

Jay was a research associate on the Mills Longitudinal Study, one of the longest-running studies of female adult development in the world. in clinical psychology, and in gender studies, from the University of California, Berkeley.Īt Berkeley, Dr. Her work has appeared in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, USA Today, Forbes, Psychology Today, and NPR.ĭr. Jay’s book, The Defining Decade, was a 2012 Staff Pick and her 2013 TED talk “Why 30 Is Not the New 20″ has been viewed more than 2 million times. She is a clinical assistant professor at the University of Virginia and maintains a private practice in Charlottesville, Virginia.ĭr. Our twenties are a time when the things we do-and the things we don't do-will have an enormous effect across years and even generations to come. The result is a provocative and sometimes poignant read that shows us why our twenties do matter. She shares what psychologists, sociologists, neurologists, reproductive specialists, human resources executives, and economists know about the unique power of our twenties and how they change our lives.

Jay weaves the science of the twentysomething years with compelling, behind-closed-doors stories from twentysomethings themselves. Drawing from more than ten years of work with hundreds of twentysomething clients and students, Dr. Meg Jay reveals how many twentysomethings have been caught in a swirl of hype and misinformation that has trivialized what are actually the most defining years of adulthood. Some say they are an extended adolescence. Our "thirty-is-the-new-twenty" culture tells us that the twentysomething years don't matter.
