Just like earlier generations, Gen Z is deeply reluctant to discuss money, often ranking conversations about debt or salaries as more uncomfortable than seemingly more controversial topics, such as sex or politics. At the same time, they’re also the least financially literate generation on record.
That disconnect leaves many students unprepared to manage their finances in the real world, just as the stakes are getting higher. Financial education should be embedded into the student experience as a core element of postgraduate readiness. The knowledge gap is evident in the everyday decisions students and recent graduates make.
As the mother of three recent college graduates, I’ve seen firsthand how even academically successful students can feel overwhelmed when confronted with the complexities of the real world.
While I often emphasized the importance of early investing—especially taking advantage of employer-matched retirement contributions—my daughter still needed a primer on how to make sense of the dozens of options available to her once she entered the workforce.
It’s not that she didn’t understand the numbers; she graduated with a math degree. It’s that she had never been taught how to apply that knowledge through a financial planning lens. While many states are now embedding financial education into K–12 schooling, the realities confronting a 17-year-old differ vastly from those facing a 22-year-old navigating healthcare deductibles, credit scores, and 401(k) matches.
Gen Z’s cloud of uncertainty
As students across the country graduated last month, many did so under a cloud of uncertainty. According to recent data from Handshake, more than half of the Class of 2025 say they feel pessimistic about starting their careers.
Like the classes of 2008 and 2020 before them, this year’s graduates are entering a turbulent labor market. Generative AI is transforming entire industries, hiring freezes are spreading across sectors, and many entry-level roles are being automated or redefined.
But the anxiety doesn’t end with job prospects. Student loan payments have resumed, credit card debt is climbing, and prices for basic necessities continue to soar. Not only do colleges need to double down on career services, but they also need to prepare students for the financial pressures that await them after graduation.
In addition to teaching students how to interview and network, they also need meaningful, hands-on experience that connects their education to the world of work, as well as practical personal finance skills to match. Students should leave college not just ready to earn a good salary, but equipped to manage it wisely, build long-term stability, and make informed decisions about their future.
Recent data from Jobs for the Future, Walton Family Foundation, and Gallup underscores the extent of this unpreparedness. Gen Z students and their parents report knowing relatively little about even the most common life and career pathways. Approximately 40 percent of parents report knowing little to nothing about the types of jobs that are most in demand and the associated pay and benefits.Young people, meanwhile, reported knowing even less than their parents.
Students and their families are unsure which careers are in demand and what those jobs pay. In that case, it’s no surprise that they’re equally, if not more, uncertain about managing the financial consequences that follow.
What colleges can do about it
That’s why colleges should begin treating career readiness and financial confidence as two sides of the same coin. Strengthening one without the other leaves students unbalanced at the exact moment they’re expected to stand on their own.
One example is Intuit’s Hour of Finance, an initiative designed to help bridge this gap. Throughout an hour-long immersive simulation, college students assume the role of an individual navigating real-world financial decisions, balancing income, expenses, savings, debt, and long-term goals. (Disclosure: my organization, Education at Work, separately partners with Intuit to put college students into part-time roles within Intuit’s TurboTax business.)
It’s not a lecture or a worksheet, but an interactive learning experience that reflects the complexity and trade-offs graduates will soon face. The goal is to teach students how to budget while also building confidence in making financial choices that align with their aspirations.
Colleges could take a similar track by designing short-form courses or embedded modules that simulate post-graduation financial life. They should be tightly integrated into existing majors or senior-year programs. For students who work as Tax Specialists for Intuit at Education at Work, their training educates them to assist individuals with preparing their tax returns. The benefits are numerous. They are earning wages, gaining resume worth work experience, receiving tuition assistance, and learning the difference between a tax credit and a deduction.
Graduates today face challenges that demand more than a diploma. They need clarity, confidence, and competence—both in the workplace and their wallets. Colleges can no longer treat teaching students about money management as an elective or assume students will figure it out along the way. A generation of learners is entering adulthood amid intense economic, technological, and social flux. They need an education that prepares them for all of it.
The opinions expressed in Fortune.com commentary pieces are solely the views of their authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of Fortune.
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