Rethinking
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The past few semesters looked quite different on college campuses around the country… and not just because of
the lack of packed lecture halls, sporting events, and house parties. With a year-plus of pandemic-mandated hybrid learning under their belts, Gen Z is now rethinking what they want the future of college life to look like. Even as many head back to campus full-time this fall, students are considering the pandemic’s effect on their post-college lives, too.
Explore the infographics below to see how students are rethinking the college experience in 2021 and
beyond, from the value of physical classrooms vs. digital ones, to considering different majors and career
paths, to seeking better balance between their personal lives and the demands of school and work.
How a year of hybrid learning is changing how students view higher education
What Students Think
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The Pandemic's Effect on Instruction Models
1
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Dr. Jean M. Twenge
iGen: Why Today’s Super-Connected Kids Are Growing Up Less
Rebellious, More Tolerant, Less Happy – and Completely Unprepared for Adulthood
Despite younger generations’ tech savviness from growing up in the Internet age, until 2020, higher education was largely still stubbornly analog. Pre-pandemic, only one-third of college students had some kind of online course experience, according to U.S. Department of Education data. The rest were used to campus-based lectures.
Despite some initial technical hiccups, the flexibility afforded by online or hybrid learning means it’s likely here to stay in some form, even as students return to physical classrooms. Some may find they prefer online learning, and it could offer relief for college students for whom cost is a determining factor. Online and hybrid learning also allows students to hold an in-person internship in one location while digitally completing coursework for a school located elsewhere. The same logic applies for remote internships, which have opened up job opportunities for students who can’t afford to live in major urban areas.
The Unemployment Gap
The Pandemic's Effect on Majors
It’s not just how they want to learn, college students are also reconsidering their majors and career aspirations amidst a turbulent time for the country and world. More than half are rethinking their career path, with many of those looking toward the fields of health and science — unsurprising after a period where health care workers became heroes and pharmaceutical companies fast-tracked life-saving vaccines.
As many large companies laid off or furloughed workers during the pandemic, becoming an entrepreneur is also attractive to college students. Unemployment among the 16-24-year-old set has remained about double that of the general population since the onset of the pandemic, which affects not just jobs for recent graduates, but the part-time work that many students rely on to help pay for college. The slow job recovery for young people may be why more students are newly considering careers in STEM fields, where job markets tend to be on the upswing. Some of the occupations projected to grow the fastest in the next decade are in healthcare, namely nurse practitioners and
home health care aids, as well as green jobs like wind turbine technicians and solar installers.
The Pandemic's Effect on Work-Life Balance
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Feelings Around Work-Life Balance
All of us want flexibility to enjoy our lives outside of work — but the difference with younger generations like Gen Z is that they’re willing to demand it. That doesn’t mean the “lazy” stereotype holds any merit, however. As Twenge notes, “Gen Z is a little more realistic about hard work than Millennials were at the same age. In 2019, 51% of 18-year-olds said they were willing to work overtime, up from 44% in 2008.”
But it appears the pandemic might have taken a greater toll on Gen Z than older generations, with one survey showing those in that age group, who are just starting their careers, reporting more feelings of dissatisfaction with work-life-balance than any other generation, and attributing the worsening balance to the pandemic.
Dr. Jean M. Twenge
Source 1: Chronicle of Higher Education / Source 2: Pearson / Source 3: Pearson Global Learner Survey / Source 4: Statista / Source 5: Statista / Source 6: CommercialCafe
CREDITS
Written by Andrea Morabito
Designed by Allie Pakrosnis
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Explore the infographics below to see how students are rethinking the college experience in 2021 and beyond, from the value of physical classrooms vs. digital ones, to considering different majors and career paths, to seeking better balance between their personal lives and the demands of school and work.
The COVID-19 pandemic changed just about everything in our lives, including our relationship with the environment. All those “nature is healing” memes aside, the past year drastically altered our habits in areas like travel (goodbye international flights), commuting (hello work from home), and eating (if you weren’t already a home cook, you were forced to become one). As for the environment, global carbon dioxide emissions
fell by 6.4% globally, and nearly 13% in the U.S.
Approximately 2.5% of global carbon dioxide emissions come from aviation, and U.S. air passengers have the greatest carbon footprint among wealthy countries — greater than the next 10 countries combined. That’s because all those carbon-emitting flights are taken by a relatively small portion of people: Just 11% of the global population took a flight in 2018, and only 4% flew internationally. All of which means changes in flight habits among those people can equal big environmental effects.
During the pandemic, international travel
was essentially grounded, and many of us avoided taking flights at all in favor of road trips closer to home. Remember that experience and consider driving (or even better, carpooling)
or taking the train for domestic trips where possible, and rethink whether that “big vacation” has to happen overseas.
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Environmental Effect of Flight Frequency
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Approximately 2.5% of global carbon dioxide emissions come from aviation, and U.S. air passengers have the greatest carbon footprint among wealthy countries — greater than the next 10 countries combined. That’s because all those carbon-emitting flights are taken by a relatively small portion of people: Just 11% of the global population took a flight in 2018, and only 4% flew internationally. All of which means changes in flight habits among those people can equal big environmental effects.
