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Cover Story September 3, 2009, 5:00PM EST

The Best Places to Launch a Career

(page 3 of 3)

Welke's performance got him noticed—and a new assignment at the Springville (Utah) plant. He now manages 44 hourly workers, some of whom are more than twice his age, something he much prefers to a headquarters job. "I thought: 'Wow, I have a chance to get front-line leadership experience.' That's something you wouldn't get in a corporate role," says Welke. "The best learning experience is when they just throw you in there."

Welke, who wakes up at 3 a.m. to get to work an hour before the start of his 5:15 a.m. shift—and often stays late—is a good example of what it takes for young people unaccustomed to drudgery to get ahead these days: hard work, long hours, and a willingness to make sacrifices. At Deloitte, Cedric Nabe, 26, travels extensively to work with his IT consulting clients. It's a job he loves, even though it makes training for this Olympics hopeful a challenge. In a few weeks he'll be on assignment in France, where he'll need to work in two hours of training each day if he's going to have a shot at the 100-meter dash. "I don't want to give up on track," Nabe says. "But I also want to be a great performer at work."

For Generation Y, all this represents a dilemma. As a generation, it never suffered from lack of ambition. But to get the responsibilities they covet, millennials will need a new outlook on work. Often criticized for a sense of entitlement, members of this cohort will have to knuckle down and pay their dues. And though often seen as needing direction, they'll have to make do without hand-holding. Plus, the search for work-life balance that Gen Y considers a priority will be more elusive than ever.

The new rules of work will, for many, be a rude awakening. "I think some are kind of frustrated and angry about having to take on more work," says Jennifer Kushell, a consultant who advises companies on managing Gen Y. "The ones who are clinging to 'business as usual' as the world crumbles around them are in trouble."

Unfortunately, that seems to be exactly what many are doing. A recent employee survey by research firm Development Dimensions International found that more than half the 223 Gen Yers in the sample felt their careers were in limbo, but fully 93% of those said they were unlikely to push for more responsibility. Forty-four percent said they would look for another job when the economy improved, 30% said they'd go back to school, and 11% said they would "do what I'm told, nothing more, nothing less"—not a recipe for success. "It's easy to excel in a good economy," says Deloitte's Borhani. "Those really willing to do what it takes and say, 'this too shall pass,' are the ones people will remember."

Indeed, Gen Y's best and brightest are counting on their bosses having good memories. When Pathik Soni, 24, joined drug and medical device maker Abbott Laboratories' (ABT) training program in January 2008, the financial crisis was in full swing. Soni, a University of Wisconsin electrical engineering grad, expected difficult challenges ahead and less job security, but he saw opportunity, too. During his first rotation he suggested changes to one Abbott building to make it more environmentally friendly, including installing more energy-efficient lighting. If adopted companywide, such changes could save millions—cost reductions he hopes will help him land his choice of jobs when his training ends in December. "I feel pretty secure," Soni says.

While many members of Gen Y who are being propelled up today's corporate ladder have the recession to thank, Soni could likely benefit from a different trend. With more than half of Abbott's senior executives set to retire in the next five years, the company's senior vice-president for human resources, Stephen R. Fussell, says a talent vacuum at the top will create opportunities in middle management for the most qualified young workers—a situation likely to repeat itself elsewhere. As a result, says Fussell, Abbott's top-performing Gen Y employees can expect to be promoted 50% faster than boomers and 20% faster than Gen Xers early in their careers. Says Fussell: "They're going to reach bigger jobs earlier in their career, and they're going to get there in a less hierarchical manner."

That message hasn't been lost on Amber Brown. Since starting at Walt Disney's (DIS) Imagineering division in 2007 (after earning three master's degrees and starting on a PhD), the 31-year-old research scientist has been analyzing visitor satisfaction at the company's theme parks—everything from the architecture to the ability of guests to take memorable pictures. But that's hardly all she does. At last count, the Glendale (Calif.)-based Brown was involved in seven different projects, several of which she pitched herself. One of them involves the Epcot Test Track ride that hurtles people down bumpy roads and hairpin turns. Her analysis of a feature that photographs passengers during the ride, involves overseeing six teams throughout the organization. By immersing herself in projects outside her own division, she hopes to guarantee her survival and advance her career. "In a company this large," she says, "you never know what's going to spring up a year down the line."

As the recovery gains a foothold, young employees will be able to begin breathing more easily. But for those who are willing to put in the extra effort, rapid advancement may come sooner than they think. And the economic clouds may not be so dark after all.

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Gerdes is a staff editor for BusinessWeek in New York.

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