WHAT IS GEN Z STUDYING (FOR)?
Students are choosing what they hope will become their future careers. But what does that tell us about the jobs they will actually enter?
Business is still the biggest choice
Business, administration and law account for around one in four higher graduates across the EU, making them some of the most common fields of study. Health, engineering and construction also attract large numbers of students. Creative fields represent a smaller part of the picture, but that doesn't necessarily tell us how valuable creative skills will be in the job market.
The job market isn’t only looking for degrees
Across Europe, employers are facing shortages in areas such as healthcare, engineering, construction and digital roles. At the same time, technology is changing the way many existing jobs are done. For creatives, this means the more useful question might not be whether your exact degree is "in demand" but what you can actually bring to the table.
This is where creativity gets interesting
AI can now generate an image, write a headline or put together a presentation in seconds. But creative work has always involved more than producing the final output. It means understanding people, finding the right idea, making decisions, asking better questions and knowing what is worth making in the first place. Those skills can be useful far beyond traditional creative industries.
Your next creative job might not sound like a creative job
You might end up working as a brand strategist, UX researcher, creative technologist, content designer, product designer or innovation strategist. As technology changes and industries overlap, the boundaries around creative work are becoming less clear. And that could create more opportunities for people who know how to combine creative thinking with other skills.
So don’t study for just a job
We should study for the way we want to think, solve problems and contribute to the world around us. Your first job probably won't be your last. And as the tools keep changing, one of the most valuable creative skills may not be knowing how to use the next tool. It may be knowing what to do with it. The future of creative work isn't necessarily less creative. It may simply be connected to everything else.
SOURCES:
https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2016/article/the-life-of-american-workers-in-1915.htm? https://www.dol.gov/general/aboutdol/history/flsa1938? https://www.ilo.org/resource/brief/potential-practice-preliminary-findings-numbers-workers-working-home-during? https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/oecd-employment-outlook-2022_1bb305a6-en.html? https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bjir.12695? https://www.forbes.com/sites/elissasangster/2019/09/10/the-patriarchy-invented-the-9-5-workday-heres-how-we-remake-it-with-women-in-the-room/?