Terry Schilling, president of the American Principles Project, is encouraging Gen Zers to reconsider the traditional college route and explore skilled trades or entrepreneurship, as recent graduates face a challenging job market.
"We need to go back to the drawing board, and if we can avoid having an entire generation stuck with $80,000 to $150,000 worth of student loans, and they can still get good jobs, we should absolutely pursue those things," Schilling told FOX Business. "I think the trades offer the best option for that."
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Data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York showed the labor market "deteriorated noticeably" in the first quarter of 2025, with recent workforce entrants taking the hardest hits.
In June, the unemployment rate for all college graduates was just 2.7%, but among those aged 22 to 27, it was 4.8%. Meanwhile, the underemployment rate, which refers to the percentage of college graduates employed in roles that generally do not require a degree, was 33.7% among college grads overall and 41.3% among recent graduates, according to the New York Fed.
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The New York Fed on Tuesday also reported a significant rise in the number of delinquent student loans after the end of a moratorium on student loan repayment and the resumption of reporting delinquencies to credit agencies.
"With the rising cost of tuition, it's $50,000 or $60,000 depending on the school now a year, it really is looking like it might not be that great of an investment," Schilling said. "Especially if you're not getting a higher-paying job, or you're just as unemployed as someone that didn't go to college."
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While Schilling pointed out that degrees are still necessary to work in certain fields, like medicine and law, he said that for many, college has become a pricey and ineffective form of job training – one that does not always adequately prepare students properly to acquire employment.
"I think the cost has greatly outpaced the benefits of college," Schilling said. "… Even employers now are looking at hiring people that don't have college degrees that are better suited for the jobs."
Career paths that would be viable alternatives include skilled trades and entrepreneurship, he said. More than one million trade jobs remain unfilled in the U.S., driven by an aging and retiring workforce as well as a societal bias toward college degrees, according to Forbes.
"There are huge shortages in all the trades, whether it's electrical or plumbing or carpentry – all of these hands-on jobs – there are huge shortages in the number of people that they need to fill those jobs," Schilling said. "… And also entrepreneurship. I think the college degree obsession has led to a lack of people forming their own businesses and getting creative."
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The American Principles Project, founded in 2009, is a national organization focused on campaigning and advocating for the family, according to its website.
FOX Business' Daniella Genovese and Eric Revell contributed to this report.
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