If you tried to purchase a bike in the last year, you know firsthand just how much personal transportation habits were upended by lockdowns. That being said, car traffic was also the fastest transportation sector to rebound, given the privacy it offers getting from here to there relative to public transit. So while you may not be looking to completely give up your car, reducing the ways you regularly rely on it, such as commuting to work or school, can have a meaningful reduction on your carbon footprint. It’s estimated that more than 20% of the workforce could work remotely 3-5 days per week as effectively as they could from an office. If you’re one of those workers and you previously drove to work, that could equal at least a 40% reduction in car emissions vs. the previously standard weeklong commute. (You can reduce this even more if you carpool vs. drive alone.) If you’ve just graduated and are looking for your first job, consider looking at areas where you wouldn’t need to rely on a car to commute.
*based on nearly 3,000 reopening plans in Fall 2020
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public 4-year
private 4-year
all colleges
public 2-year
27%
fully or primarily in-person
21%
hybrid
8%
other
44%
fully or primarily online
hybrid
27%
fully or primarily in-person
23%
fully or primarily online
48%
other
2%
hybrid
21%
fully or primarily in-person
35%
fully or primarily online
32%
other
12%
hybrid
16%
fully or primarily in-person
19%
fully or primarily online
61%
other
4%
64%
of college students globally think online or hybrid learning is ideal for the future
17%
would prefer
an online learning model
47%
would prefer
a hybrid learning model
Pearson author of
4,5
56%
of college students are now reconsidering their career path
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are now considering a career in healthcare or science
45%
are now interested in starting their own business
53%
December 2020
May 2021
June 2020
10.2%
20.5%
12.5%
9.9%
6.7%
5.8%
Youth (ages 16-24)
All Adults
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75%
68%
73%
45%
Baby Boomers
Gen X
Millennials
Gen Z
dissatisfied
Satisfied
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13%
16%
13%
27%
38%
42%
30%
24%
22%
37%
Gen X
Millennials
Gen Z
gotten worse
gotten better
That doesn’t mean those feelings will persist, however. With companies rethinking the future of work, many through newly flexible models, today’s young office workers have more power than previous generations did to choose where they want to conduct their jobs to better balance the demands of their professional and personal lives.
For those still in college, reconciling feelings of dissatisfaction starts with asking for help. If you’re considering changing your major, first consult with your academic advisor or talk to a professional in your alumni network about the path they took to their career. If you feel like your school-life balance is out of whack, look for ways to reward yourself with an activity you enjoy in exchange for completing a deadline.
And remember, 80% of college students believe that the pandemic has made their generation more resilient, according to a Pearson study, which means that even if back to school includes a change of majors, career plans, or classroom environments, today’s students have a chance to graduate as one of the most adaptable generations in history.
3
6
*based on economy class, round trip
1 day
1 day
all colleges
private 4-year
Author of iGen: Why Today’s Super-Connected Kids Are Growing Up Less Rebellious, More Tolerant, Less Happy – and Completely Unprepared for Adulthood
4,5
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It’s not just how they want to learn, college students are also reconsidering their majors and career aspirations amidst a turbulent time for the country and world. More than half are rethinking their career path, with many of those looking toward the fields of health and science — unsurprising after a period where health care workers became heroes and pharmaceutical companies fast-tracked life-saving vaccines.
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6
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Feelings Around Work-Life Balance
6
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All of us want flexibility to enjoy our lives outside of work — but the difference with younger generations like Gen Z is that they’re willing to demand it. That doesn’t mean the “lazy” stereotype holds any merit, however. As Twenge notes, “Gen Z is a little more realistic about hard work than Millennials were at the same age. In 2019, 51% of 18-year-olds said they were willing to work overtime, up from 44% in 2008.”
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Dr. Jean M. Twenge
But it appears the pandemic might have taken a greater toll on Gen Z than older generations, with one survey showing those in that age group, who are just starting their careers, reporting more feelings of dissatisfaction with work-life-balance than any other generation, and attributing the worsening balance to
the pandemic.
That doesn’t mean those feelings will persist, however. With companies rethinking the future of work, many through newly flexible models, today’s young office workers have more power than previous generations did to choose where they want to conduct their jobs to better balance the demands of their professional and personal lives.
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For those still in college, reconciling feelings of dissatisfaction starts with asking for help. If you’re considering changing your major, first consult with your academic advisor or talk to a professional in your alumni network about the path they took to their career. If you feel like your school-life balance is out of whack, look for ways to reward yourself with an activity you enjoy in exchange for completing a deadline.
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Source 1: Chronicle of Higher Education / Source 2: Pearson / Source 3: Pearson Global Learner Survey / Source 4: Statista / Source 5: Statista / Source 6: CommercialCafe
iGen: Why Today’s Super-Connected Kids Are Growing Up Less
Rebellious, More Tolerant, Less Happy – and Completely Unprepared for Adulthood
Pearson author of
iGen: Why Today’s Super-Connected Kids Are Growing Up Less Rebellious, More Tolerant, Less Happy – and Completely Unprepared for Adulthood
Pearson author of