Survey: Experiential Learning Pays Career Dividends for Gen Z
Credit: Maskot / Getty Images- A new survey says college graduates who engaged in experiential learning realize multiple early-career benefits.
- Recent Gen Z graduates with hands-on learning experiences report higher salaries and greater career satisfaction.
- They’re also more likely to have career mentors and strong professional networks.
- Graduates who took advantage of experiential learning opportunities are more inclined to choose their same university again.
If you’re a college student considering a hands-on learning experience to complement your classroom studies, do it.
It’ll pay off in numerous ways.
That’s the takeaway from a new survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers examining the benefits of experiential learning for early-career Gen Z professionals.
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The survey results include data from almost 1,300 Gen Zers who earned a bachelor’s degree in the past three years.
Among this group, more than 80% participated in some form of experiential learning while in college: internships and externships, apprenticeships, cooperative education programs (co-ops), study abroad, faculty-led research projects, on-campus work, practicums or clinical experiences, and micro-internships.
Graduates who had such experiences demonstrated a faster career progression, more job satisfaction, and higher salaries than those who did not.
In fact, the respondents with experiential learning on their resumes earned an average of $15,000 more annually. This held true across industries such as education, science, manufacturing, and finance, with healthcare being the only exception.
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They were also more likely to benefit from career mentors (41.3% vs. 23.9% for nonexperiential learners) thanks largely to the connections they made during their hands-on experiences. Similarly, almost 80% reported having already established a career network, while only about 64% of graduates with no experiential learning had one.
Among this group, 9.5% said their career was progressing faster than expected, while only 6.7% of Gen Zers without experiential learning voiced this opinion.
All this adds up to a more favorable outlook on the college experience.
Some 71% of experiential learners said their degree is relevant to their job, while only 56% of other recent graduates believe this. Almost half (49%) think their college prepared them well for their careers, compared to only 28% of nonexperiential learners.
And more than three-quarters (76.2%) would choose their same university again, while only 68.4% of nonexperiential learners would.
Overall, these findings “support the power experiential learning has on career success for college graduates,” the report concludes.
“Experiential learning opportunities are designed to help students identify their best career path, engage in opportunities for mentorship and networking, and enhance their career prospects,” it notes. “Through this lens, these new results suggest that experiential learning is meeting those goals.”
For current and prospective college students, the message is clear: Find opportunities to engage in experiential learning, perhaps adding several to your resume. That applies even to students in humanities majors — perhaps especially to those students — who may not assume such co-curricular activities are necessary or even possible.
It’s certainly worth the effort.