and recreation industry
is changing. Current young professionals
will use the skill sets developed on mobile
and computer devices to lead us in the upcoming years. During their leadership,
government processes will move quicker, closely resembling the retail industry.
Peer-to-peer networking sites like
Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, and
even Napster have fostered a more

" community-oriented " mindset with the
Millennials' Generation. Current young
professionals are traditionally likely to live
in urban areas or apartment setting, and
are more " civic-minded " than their parents. At work, because of their online network participation, they are more likely to
be socially connected with colleagues and
their customers than previous generations.
They tend to be more involved in professional societies at a younger age than previous generations and their involvement
most likely includes conference calls, webinars, and other alternative participation
options. In their spare time, young professionals volunteer at social events and community revitalization projects.
These characteristics are important when trying to predict where our
parks and recreation agencies are headed. With churches, local sports associations, and both neighborhood and home
owner associations all offering the same
park and recreation programming that
park and recreation departments do, we
as an industry will need to decide if we
want to continue to compete with them or
let the current young professionals lead
us in a new direction. Today's young professionals are future leaders in the field
and, due to their entry level or front-line
positions, they are in charge of a majority
of current park and recreation programming. Thus, they will be very influential
in where our industry goes from here.
With the knowledge that Millennials are
more community-oriented, expect to see
more farmers markets, community gardens, and informal recreation in the future. Will this generation continue to do
camps, sports leagues, and fitness programming? Probably, but I believe that
there will be more nature walks, park
revitalizations, and community service
projects in the future as well.
shaNe miZe is the Recreation

Superintendent with Missouri City, Texas
Parks and Recreation Department. He is
also chair of the Young Professional
Network. If you would like to get more
involved in the Young Professional
Network, please visit www.nrpaconnect.
org/youngprofessional.

46 Parks & Recreation N O V E M B E R

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November 2011 - Parks & Recreation

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