NEW YORK, Aug 31 — With the start of the new academic year fast approaching, students will soon be back at university studying the subjects required for the degree they are aiming for. But for many, it’s a dreaded time of the year, associated with stress and anxiety. This is especially true for students entering their final year of higher education, those who will soon be entering the world of work.

At least that’s according to the findings of a survey of 1,148 Americans who will be graduating from college in 2024, conducted by student job site Handshake. It highlights the various concerns this group has about the job market.

A major concern is mental health. In fact, over 80 per cent of future graduates have already experienced one or more of the symptoms characteristic of burnout during their university career, be it anxiety, extreme fatigue or lack of motivation. Economic uncertainty, the fear of not finding a job when they graduate, and increased pressure to repay student loans all contribute to their feelings of anxiety. “I will have to rule out certain jobs in industries that won’t pay me enough to pay back my student loan debt and afford to live,” said one student in Handshake’s report.

These types of worries can be an extra burden at this pivotal time, when the class of 2024 is supposed to be taking their first steps into the professional world. Although they are better equipped to enter working life than those without a degree or certification, a large number of students are afraid about taking the plunge. They fear that they won’t find a job with a good salary and that they will find themselves in a position where they have to negotiate a compensation package with their future employer that lives up to their expectation. In fact, only a quarter of the young people questioned said they were prepared to do this.

Importance of work-life balance

Most future graduates don’t want to mention their salary expectations during a job interview because they don’t want to risk losing a job offer (62 per cent), or of giving the recruiter the wrong impression of them (57 per cent). Others are reluctant to do so because of their inexperience or because they find the ritual particularly stressful. More surprisingly, 30 per cent of young people feel that they simply shouldn’t negotiate their starting salary, and that “accepting [the employer’s] initial offer is the right thing to do” given their limited professional experience.

This opinion is less widespread among female students than among their male counterparts (27 per cent vs. 34 per cent). However, future female graduates are far less likely than their male counterparts to negotiate their starting salaries. Only a third are convinced they can negotiate the best possible remuneration for a job for which they are qualified, compared to nearly half of the men surveyed.

Whatever their gender, students agree on one thing: their future career should enable them to maintain a healthy balance between their personal and professional lives. Six out of ten future graduates questioned would like their future employer to offer work-life balance resources to support them taking care of their psychological health, or even to offer them “mental health” days off. And with good reason: 80 per cent of them dread the possibility of burnout at some point in their career. A statistic that speaks volumes about the uncertainty hanging over the professional future of young people. — ETX Studio