A full-time job, and a side hustle

There was a time not too long ago, when an engineering or medical degree, or a professional course like chartered accountant or MBA was crucial to young people’s professional success. Designations were crucial, and people vied to get that respectful title that gave them power above a team, teams, department, or divisions. It was cool to be a vice president or president, a partner or director. Not any longer. Gen Z, according to a recent survey, shuns degrees and job titles. A small, but substantial, minority does not even believe in formal and organised higher education, and more than 90 per cent of the surveyed are uninterested in hierarchical designations.

For the parents, and older generations, such attitudes towards jobs and education are blasphemous. But they have no choice but to accept and acknowledge them. For employers and firms, this implies that they need to change the HR focus on other issues rather than on hiring people with degrees through campus interviews, and relying on increments, bonuses, and promotions to please their employees. For the policy-makers, it is a warning that education does not mean setting up colleges, universities, and institutions that aim to arm youngsters with an engineering or a medical degree. What is needed to think in terms of skills, and not formal education.

Skills, rather than degrees, are more important to Gen Z. Hence, 94 per cent of the respondents in the survey said that they would rather pick up new and relevant skills before and while working, rather than opt for additional degrees. In the past, most professional CVs focused on the number of degrees the individuals had acquired. Most firms, especially the larger ad renowned ones, still rely on hirings based on some minimum professional degrees. The first will change as Gen Z will highlight skill sets in their CVs to woo the employers. Firms too will need to change with the times as relevant skills will become more crucial as tech adoption increases.

A full-time job is important for Gen Z, but so is a side hustle to earn extra incomes. This implies that people from this generation do not wish to be straitjacketed into 9-5 jobs. They prefer flexible hours, possibly work-from-home. But more importantly, as the survey shows, more than 40 per cent are willing to work two jobs, or one-and-a-half jobs as a side hustle. According to a media report, the youngsters wish to “blend income streams instead of chasing one steady career path.” Only 16 per cent of the surveyed people wanted a typical traditional, single, and full-time job.

This explains why the acquisition of relevant and new skills is critical for Gen Z. A desire for a full-time job, and side hustle without giving priority to degrees implies that the youngsters pin their hopes on skills, especially in tech-related fields. In any case, tech in the form of Artificial Intelligence (AI) will make its presence felt across sectors, and segments. Thus, issues like job stability, and routine employment are out the window. What enters through the main door is the confidence and swag that they can contribute more to the employers’ needs through possession of tech-related skills.

Not surprisingly, most of Gen Z is giving up on formal education. Although the number is still small, it is significant that 11 per cent of the surveyed individuals do not believe in formal higher education. They will rather skip the step, and join the workforce sooner because the “traditional educational path does not feel worth it.” Another survey highlights a “disconnect between academic curricula and workplace demands, and 78 per cent of Gen Z respondents agree that “degrees do not equip them with job-ready skills.” Such realisations are not new, and even employers in some sectors believe in them.

For example, the IT and software sector has long believed that the Indian techies, especially the younger crop, lack ‘soft skills,’ though they may be armed with excellent degrees like engineering and MBA. In software, Indians deal with foreign clients, especially in the US and Europe, where communication skills may be more relevant than math or science-related ones. Over the past decades, IT associations and firms focused on improving the soft skills through courses, workshops, and inhouse training. Gen Z seems to have gone beyond this, and believe in acquiring both hard and soft skills.

In the US, a recent poll among Gen Z respondents finds that 60 per cent believe that “they can achieve financial independence without a 9-to-5 job.” This may imply two attitudes. On the one hand, as mentioned earlier, the younger generation is willing to work harder, and longer, since it desires a full-time job with a side hustle. On the other, it may imply that Gen Z believes in flexible hours, and feels that because of its tech skills and competence, it can do a specific job faster than the older employees. Hence, they need to work less hours than the others, and do not wish to work for eight hours.

Some of the voices from the Indian survey among Gen Z proves these findings. A 22-year-old woman says, “I do not want a job that consumes my entire life. That is not my idea of success. I want flexibility, creativity, and meaningful work, not just a title that looks good at social gatherings. Another 19-year-old pipes in, “My cousin is doing AI bootcamps, and getting freelance gigs with higher pay than many fresh engineering grads. Why should I spend four years on theory when I can learn and earn simultaneously?” Hence, micro-courses, certifications, and hackathons are more important.

Parents too have only begun to understand the job-related attitudes of their children. Till recently, they were angry and frustrated with this apathy from formal education, and disregard for degrees. Now, some have understood that the job environment has changed, and employers’ needs have changed. Yet, many stick to the old beliefs. A professional mother says in the Indian survey, “Engineering was our assurance. I worked overtime, and struggled so my son could study with the best teachers. Now, he talks about freelancing, and digital marketing. It is unstable. I do not understand it.”

Several reasons can explain the new attitudes among the younger generation. The youngsters, as well as some firms, value skills, and not degrees, unlike in the past. Indeed, employers and employees seek multiple skill sets to engage with multiple tech tools. Careers are no longer stable because of sudden and regular layoffs. Hence, multiple incomes and gigs, and flexibility is crucial. The flip side is that the youngsters want autonomy with flexibility. No longer do they depend on employers to manage their careers.