Intro
The market has not been kind to Gen Z. This is something I've noticed. Gen Z is quickly becoming easily one of the most overqualified generations to ever exist in the modern era. We have more information and resources than any generation before us ever had. We have more competition than anyone before us ever had. We not only have to compete in the single most competitive job market to ever exist in the modern age but also face the very threat of our labor being devalued by automated slop. It very well seems to me like we're one of the hardest working generations whilst simultaneously being one of the least rewarded for our efforts in the workplace.
College Applications
I'm prompted (no pun intended) to write this article to write this post upon frequently seeing how competitive college admissions are getting year after year. Schools that were previously considered safeties are now ramping up their selectivity with the sheer number of applicants out of a desire to drive up their market valuation. Most of these schools don't actually want to be artificially selective to such a degree but they simply cannot match the demand of applicants. I mean can a school really practically make room for millions of applicants within an application cycle. They also have financial incentives to continue to not make room for all the new applicants because creating scarcity means they can continue to drive up costs to enter the university and create a sense of luxury while the quality of education stagnates. This is something I noticed during my own application cycle a few years ago and from what I've seen it only gets worse for college kids year over year.
To me, It's kind of funny how the concept of standardized metrics has kind of lost all meaning. GPA, SAT, ACT scores, and maxing all these out is no longer considered impressive to anyone who isn't a boomer. Anyone who knows anything about modern college admissions knows that having anything less than perfect performance metrics pretty much eliminates you from anything other than community colleges. That's not me being cruel--that's the harsh truth of modern college admissions.
The Job Market
This is the one that I personally care about. I'll admit I'm not a high schooler applying to college and to be quite honest I don't really want to finish my degree anymore at this point in time. I think it's ridiculous to spend time in an institution that moves at a snail's pace compared to industry while employers don't even care to hire based on a degree anymore. I think college has failed the modern graduate. It does not provide the experience necessary to succeed in the modern workplace and employers have taken notice. If academia does not adapt the curriculum to match even a fraction of the speed of industry then the value of a degree with soon be worthless within the next decade give or take.
Lets take software engineering bootcamps for example. 10 years ago you could skip a college degree entirely and just spent $10k to do a coding bootcamp. If you worked hard--6 months later you were employed as a full-time full stack developer making $60k-$100k. That was an entirely valid business model. Nowadays the grand majority of those coding boot camps have more or less closed down their businesses due to the outrageously competitive nature of the job market. It is no longer a viable business model to churn out JavaScript developers to craft the modern internet like it was 10 years ago.
Closing Thoughts
I think there is hope for our generation. Knowledge has never been more readily accessible for young people. The barrier to entry is incredibly low for anyone looking to ship fast and create value for the world. Sure I mean engineering is no longer that tried and true path to safety and stability like it was before, but that's life you know? Personally, the money was always just a bonus for me, the act of engineering was always fascinating to me and I don't plan to stop anytime soon, do you? I believe the world of empty prestige and titles are becoming rapidly deprecated and will be replaced with a world of true meritocracy--at least as long as our political institutions can hold together.
That's all I have for now. Sorry if this one was a little abstract, its finals season for me. Take care, Joe