Most Workers Under 35 Say They Haven’t Started Their Career Yet
NEW YORK (MainStreet) — If you're still struggling to break into the career of your choice, you're not alone.
The Pew Research Group surveyed nearly 1,000 workers between 18 and 34 and found that 39% characterize their current position as “just a job” and another 30% see it as a “steppingstone to a career.” Only 30% of those surveyed believe the job they have now is actually a career.
That number does improve somewhat for those with a higher education level, as 49% of college graduates in this age group say their current job is a career. However, that still means more than half of college graduates have yet to really get started in their field of choice.
To some extent, this should come as little surprise given the tough job market, particularly for recent graduates. The Pew survey found that nearly half of those in this age group had taken a job just to pay the bills in recent years and 35% had opted to go back to school. For better or worse, each of these steps effectively delays the start of one’s career a little longer.
Seth Fiegerman is a staff reporter for MainStreet. You can follow e-mail him at seth.fiegerman@thestreet.com, or follow him on Twitter @sfiegerman.
