Sangkasorn. Gen Z Issue Analysis by Patcharaporn Sangkasorn

Blue-collar career that pays more

sangkasorn3536 — 2025-06-07 15:09:57 UTC

"Czumak-Abreu's path is one that more young Americans are considering. Skepticism about the cost and value of four-year degrees is growing, and enrollment in vocational programs has risen as young people pursue well-paying jobs that don't require desks or so much debt, and come with the potential to be your own boss." (Grunwald,1)

The change of job direction

sangkasorn3536 — 2025-06-07 15:10:25 UTC

“Since 2019, average starting salaries for skilled workers has risen over 25% from $18.70 an hour in 2019 to $23.43 in 2025. Over that same period, new hiring for new blue-collar workers during graduation season has remain consistently higher than for white-collar worker of the same age.” (CNBC)

Example of successful blue-collar Gen Z

sangkasorn3536 — 2025-06-07 15:10:52 UTC

"We've made it more appealing. We have nice vehicles. We own homes, we are successful," says Matt Panella, 27, a carpenter who drives a Tesla, and whose detailed how-to videos and time-lapses of him erecting house frames in central California have earned him a strong YouTube following, along with more than $200,000 in annual sponsor income from companies such as 3M.(Grunwald ,1)

Percentage of homeownership for young adult

sangkasorn3536 — 2025-06-07 15:11:21 UTC

In every state but Minnesota, less than half of the under-35 population owns homes. In 16 states it's less than 40 percent. And this problem isn't reserved for the young. High interest rates, low inventory, and stagnant salaries and inflation have made homeownership a problem for everyone. In expensive California, Hawaii and New York, only about half of all adults and only about a quarter of young adults own homes. According to new census data, the homeownership rate for all generations is at a five-year low, at about 62 percent.(Echikson,1)

Rent burden for Gen Z

sangkasorn3536 — 2025-06-07 15:11:45 UTC

The report, from Zillow and its New York City brand StreetEasy, analyzed data from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey in 2022, and found that nearly half of all American renter households were burdened by rent costs, "with Gen Z renters shouldering the heaviest load." (Yan,1)

How Gen Z view American Dream

sangkasorn3536 — 2025-06-07 15:12:11 UTC

The old version of the dream seems increasingly irrelevant for people in their teens and 20s. Sociologists call it the success sequence: graduate from college, get a job, get married, have children, in that order. Buying a house for those kids to run around in is supposed to be the capstone. (Grose, 1)

Mental Health in Young Adult

sangkasorn3536 — 2025-06-07 15:12:41 UTC

During this life stage, young adults describe experiencing feelings of uncertainty and being “in between,” struggling to choose between multiple life choices and possibilities [9]. Recent research [3,8] also points to the negative impact of new mega trends on the mental health of young adults, including concerns regarding climate change and the loss of biodiversity, increasingly toxic social media, and rising intergenerational inequalities. (Karaba et al,1)

Social Media and Depression in China

sangkasorn3536 — 2025-06-07 15:24:34 UTC

In China, 23.8% of college students had depression by 2020 estimates [2]. This is concerning given depression’s role in serious social and educational impairments [3,4] and its facilitation of suicide. While multiple factors are known to contribute to depression in college students, there is growing interest in the potential influence of problematic social media use on depressive outcomes. (Younghua et al, 1)

sangkasorn3536 — 2025-06-07 15:30:04 UTC

The rise of pay in blue-collar career has changed Gen Z direction of education from four-year college to technical school.

sangkasorn3536 — 2025-06-07 15:31:33 UTC

An example of a successful Gen Z that work in blue-collar field. ( I hope using the same resource is okay in this one as it is an extra example from the 2 main resources)

sangkasorn3536 — 2025-06-07 15:35:49 UTC

The American Dream has changed in younger generation as the prices of housing are rising and the pay in most career are stagnated, resulting in less buying and more renting.

sangkasorn3536 — 2025-06-07 15:37:23 UTC

With limited capability to buy house, Gen Z will need to rent and this lead to a different problem- rent burden.

sangkasorn3536 — 2025-06-07 15:48:56 UTC

Transitioning to adulthood and social media could be the main role in causing mental health in Gen Z. China has a study on their college student that could be use as an example.