COVID-19: Gen Z workers are struggling with careers and worried about the future

Boomers had the Vietnam War, Gen X had 9/11, and millennials had Columbine (which started the swath of school and workplace gun tragedies). Now, Generation Z has the worldwide coronavirus pandemic. Each generation witnessed or experienced watershed events that greatly affected many lives. On July 1, the highest number of US COVID-19 cases for a single day were recorded: 50,000. 

Gen Z found itself in an unprecedented situation. The first “class” of Gen Z graduated from college in May 2019 and unceremoniously lost jobs or had their work situation dramatically change. The next Gen Z class was high school seniors, and from mid-March to their virtual graduations, they finished that iconic year in near isolation from peers.

SEE: Coronavirus: What business pros need to know (TechRepublic)

While they may have a lot to say, they’re also extremely uncertain about how the pandemic will affect their careers, according to a study by College.Finance.com: “Gen Z Career Outlook After COVID-19.” The COVID-19 recession has directly impacted their finances. Nearly half of respondents (49%) said COVID-19 hasn’t made them reconsider jobs or careers, 21% said they weren’t sure if it would, and 31% were actually looking forward to considering new careers and jobs. 

About one in five employed said they’d consider going back to school to change their professional career goals. 

Gen Z respondents to the survey said:

• 46% said their job paths or careers were less stable than previously expected

• 42% claim to be absolutely unaffected by COVID-19

• 13% said the virus brought about stability to their jobs.

• 48.7% said it’s very unlikely they’ll change their career or job due to the coronavirus

• 30.6% said they are likely to find a new career path

• 20.7% are unsure if they will or won’t change their trajectory

• 21% of employed respondents are considering  a change to their careers

• 27% of those with student debt were most interested in going back to school

• 14% of those without student debt wanted to go back to school

Those who were seriously considering returning to school said they’d be willing to take on $15,465 in student debt to do so.

A whopping 65% of Gen Z Americans are thinking about returning to school, because of the economic impact of the virus and felt their planned career paths were much less stable. Others who are contemplating a return to school:

• 16% are working in retail

• 14% are working in hotel, food services, and hospitality

The most appealing industries to those who want to change jobs were:

• Technology 15.9%

• Medical and healthcare 9.6%

• Finance and insurance 7.9%

• Information services and data processing 7.3%

• Education 7%

• Construction and manufacturing 6.3%

Most interested in changing careers? Those in education (62%), technology (57%) and construction and manufacturing (56%). The education industry has not held the interest of 28%, who are now interested in pivoting into the tech industry. Those with jobs in tech (29%) were most interested in finance and insurance. 

Some Gen Z workers consider changing jobs

For a generation without a lot of practical work experience (and the savings to survive the pandemic) it’s a good deal of uncertainty and  frustration.

COVID-19’s effects are less-favorable than more favorable, said working Gen Zs:

• 34% experienced cancellations of planned job interviews

• 30% have had their hours reduced

• 19% were offered less pay

• 12% were furloughed

The effects of COVID-19 are tough on the working life of Gen Z. Respondents said the average salary decrease for them was $6,000. Only 29% said COVID-19 had no impact on their jobs.

Among those who are thinking about a career change:

• 40% are interested in positions of essential workers (includes 47% millennials)

• 27%–the least likely to consider a job in essential careers

• 16% were considering technology

• 10% were considering healthcare

• 8% were considering finance and insurance. 

Job outlook for the second wave

Around 71% of Gen Z said they fear going into the job market because of the instability the potential second wave of the virus would cause, and 60% of employed workers believe a second wave would negatively impact their jobs; 23% are worried about being laid off.

Of those whose job stability wasn’t affected by COVID-19, 26% will be on the lookout for a career change when the second wave hits.

Even though President Donald Trump said on July 1 he believes the virus will go away this month, about 60% of employed Americans are afraid that a second wave of the coronavirus will have a negative impact on their jobs, and 23% are afraid of outright layoffs.  

Methodology

CollegeFinance.com surveyed 1,007 people from the ages of 18 to 70 to explore how COVID-19 affected career and job outlook. Survey respondents, polled between May 28 and June 4, included a sample of 189 people identifying as Generation Z in order to explore their outlook on jobs and interview or job application experiences since the COVID-19 outbreak.

Also see

• The latest cancellations: How the coronavirus is disrupting tech conferences worldwide (TechRepublic)
• Return to work: What the new normal will look like post-pandemic (free PDF) (TechRepublic download)
• Coronavirus domain names are the latest hacker trick (TechRepublic)
• Pandemic response policy (TechRepublic Premium)
• As coronavirus spreads, here’s what’s been canceled or closed (CBS News)
• Coronavirus: Effective strategies and tools for remote work during a pandemic (ZDNet)
• How to track the coronavirus: Dashboard delivers real-time view of the deadly virus (ZDNet)
• Coronavirus and COVID-19: All your questions answered (CNET)
• Coronavirus: More must-read coverage (TechRepublic on Flipboard)

Article source: https://www.techrepublic.com/article/covid-19-gen-z-workers-are-struggling-with-careers-and-worried-about-the-future/#ftag=RSS56d97e7