NEWS YOU CAN USE: Millennials 101: How to Enjoy Your Parents’ Basement.

As my readers know, I graduated from my MBA program straight into my parents’ spare bedroom, which is where I lived for the next three years as I tried to figure out what the heck I was going to do for the rest of my life. This did not do wonders for my self-esteem. And yet, believe it or not, I look back on the experience with fondness.

We’ve been reading a lot of stories lately about millennials who feel stuck in their parents’ basement. To those of you who find yourself in that position, I’m not arguing that you’re lucky to be underemployed and unable to afford your own place. I am arguing that you should make the most of the time you spend at home with your parents, because this is the last time you’re going to get to spend this much time with the people who raised you.

There’s something to this. When my brother got his PhD and was looking for an academic job, it took him a year during which he supported himself by playing blues guitar. When he was feeling bad about it, I told him that while he was frustrated and worried now, he’d wind up looking back on that year as one of the best in his life. And, in fact, that’s how it turned out. Now if that year had stretched to ten . . .

Meanwhile, there’s some good advice at the link.