From university to shocking reality… Baristas excel in salaries
After Gen Z graduates threw their caps aloft in celebration of completing their studies, they were confronted with a harsh reality in the job market: Their skills no longer keep pace with the rapid development of artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT, and their salaries barely cover the basics of life, let alone entertainment or savings .
But the biggest shock is that their friends who don’t have college degrees and work as hospitality workers or baristas are seeing pay increases that exceed what graduates in luxury offices get.
A recent analysis by Bankrate shows that wages for hospitality and leisure workers have increased by nearly 30% since 2021, outpacing inflation by more than 4%. Healthcare workers have also seen similar increases, reaching nearly 25% over the past four years .
According to Fortune magazine, workers in professional and business services, the financial sector, and education have not seen wage increases keeping pace with inflation. Teachers, for example, are paid approximately 5% less than the inflation rate, reflecting a growing gap between their income and the cost of living .
However, it doesn’t seem like Generation Z graduates are ready to abandon their sleek corporate offices for coffee shops. Management jobs still offer relatively higher incomes, with the average wage for entry-level tech positions being around $19.57 per hour in the United States, compared to around $16 per hour for hospitality workers. However, this advantage is eroding over time.
In addition, the office job market is facing a noticeable stagnation, especially in new hires. The pace of hiring in financial and professional services has slowed, presenting Generation Z graduates with additional challenges. This week, Meta announced a halt to hiring in its artificial intelligence division, following a period of massive spending on attracting experts and researchers with salaries and incentives reaching $100 million.
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy stated that the company is moving towards achieving “efficiency gains” through artificial intelligence, which translates into reducing administrative jobs .
It’s not just office jobs; education has the largest wage gap compared to inflation, followed by the construction sector. Even if Gen Z graduates do land their dream jobs at tech companies, their advancement opportunities are no longer what they once were. A recent survey showed that promotion rates fell to 10.3% in May 2025, compared to a peak of 14.6% in May 2022 during the “Great Resignation.”
Ultimately, Generation Z finds itself in a double battle: fierce competition from AI technologies that threaten their jobs, and a significant decline in their career earnings compared to their peers in jobs that don’t require college degrees.
