Why Gen Zers are becoming 'sus' about getting college degrees

For teens coming of age in the late 2010s and early 2020s, the message was clear (and taught by most parents):  finish school, go to college, and you’ll land a secure job. It was seen as a guaranteed path to success.

But Gen Z isn’t so sure anymore.

With college costs soaring, student debt piling up, and many graduates struggling to find stable work, that promise feels shaky. Add to that the rise of artificial intelligence changing entire industries, and it’s no surprise more young people are asking: Was college really worth it?

1 out of 4 GenZs feel college was not worth it

A recent survey by ResumeGenius, which polled 1,000 full-time Gen Z workers across the US, shows that many young adults are having second thoughts about their college experience. Some say they wish they had studied something else, or skipped college altogether.

More from Explainers

UK airport chaos: What led to over 100 flights being cancelled across Britain? Why Israel wants its military intelligence to study Islam and learn Arabic

About one in four Gen Zers admitted they regret going to college or wish they had picked a more lucrative field, like tech, healthcare, engineering, or finance.

“Many Gen Z students feel they were told college was the only path, only to see people with strong degrees underemployed or overlooked,” said Allison Danielsen, CEO of career platform Tallo, in a conversation with Fortune. She added that students are now “questioning whether college still delivers real value.”

Tallo also conducted its own survey of over 2,000 people aged 18 to 30. They found that 62 per cent weren’t even working in the field they’d originally intended to pursue.

Editor’s Picks

1

What’s the ‘Gen Z stare’ that has got the millennials and Gen Z fighting in the office? 2

Gen Z is divided on dating and love. Is politics to blame?

Meanwhile, 25 per cent said they’re actively struggling to find jobs in their chosen industry, leading many to wonder whether the time, effort, and money spent on a degree was worth it. Only about a third of Gen Z workers reported being happy with their current career path.

And when you look at the numbers, it’s easy to see why there’s growing frustration. With average tuition nearing $38,000 (Rs 32.8 lakh) a year and Gen Z students carrying an average of $23,000 (Rs 19.8 lakh) in debt, college is starting to feel like a pricey gamble with no guaranteed payoff.

It’s not just students, even parents are rethinking things. A separate survey by American Student Assistance of more than 3,000 middle and high schoolers found that 70 per cent of teens say their parents are now more open to alternatives like trade schools or apprenticeships over traditional college.

“Parents are waking up. College doesn’t carry the same [return on investment] it once did because the cost is outrageous, and the outcome is uncertain,” Trevor Houston, a career strategist at ClearPath Wealth Strategies, told Fortune. “Students now face the highest amount of debt ever recorded, but job security after graduation doesn’t really exist.”

Also read: What is career catfishing, the Gen Z strategy to irk ghosting corporates?

The AI fear

A growing worry among Gen Z is the rapid rise of artificial intelligence and what it means for their future.

According to a report by Indeed, nearly half (49 per cent) of job seekers say their college degree feels less valuable in today’s job market because of how quickly AI is changing the job market.

Entry-level jobs, often the first step for graduates entering the workforce, are increasingly being taken over by automation. And that’s adding to the uncertainty.

“Damned if they do or don’t [go to college],” said Colin Rocker, a Gen Z content creator who shares career advice for young professionals, in a conversation with Fortune. “On one hand, their parents, counsellors, and professors urge them away from more liberal arts majors like literature or history, but every day in the news, they see thousands of people laid off who work with more technical degrees like engineering, computer science, and marketing, as AI starts to take over.”

Experts say these jobs may not vanish completely, but they are shifting into roles that barely resemble what they used to be.

For Gen Z, that means the career paths they once envisioned might no longer exist, or at least, not in the way they imagined. But that doesn’t mean all hope is lost. Instead, they may need to pivot and learn how to work alongside AI, rather than fear it.

Gen Z “is now faced with carving out a place for themselves in an economy where they’re fighting for opportunity against the most advanced systems and technologies we’ve ever seen,” Rocker added.

With input from agencies