More than two-thirds of Gen Z say student loans will impact their choice of jobs

President Biden’s loan cancellation plan—a plan that would’ve impacted about 45.3 million former students—was recently struck down by the Supreme Court. While the current administration is still working to save borrowers from $1.77 billion in crushing debt, for many, relief can feel far-fetched.

It’s no surprise that those ever-escalating numbers have put an immense strain on the livelihood of so many Americans—especially those who are just entering the workforce. According to a new report from Handshake, a career platform that helps job-seeking college students and recent graduates, more than half of 2024 graduates anticipate having student loan debt, and that debt will actually have a big impact on what they do next. Nearly 70% say it will impact which jobs they will pursue once they graduate.

Student debt is part of the reason that financial security is a top concern for graduating seniors, according to the report. Almost half of them say the current economic news makes them feel pessimistic about their career prospects. “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,” one student told the survey.

Furthermore, more than 40% of seniors say they plan to pursue gig work after graduation in order to make ends meet, and 32% say they would do gig work on top of a full-time job. Almost half cite financial motivations.

Could employers help foot the bill?

Despite the depressing outlook, there is one hopeful note in the report: Amid the student debt crisis, many more employers have started offering student loan repayment plans.

Entry-level jobs that offer repayment programs have more than doubled since 2019. In June 2019, only 1.2% of jobs on Handshake mentioned repayment programs. Now, 3% mention this kind of benefit, which feels more impactful than ever before.

Repayment programs have a heavy presence in some sectors. Nearly a third (31%) of jobs offered in the healthcare and services sector mention this perk on Handshake; followed by 23% of nonprofit jobs; 14% of government, law, and political jobs; 8% of financial services jobs; and 8% of education jobs.

According to Lending Tree, students and parents borrowed an estimated $94.7 billion in the 2021-22 academic year. While the debt is widespread, a fair amount of it burdens medical professionals—it’s not uncommon for students to graduate from medical school with upwards of $200,000 in debt—so it makes sense that healthcare jobs lead the way in offering repayment options.

These assistance programs come in different forms, such as direct payments, access to 401(k) loans, and even debt-counseling services. But clearly, employers are realizing that with so many entry-level employees starting their lives in the red, student loan repayment just might look like the best incentive to new hires.