4.3 Million Gen Z Are Struggling To Find Direction In A Tough Job Market, Handshake Executive Says 'Gen Z Faces A Particularly Uncertain Job Market'

"Gen Z is entering an especially unpredictable job market," said Christine Cruzvergara, chief education strategy officer at Handshake, who emphasized the growing need to align education investments more closely with career outcomes.

Her comments during an "Inside Higher Ed" podcast on April 30 follow a report from Measure of America of the Social Science Research Council, which shows that 4.3 million Gen Z adults in the U.S. are not in school, working, or in job training.

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Degrees, Doubt And Digital Upheaval

The post-pandemic job market has put young professionals in a tight spot. Kyle M.K., a career trends expert at Indeed, told Fortune that "another 38% feel student loans have limited their career growth more than their diploma has accelerated it." 

According to a recent survey by Indeed's Hiring Lab, 51% of Gen Z graduates now regret their degrees—compared to 41% of millennials and just 20% of baby boomers.

The rising cost of college is one factor driving that regret. According to the Education Data Initiative, the average cost of a bachelor's degree now sits at $38,883. Meanwhile, total student loan debt nationwide has reached $1.77 trillion. 

The pressure has become so severe that according to the Department of Education, over 5 million borrowers are currently in default as of April, and nearly 4 million more are at risk of defaulting in the coming months.

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The economic stress hasn't stopped at finances. Many young workers are increasingly unsure whether their degree has any practical use in a market being reshaped by artificial intelligence. Higher Ed Dive reported that 45% of Gen Z respondents now believe AI has made their college education feel irrelevant.

Still, employers are responding. In fact, M.K. pointed out that 52% of U.S. job postings on Indeed no longer require a formal degree—suggesting a shift toward skills-based hiring.

Yet, even skills don't always guarantee a high return on investment. According to the Education Data Initiative, the average ROI for a bachelor's in education is  minus 54.67%, meaning grads may earn less over their lifetimes than they spent getting the degree. Despite these stats, Cruzvergara warned against focusing solely on short-term financial returns. 

"It's shortsighted to focus only on immediate employment, as that makes the assumption that the value of higher education is only to get your first job," she told Fortune. Instead, she argued, college helps build leadership skills, fosters self-discovery, and creates long-term career opportunities.

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Case in point: Mark Zuckerberg famously dropped out of Harvard, but not before meeting the co-founders who helped him launch what would become Meta META. "Zuckerberg's college experience laid the foundation for what came next—even without a degree," Cruzvergara said.

And while AI may spook job seekers, it's not the grim reaper of careers. M.K. said AI is "more of an amplifier than a pink slip." While it may replace basic content writing or data entry, creative, medical, and strategic roles remain largely insulated.

"AI won't invalidate a solid education," M.K. added, "but it will reward those who keep upgrading their toolkit."

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