This story is part of a series called "Millennial World," which looks at the state of the generation around the globe. This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Emily Gifford, a 29-year-old banking professional in Little Rock, Arkansas. It has been edited for length and clarity.
I grew up in a small town in Arkansas called Quitman, and I went to Arkansas State University right out of high school.
I only went to college for a year and a half because I was paying out of pocket and refused to take out student loans. Eventually my money ran out. I completely quit school, and I went straight to working.
When the job I had in college working under an accountant fizzled out, I was panicking to find a way to pay off my car. I landed a part-time teller job at a local bank at 20, and I've been there ever since.
Now I work full time in the bank's research department. I'm married with one child, and we're renting a place. But my husband and I both feel we should go back to school to finish our degrees.
Job security is a big reason why I stayed at my current job. In the almost 10 years I've worked here I've never worried about layoffs, but I'm weighing other options now.
My husband is working full time and going to university, and we're paying all cash for his schooling. When he's finished, the plan is for me to return to school for a degree in social work.
I'm only going back because I feel like I have to go to school if I want to get the job I want and be paid a decent wage.
I don't think you have to go to school to make a livable wage - my husband did a computer-programming boot camp that's helped him make pretty good money without a degree. However, I've struggled in my job search. In the worlds of social work and psychology, you have to have a degree just to get your foot in the door.
As a millennial turning 30 this year, I feel a sense of pressure to have certain milestones accomplished.
A lot of my peers have thousands and hundreds of thousands of dollars in student loans, so I do feel we're a little bit ahead in not having student-loan debt. But we don't own a house, we still have some debt, and I wish we had larger savings.
I feel like we're behind, but not too bad. In five years I'll definitely be in the career that I want and out of debt, and we'll own a house. I believe that 100%.
My advice to someone entering their 20s would be to stay out of debt, don't get credit cards, don't get a new car, and work while you have no children and lots of energy. If you're attempting to enroll in university, apply for scholarships and grants whether you think you'll get them or not.