- 57% of the Class of 2025 really feel pessimistic about their fast job prospects
- 45% of scholars fear that AI and the present political local weather will negatively affect job availability and safety.
- 54% of scholars say that their pupil mortgage debt is a serious supply of stress.
Because the Class of 2025 embarks on their closing yr of school, a brand new survey from Handshake reveals a sobering outlook. Key findings from the survey present {that a} vital 57% of this yr’s seniors really feel pessimistic about beginning their careers, with competitors for jobs, pupil mortgage debt, and the rise of generative AI contributing to their issues. This marks a stark improve in pessimism in comparison with the Class of 2024, which noticed 49% reporting related emotions final yr.
The survey, which included responses from 1,925 college students throughout 521 U.S. schools, highlights the extraordinary pressures dealing with this yr’s graduating school class.Â
Class Of 2025 Scholar Mortgage Debt
Scholar mortgage debt was highlighted as a giant concern for the Class of 2025. Greater than half (54%) of the scholars pointed to pupil loans as a major stressor. Solely 46% imagine the quantity of pupil mortgage debt they’ve is manageable.
While you examine this survey information with our personal Scholar Mortgage Debt Statistics that present that the common pupil mortgage borrower may have over $37,000 in pupil loans, it may be daunting.
This common month-to-month pupil mortgage cost for 2024 is at present estimated to be $504 per thirty days. Nonetheless, that quantity is skewed due to the excessive variety of debtors in income-driven reimbursement plans with $0 funds.
Profession Prospects
College students stay hopeful about their long-term profession prospects, however most acknowledge fast challenges. 57% of respondents to the survey really feel pessimistic about their fast job prospects. This anxiousness is exacerbated by a turbulent political local weather and uncertainty in regards to the affect of AI on the job market. Â
Whereas fast job alternatives appear bleak, a majority of scholars nonetheless imagine their school expertise has outfitted them with the talents vital for private {and professional} progress.Â
In accordance with the survey, 88% of respondents felt that school contributed considerably to their private growth, whereas 68% believed it’s going to assist them safe a well-paying job.
Nonetheless, many college students are nonetheless taking proactive steps to enhance their job prospects. The survey discovered that 68% of seniors had been attending profession festivals and networking occasions, 63% had been making use of to extra jobs, and 61% had been pursuing internships.Â
Nonetheless, not all college students are participating with accessible assets: one-third of respondents reported having no expertise with their school profession heart. That is regarding.Â
Last Ideas
The Class of 2025 is simply the most recent class to face a troublesome job market and pupil mortgage debt. This has been an on-going battle for school graduates because the early 2000s.
Nonetheless, know-how and rising prices are making the identical struggles appear tougher and are permitting them to be extra seen to the general public.Â
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