After the Great Recession, most 18 to 24 year olds say security beats passion.
If experience is a great teacher, then the Great Recession must be up
for an educator of the year award. After living through a global
financial crisis and the lingering aftermath, current or recent college
students would rather opt for a regular paycheck than following their occupational dream, according to a recent survey from workforce recruitment firm Adecco Staffing.
The survey of 1,001 Millennial and Gen-Z
(born after 1995) students and recent graduates found that the ability
to find a job was the single biggest concern for 32 percent of all
respondents, even though 79 percent thought that they would have a job
within five months of graduation. Forty-two percent thought that they'd
have a job in less than three months.
The top aspiration for students was, at 31 percent, to become
financially stable in the next ten years. Financial stability was a
top-three pick for 69 percent of the respondents. Following that was the
desire to land a dream job, which was the top interest for 28 percent
of respondents overall, with 32 percent of Gen-Z'ers and 24 percent of
Millennials expressing that interest.
In getting a first job, 36 percent put career growth as their top
priority, compared to fulfilling work and stability, at 19 percent each.
Only 6 percent though getting the highest salary was most important,
even though 73 percent expected to make up to $55,000 a year on a first
job.
"A trend we're seeing emerge is that students --particularly the older
ones-- who felt or witnessed the impact of the recession are more likely
to prioritize career growth and stability in their job search," said
Joyce Russell, president, Adecco Staffing, USA, in a press release.
Getting those jobs may be tough, however, as 42 percent will spend 5
hours or more on social media during spring break and 64 percent expect
to spend the same amount of time streaming video. Only 16 percent plan
to put 5 hours or more into a job search during that time. Thirty-one
percent rely on online job boards while 29 percent depend on the
school's career center.
The Millennial and Gen-Z respondents differed when it came to the cost
of school. Twenty-one percent of Gen-Z students ranked the cost of
college as their greatest worry. Only 13 percent of Millennials felt the
same.
There were some interesting differences between the genders. Women, at
38 percent, had travel as a top-three aspiration, compared to 26 percent
of men. And 28 percent of men said that starting a family was a top
priority, while only 20 percent of women said the same. However, 36
percent of all respondents had getting married as a top-three
aspiration.
