A new survey by Resume Genius, written up by researcher Eva Chan, puts a tough number on a growing feeling: nearly one in four Gen Z workers (23%) say they regret going to college, and one in five (19%) say their degree didn’t contribute to their career. That’s not a tiny fringe. It’s a big slice of young full-time employees looking back at a pricey decision and wondering if it paid off.
What the Data Actually Says
Chan’s report polled 1,000 full-time Gen Z workers in the United States. Seventy-three percent pursued a degree; among those, 81% still say the degree helped their career in some way. But the cracks are clear. Gen Z is also hustling hard: 58% hold a side gig on top of a full-time job, with 22% saying they need the extra income. That blend of “the degree helped” and “I still need a second job” tells you a lot about how tight the math feels for young workers.
Degrees Don’t Pay Off Equally
Chan notes that the payoff depends a lot on what you studied. STEM and health grads report the strongest career lift: 87% say their degree contributed, and 73% say it directly helped them advance. Business, law, and economics grads come next at 83% and 59% respectively. Arts, humanities, and social sciences still help for many, but fewer say the degree directly moved them forward (51%). That’s not a dunk on the liberal arts – it’s a signal that the labor market rewards some fields more reliably than others right now.
If They Could Do It Over
The do-over question is where the second thoughts appear. Chan reports 22% would chase a degree tied to higher-paying fields (tech, finance, engineering, healthcare). 13% would learn a skilled trade or aim for a no-degree path. 11% would pick the same degree but at a cheaper school. And 10% would focus on entrepreneurship. Quietly, that list says: “Either raise the return, lower the cost, or change the game.”
Who Regrets More – Men or Women?
Chan’s breakdown also shows men shoulder more regret. Twenty-eight percent of men say they regret college versus 19% of women. Men are also more likely to say they’d choose a skilled trade or entrepreneurship if they could start over. Women, by contrast, report being more content with their education path (32% vs. 26% for men). It’s a split that mirrors the survey’s field-of-study differences and where people end up working.
The Rise of the Side Hustle
Side work is normal for this generation. Chan’s data shows 58% already have a side hustle, 25% are considering one, and only 17% are out altogether. The youngest workers are the most likely to hustle – 69% at ages 18–21 are already doing it. Interestingly, those with less formal education are slightly more likely to side hustle than those with advanced degrees. Some do it for passion, but the number one reason is simple: money.
What Gen Z Values at Work
Forget prestige titles – work-life balance is the top currency here. Chan finds 91% say balance is important or very important, followed by job security (89%) and high salary (83%). Meaningful work also ranks high (80%). That hierarchy explains a lot: if the job doesn’t deliver balance and security, the degree that led there may feel less worth the debt.
“The ROI Isn’t There,” Says CJ Womack
On a Newsmax segment highlighted by Campus Reform, correspondent CJ Womack puts the frustration in plain language: “The ROI, the return on investment simply isn’t there anymore.” He points to crushing tuition, expensive elite schools, and grads “coming home…with hundreds of thousands in tuition debt and absolutely zero opportunity.” Host Carl Higbie piles on with a blunt comparison: trades like HVAC or welding can beat “basket weaving degrees,” and they don’t come with “an $1,100 a month payment.” You can disagree with the tone, but their point matches Chan’s numbers: cost and payoff are out of sync for too many.
Michael Knowles: Maybe We Expected the Wrong Thing
Commentator Michael Knowles picks up Chan’s survey, “23% of full-time Zoomer workers regret attending college. 19% say their degree didn’t contribute”, and argues the purpose of university is being misread. In his words, college is not a vocational boot camp; it’s for “dusty old books,” “thinking in the abstract,” and “making sense of your freedom.” He says modern universities are failing both ways: they’re not serious liberal-arts institutions and they’re not focused, honest trade schools. If that’s true, regret makes sense – students bought one promise and got another.
Suzy Welch: A Values Gap Is Hurting Hiring
On Fox Business’s The Bottom Line, author and NYU professor Suzy Welch describes a wider mismatch between young workers and employers. She cites research showing only 2% of Gen Z hold the same top values companies say they need – achievement, learning, and work-centrism. Gen Z, she says, ranks values like well-being and authenticity higher. Welch is sympathetic to her students but frank about the chasm: firms want performance and growth; Gen Z wants balance and self-care. Her prediction is practical, not dreamy – some companies will adapt, but most will keep prioritizing results because that’s how they survive.
The Expectation Gap Is the Real Debt
Here’s how I see it. A lot of regret stems from mismatched expectations. If you pay university prices for what is essentially a thin vocational experience, you’ll feel burned. If you want a classic liberal-arts education but graduate into a job market that rewards narrow technical skills, you’ll feel burned, too. The fix is honesty up front: degrees are not equal in market value, and prestige is a luxury good unless your field truly pays for it. At the same time, employers should say clearly what they value – achievement, learning, grit – and how balance fits into that picture. Clarity beats vibes.
Practical Paths That Lower Regret
Chan’s data already points to solutions. If you want college, target fields that reliably pay (STEM, health, certain business tracks). If you want flexibility, consider community college first, then transfer. If your heart is in the arts or social science, limit costs: scholarships, in-state tuition, side work that builds relevant skills. And if you’re drawn to hands-on work, skilled trades are not a consolation prize – they’re stable careers with strong wages and lower debt. The side hustle culture Gen Z built is a strength – use it to test ideas before you take on loans.
What Employers Can Do, Without Losing the Plot
Welch is right: companies can’t swap out core values for self-care. But they can communicate tradeoffs: “We expect high performance and we teach you how to win here.” They can build apprenticeship-style training, which helps grads from any major ramp faster. They can offer predictable schedules, realistic workloads during onboarding, and clear promotion paths. That’s not coddling; that’s good management. It narrows the values gap without pretending profit doesn’t matter.
The Bottom Line
Eva Chan’s survey captures a heavy truth: 23% of Gen Z workers regret college, and 19% don’t see a career payoff from their degree. CJ Womack blames runaway costs and weak returns. Michael Knowles says we’ve muddled the purpose of higher education. Suzy Welch warns of a values gap between what employers need and what young workers prize.
My read: the fastest way to shrink regret is better matching – match majors to markets, tuition to likely pay, training to real job demands, and company expectations to what early-career workers can grow into. When costs, purpose, and outcomes line up, regret goes down – and that’s the metric worth chasing.
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Growing up in the Pacific Northwest, John developed a love for the great outdoors early on. With years of experience as a wilderness guide, he’s navigated rugged terrains and unpredictable weather patterns. John is also an avid hunter and fisherman who believes in sustainable living. His focus on practical survival skills, from building shelters to purifying water, reflects his passion for preparedness. When he’s not out in the wild, you can find him sharing his knowledge through writing, hoping to inspire others to embrace self-reliance.