According to a 2025 Gen Z Career Prospects Report, which surveyed 1,000 full-time Gen Z workers across the U.S., nearly 23 percent say they regret going to college, and another 19 percent say their degree hasn’t helped them in their career.
A separate article published last month affirms the trend, noting that “for a growing number of Gen Z workers, college hasn’t turned out to be the career launchpad it was promised to be.” While 73 percent of respondents to the Resume Genius survey pursued a degree, many now believe they chose the wrong field or the wrong path altogether.
Among those who earned degrees, satisfaction depended heavily on what they studied. STEM (Science, Engineering, Technology, and Math) and healthcare majors were the most satisfied, with 87 percent saying their degrees helped their careers. But among those who studied the arts, humanities, or social sciences, just 51 percent said the same. (Satisfaction rates for STEM graduates may eventually fall in line with those of liberal arts majors, as artificial intelligence and foreign hiring continue to disrupt even the most technical job markets.) Regret ran higher among men, with 28 percent saying college wasn’t worth it, compared to just 19 percent of women. Women were also more likely to report being content with their educational path.
Jared Gould, editor of Minding the Campus, speculates that many liberal arts and humanities majors regret college not simply because the job market undervalues their degrees, but because they never received a “whole education” in the first place. Thanks to declining academic standards, Gould says, “many liberal arts and humanities students graduate without ever having been truly challenged.”
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Another reason these students may feel more regret than STEM graduates, Gould added, is that “many undoubtedly choose liberal arts and humanities majors not out of genuine interest or aptitude, but to avoid more demanding subjects like chemistry or calculus.” He suspects many see the liberal arts and humanities as easier paths to a diploma, thinking they’ll hold the same weight in the job market as other degrees … But once the debt sets in and the degree proves hollow, regret inevitably follows.”
Beyond academics, some experts believe the root of student dissatisfaction lies in what college itself has become. The promise of intellectual freedom and personal independence has too often given way to ideological rigidity and administrative control.
“Part of the attraction of college is being able to finish your education in an environment where you can explore as a new adult, out from under the thumb of your parents and your high school principal,” Robert Shibley, Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, told me. “Now, college too often turns out to be just as authoritarian and restrictive as childhood. We’re shortchanging students on the college experience, so it’s no wonder that a fair number regret it.”
Still, poor job prospects and low wages are among the top reasons a growing number of Gen Zers regret going to college, the survey found. In fact, 1 in 5 say their education hasn’t contributed to their career. As stable jobs prove harder to find, many are turning to side hustles just to make ends meet.
According to the report, 58 percent of Gen Z workers already have a side hustle, and another 25 percent are considering one. Quartz made the point that this trend is especially common among Gen Z workers with less formal education; nearly two-thirds of associate degree holders have side hustles, compared to just over half of bachelor’s and master’s degree holders.
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To be sure, not every Gen Z graduate runs a side hustle because they can’t make ends meet with one job. Creative expression, career experimentation, and long-term entrepreneurship were other driving factors. And men were more likely than women to use side hustles as stepping stones to build skills or launch businesses. Still, a plurality responded saying that they work a side hustle for “additional income because of rising costs.”
The survey also revealed a shift in how Gen Z defines success. Many have realized that even prestigious jobs often don’t pay enough to live comfortably, let alone cover the cost of student debt. As a result, Gen Z is beginning to prioritize other values instead. 91 percent of Gen Z workers say work-life balance is “important” or “very important” to them. Job security and a decent paycheck also ranked high, while only 37 percent prioritized working for a prestigious company.
Instead of climbing corporate ladders, Gen Z is prioritizing flexibility, purpose, and independence. This puts higher education in the crosshairs, with many rejecting the old playbook entirely—seeing college not as a way to secure a good future, but a costly gamble, with debt that far outweighs the earning power of most available jobs.
This generation was told that college was the only way up, but for many, it’s become the fastest way down.
Image: “Side Hustle Street Sign On Wall Street” by Investment Zen on Flickr
