A college degree once ensured prosperity – but gen Z is finding ‘just not much out there’

Survey after survey show gen Z experiencing deep economic instability, plus eroding trust in US leadership and weakened social connections

Jes Vesconte graduated from one of California’s most prestigious art schools, did a Fulbright in Germany and got a master’s from Columbia University.

Yet Vesconte, 29, is struggling to afford everyday life. Amid freelancing and working service-industry jobs, they are now in the midst of yet another job search to supplement their income before their student loan repayment schedule begins next month.

“I can barely find a way to make more than $3,000 a month,” Vesconte said.

Vesconte is not alone. The college degree is “losing its edge”, according to a report this month from the Economic Policy Institute. Despite a growing economy and low unemployment rates , young college graduates are faced with dismal hiring prospects. Survey after survey show that gen Z is experiencing deep economic instability , along with eroding trust in the country’s leadership and weakened social connections.

All of this contributes to a feeling among many young people that they are stuck, and the life and freedom they had envisioned adulthood would bring is simply out of reach.

“They have low expectations for how they’re doing now, they have low expectations of how things are going to look in the future,” said Janelle Jones, the former chief economist at the Department of Labor and a senior fellow at the Groundwork Collaborative, a left-leaning thinktank. “That is in part the labor market, but people aren’t just workers. They’re living in a time where we’re facing multiple existential crises right now.”

It may be easy for some to dismiss the angst and instability felt among many of today’s twentysomethings as a rite of passage that all young adults inevitably experience. But the data shows this generation is facing a set of challenges different from anything the country has seen before.