Graduation typically brings feelings of joy, but as college graduates face high living costs and a competitive job market, students report increased anxiety about their future prospects.
A recent Student Voice survey Inside higher education Generation Lab found that nearly one in five college students say their biggest source of stress is life after graduation. People like this worry they don’t have enough internship or work experience to succeed.
The survey, conducted in August, included responses from more than 5,000 college students, including 1,000 two-year college students and nearly 2,000 first-generation college students.
“Stability is really important for this generation of job seekers,” said Sean van der Zyl, chief executive of the National Association of Colleges and Employers, citing the organization’s own student survey. “Students have often reported to us over the past few years that the most important thing in their first job is stability.”
That means having a reasonable standard of living, as well as employers that offer adequate benefits, work-life balance and guarantees against layoffs, van der Zyl said.
Christine Cruzvergara, chief education officer at career council Handshake, said the trend doesn’t surprise her because it mirrors similar data her organization collected earlier this year, which found artificial intelligence, changes in federal policy and a competitive job market to be among the factors holding back student confidence after graduation.
“The cost of living is very real,” Cruz-Vergara said. “What’s interesting is that we do hear this from students, even over four years: ‘Everything is so expensive; I don’t know how I’m going to live.'”
Across the country, the American public is feeling financially strained. A recent McKinsey survey found that 45% of consumers said “price increases or inflation” were their biggest concern; another 24% pointed to their “ability to make ends meet,” and 19% cited job security and unemployment.
“I know no one would hire me in this economy,” Donna Anna, a student at New Mexico State University, wrote in the “other” response option of the Student Voice survey.
Tightening living costs are prompting more graduates to consider housing and grocery prices when choosing a city to live.
“In the past, you might have found that other things have risen to the top of the list, like vibrant nightlife, environmental issues, entertainment. All of those things are still on the list, but cost of living is at the top of the list for today’s graduates,” van der Zyl said.
Cruz-Vergara said Handshake is seeing more applicants looking to smaller markets or “secondary cities” as their first destination after college “because you might be able to find a good enough job while actually getting the quality of life you want.”
Internship required: Students perceive themselves as lacking skills and experience, underscoring the growing need for higher education leaders to provide work-based learning that prepares students for the workforce. Cruz-Vergara said some institutions now guarantee experiential learning or internships as part of their strategic plans.
“I’m glad to hear that students care about internship opportunities because it tells me that they understand what’s going on in the world and that employers think internship experiences are the best,” van der Zyl said.
Cruz-Vergara said four-year students are more likely to enroll in college directly after high school, which could explain why this group of students is more likely to worry about their lack of work experience.
“If they don’t have an internship, or they only work part-time during the summer, they may feel like they’re at a disadvantage because they’re not in a more traditional white-collar work environment,” Cruz-Vergara said.
Older students (25 and older) or those working full-time are less likely to experience anxiety due to a lack of work or internship experience, although they are statistically less likely to complete an internship while in college. Handshake data from earlier this year found that around one in eight students have not done an internship and do not expect to do one before completing their degree, largely due to time constraints caused by other jobs or homework, or because they were not selected for an internship position.
Van der Zyl said that while some employers value all jobs equally, others believe it is important for students to have work experience specific to their target careers.
Soft landing: Cruz-Vergara said college and university career centers can help address some students’ anxiety about graduation by connecting students with employers through traditional means at career fairs.
“In the face of emerging artificial intelligence in more industries, roles and sectors, I’m actually finding that for students, in order to find a job or an internship, what’s really popular is good old-fashioned networking,” Cruz-Vergara said.
Attendance at networking events and employer-led events hosted on Handshake, both virtual and for registration, has tripled this year, according to the Jobs Council.
“I know this isn’t new; career centers have been doing this for a long time, but do we need to do more? Do we need to do it differently?” Cruz-Vergara said.
Universities should also consider using their departments as employers to host interns.
“The school is a business in itself, with all these different functions,” Cruz-Vergara noted. “So, how do you create an internship within your own finance department? How do you create an internship within your own legal department?”
