Career Choice | Why Are Young People So Stressed?

More than half of young people are more anxious than before about their career choice, according to Academos. To understand the phenomenon, The Press met with key stakeholders and experts.

A dizzying number of possibilities, the fear of making a mistake, of coming home to work bitter every morning and of missing out on happiness at work – this is what makes young people of Generation Z anxious when it comes to making one of the most important choices of their lives.

On the ground, experts are seeing what the SOM survey commissioned by the non-profit Academos revealed: 55% of young people feel a high level of anxiety about their career choice.

“For us, this is important data, because there is a 10% increase compared to the study we did in 2021,” says Catherine Legare, President and founder of Academos, a platform that connects young people with mentors to explore different careers and find the one that suits them.

Check out the report Gen Z 2024 from Academos

The increase may be due to the isolation young people have experienced during the pandemic, she points out. They have been taking their courses online and have had little contact with career counsellors. Not to mention that mental health has generally deteriorated across the Western world during this period.

According to the specialist, young people need more support, as indicated by the survey. “When we don’t have the support we need, we can remain stuck with our stress and anxiety.”

Anxious from one generation to another

Twenty-five years ago, parents of Zs were also afraid of making mistakes, you might say, but the causes of anxiety were not the same, explains Catherine Légaré, who founded Academos in 1999 as part of her doctorate in educational psychology.

“When I started Academos, it was Generation X who could use the program. Young people were anxious about not finding a job after completing their studies, anxious about choosing a program in which there would be no opportunities.”

Today, the causes of anxiety have changed: young people are wondering whether they will find a job that they are passionate about, that matches their values, and a good employer.

At the time of the survey, Quebec was still facing a labour shortage, and young people believed they would have no difficulty finding a job. However, the situation has changed somewhat in a few months, recalls Catherine Legare.

Give time time

Basically, adolescence is a period filled with questions and variables, says Caroline Dufour, vice-president of the Ordre des conseillers et conseillerères d’orientation du Québec.

“We are in the process of developing our love life, our friendships. We wonder where we are going to live. In addition, it is at this same time that we must choose our career for life. I advise young people to take it one bite at a time. To give time time.”

What creates a lot of anxiety at this age, the specialist points out, is not knowing yourself well enough and not knowing the possibilities.

To discover herself, she gives a valuable piece of advice, which will raise the eyebrows of employers and perhaps some parents who swear by stability.

Change your mind

“It’s okay if we make mistakes and don’t like it,” she adds, “because we’ll have learned.”

This is what the author Béatrice Bernard-Poulin retained from around thirty interviews that she conducted to write her book. Hello, dream job!

“The choices you make at 13, 20, 25, 40 can change later. It’s not a failure to say: I’m going to study in one field and work in another. Or I’m going to take a job and then start a business. Or the opposite and ultimately prefer to be employed,” says the woman who describes herself like an accidental entrepreneur.

Hello, dream job!

Beatrice Bernard-Poulin

Logics

280 pages

Béatrice Bernard-Poulin always knew she didn’t want to have her parents’ work schedule. The goal ofHello, dream job! is precisely to show teenagers and young adults that there is not only the 9 to 5 that can suit them as a job. And the title dream job is a nod to the concept, because the dream job will never be perfect, she reminds us.

His book provides many tips and advice to help young people in their research on the world of work.

“I always made my decisions by asking myself: what’s the worst that could happen? In my case, I thought it would be to be forced to have a minimum wage job for a few months, in order to find the next step for me. That’s what allowed me to find an extraordinary career,” she concludes.

Read “Career Choices: Five Unique Paths Through Life”