Posted on 07/27/2025 10:18:27 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
One in four Gen-Z workers wishes they had skipped college or picked a higher-paying major, and only about a third are happy with the choices they made, a new ResumeGenius poll, carried out this month, finds.
What Happened: The online survey of 1,000 full-time Gen-Z employees shows 23% regret going to college, 22% would pivot to fields like tech or finance, and just 32% say they'd change nothing about their education.
Career coaches say that shift reflects a market where degrees no longer guarantee jobs. "Many older generations had the luxury of living in a market where their college degree was practically a get-a-job-free card after graduation," said Kolbya Goodman of Employed-By-Graduation, speaking to Fortune.
A separate Tallo report highlights the unease. Nearly two-thirds of young adults aren't yet in their intended career, and one in four can't find work in the field they trained for. With entry-level roles shrinking and AI reshaping tasks, "there's a lot more uncertainty and lack of guarantees," Goodman added.
Cost is a prime driver of regret. The Education Data Initiative pegs the average annual price of attending a four-year college at $38,270, which is more than double what parents paid at the turn of the century. As bills climb, more than 4 million Gen-Zers remain unemployed or underemployed and blame their degrees for their predicament.
Parents are responding. 70% of teens now say their families support alternatives such as apprenticeships or trade school, according to a recent American Student Assistance poll.
Even so, some majors still pay. The ResumeGenius study notes that STEM and health graduates report the highest satisfaction, while arts and humanities majors log the most regret. With tuition soaring and job security shaky, career counselors urge students to weigh earnings potential, debt loads and non-degree options before signing a promissory note.
If college standards drop any lower, they’ll be giving “graduates” a DEI handbook and a box of race cards.
So your advanced degree in French poetry didn’t get you a great job???? SHOCKED!!!!!!!!
Common sense sometimes takes a lonnnng time to show up, with some folks.
Hmmmm.
It may be that today’s collage degrees are worthless.
Just saying.
“Career coaches say that shift reflects a market where degrees no longer guarantee jobs.”
that was never true, unless getting a job as a Starbucks barista right out of college counts ... it always did, and always does, depend upon WHAT degree ones earns ... stupid article assumes all degrees are equal in value ...
“…and only about a third are happy with the choices they made, …”
Probably the percentage that had any business going to school in the first place if we’re being honest.
> So your advanced degree in French poetry didn’t get you a great job???? <
Everyone is ultimately responsible for their own decisions. But colleges deserve part of the blame for shamelessly lying to naive students.
Student: “I’m thinking of majoring in French poetry.”
French Dept. adviser: “Great choice! Sign right here.”
>>The ResumeGenius study notes that STEM and health graduates report the highest satisfaction, while arts and humanities majors log the most regret.
Same as it ever was...
This is exactly right. Many universities now are hungry for more tuition dollars and so are admitting unqualified students, then expecting the faculty to bring them up to par. The result is that the standards are lowered across the board, resulting in a worse experience for everyone. This isn’t just a humanities thing, engineering, sciences, etc., are suffering just as badly.
.... in what universe???!?
So that English or Art History degree didn’t get you very much? 🤔
Engineering and sciences are suffering too. Not just humanities. See my comment below.
Here’s a fun read for you on Art History job prospects:
https://www.thecollegefix.com/computer-engineering-grads-face-double-the-unemployment-rate-of-art-history-majors/
Learn to wire.
Go to a technical college and learn how to be a GOOD carpenter,Plumber, Electrician,Mechanic or a welder.
There are millions of unfilled positions out there!
True. My daughter just graduated in chemical engineering but no one is hiring college grads with no experience in the field, even with intern experience.
“...32% of Socialist Democrat female grads with degrees in Lesbian History, say they’d change nothing about their education.”
Fixed!
I don’t know about that my underwater lesbian basket weaving degree is gonna payoff soon, I can feel it.
“Mike Rowe? Please pick up the White Courtesy Phone in the Lobby!”
He’s been preaching ‘TRADES’ for how many decades, now?
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