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College No Longer Pays Off Like It Used To. How is Gen Z Responding?
As Gen Z steps into the workforce, many are finding that a college degree no longer guarantees stability. With layoffs sweeping industries from tech …
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Gen Z's Job Market: Is AI Creating an Unprecedented Crisis?
Gen Z Faces Unprecedented Career Challenges Amidst AI Boom A recent video by career consultant Colin Rocker, known as @careercolin, has shed light on what he describes as a "career crisis" for Generation Z, arguing that their struggles are distinct from those faced by previous generations. Rocker challenges the notion that every generation has encountered similar economic hurdles, pointing to the unique impact of artificial intelligence on today's job market. According to Rocker, "58% of recent Gen Z graduates are still looking for full-time work, compared to 25% of earlier graduates, like millennials, Gen Xers, and baby boomers before them, per FORTUNE." He contrasts this with past generations, stating, "Boomers had to deal with World War II, Gen X had to deal with oil shortages and stagflation, Millennials had to deal with the global financial crisis." However, he emphasizes that for these generations, "the solution was dependent on getting through or getting past the problem." The core of Gen Z's predicament, Rocker asserts, lies in AI. "In the case of Gen Z, their problem is unfortunately the solution for every single other generation when it comes to AI," he explains, referencing discussions at Cannes Lions 2025 where executives revealed plans to "use AI to hire less and replace the young people they already had." He highlights that "this genie is not going back into the bottle." Further compounding the issue, the video references a July 2025 White House document, "America's AI Action Plan," which outlines government plans to invest in and adopt AI across education, research, and training. This comes as the U.S. labor market recently added 73,000 jobs with an unemployment rate of 4.2%, a figure Rocker notes as "drastically lower than we previously thought." He concludes by citing a Fortune article indicating that "Gen Z men with college degrees now have the same unemployment rate as non-grads," suggesting the higher education payoff is diminishing.
