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How It Works
This is how change happens. Not someday. Now.
STATS
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A national post-graduation readiness report (classes of 2019–2024) found that nearly 72% of recent graduates feel only moderately, slightly, or not at all prepared for life after high school, and almost 70% report little to no confidence in their post-graduation plan.
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No clear plan at all: In the 2025 survey, 14% of male graduates and 8% of female graduates reported having no plan after high school.
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Fear of “no clear plan”: Another national survey of recent high school grads found 38% listed “not having a clear plan” as one of their biggest fears about life after high school, alongside worries about financial independence (44%) and not finding a job they enjoy (39%).
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Teachers agree students aren’t ready: In a 2024 Gallup/Walton Family Foundation survey of nearly 2,000 K-12 educators, only 10% of high school teachers said students entering the workforce were “very prepared,” and only 21% felt college-bound students were truly ready. 35% said workforce-bound students were **“not prepared at all.”
This is a generation graduating with diplomas but not direction.
COLLEGE STUDENTS
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Job search is harder and more uncertain: The 2024 NACE Student Survey shows the class of 2024 faced a tougher job market than recent predecessors—on average they submitted 22 job applications before graduating (up from 17 for the class of 2023), yet less than half (45%) received a job offer before graduation (down from 56% the year before).
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Relevance vs. reality: While 88.7% of graduates say their degree is relevant to the job they accepted, the increased applications and fewer offers signal a disconnect between effort, opportunity, and a clear, confident path forward.
YOUNG PROFESSIONALS
A 2024 national Career Navigation Survey of 2,046 young people (16–24) paints a sharp picture of confusion and lack of control:
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Don’t know their path: A significant share of young people say they have no idea what career they want—for those with less than a college degree, that number is 13%, compared with 7% among those with a bachelor’s degree or higher.
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Lack clear goals: Across all respondents, 30% say they lack clear career goals.
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Don’t feel in control: 62% do not feel empowered or in control of their career path—either constrained by external factors (money, family, circumstances) or unsure how much control they really have.
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Hungry for better guidance: 74% say that greater access to information about different education and career options would change the range of paths they see as possible.
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Low support while exploring: Among young people not in college and not yet set on a career, only 35% are satisfied with the resources and information they have to connect their interests to opportunities, and only 29% feel supported as they explore next steps.
EMOTIONAL CLIMATE
Anxiety, overwhelm, and fear of wrong moves:
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Fear of wrong choices: Among recent high school grads, 41% fear “making the wrong choices and falling behind,” and 39% fear not finding a job they enjoy or believe in—this is about meaning and alignment, not just employment.
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Mental health and overwhelm: 28% worry about struggling with mental health after graduation. Young people not in college and not set on a career are far more likely to feel “worried” or “overwhelmed” about exploring their future than those who are already set on a path.
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“Nearly 3 out of 4 recent high school graduates don’t feel prepared for life after graduation—and most have little confidence in their plan.”
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“Teachers themselves say only 1 in 10 graduates heading straight to work are ‘very prepared’ for the real world.”
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“Among young people 16–24, 62% don’t feel in control of their career path, and 30% say they don’t even have clear career goals.”
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“Almost 4 in 10 recent grads fear not having a clear plan after high school, and over 4 in 10 fear making the wrong choices and falling behind.”
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“Three-quarters of young people say that if they had better information about options, they’d see more possible futures than they do right now.”