Why Gen Z is ditching the traditional 4-year degree for blue-collar work

Good morning. Akin here, filling in for Hallam on England’s summer bank holiday. Thousands of people are also soaking in the heat at Burning Man, the annual arts and music festival, in Nevada. BI reports that it’s in financial straits: it operated at a loss last year and didn’t sell out this year. If you’re there, enjoy the desert, and get home safely.

In today’s big story, why your next real-estate agent may be a Gen Zer.

What’s on deck:

Markets: How billionaire founder Ken Griffin is building his legacy beyond Wall Street.

Tech: Tesla shifted its Optimus training strategy, using a familiar playbook.

Business: The Gap’s viral Katseye jeans ad is a masterclass in sticking with what works.

But first, what did you want to be when you grew up?

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The big story

A new generation of workers

While some of us are trying to keep up with the latest Gen Z slang, here’s another trend worth watching.

The cohort of teenagers to roughly 28-year-olds is slowly but decisively changing the definition of an aspirational career and what it takes to achieve one. While millennials and their elders prioritized the four-year degree as the key to success, Gen Z is pursuing other paths.

They are putting in the work for dream roles like licensed real-estate or insurance agent, and blue-collar gigs like HVAC servicing and wind turbine installation, BI’s Amanda Hoover reports. And they definitely do not want to work for you.

“A true entrepreneur doesn’t need to go to college for entrepreneurship,” Toni Marmo, a Gen Zer, told Hoover. “You’ve just got it. You just have it in your body.”

There’s more to their aspirations than just “having it.” Zoomers are pursuing work that frees them from office desks. They like the idea that, unlike many white collar jobs, they can earn money based on the amount of work they put in. They’re pulled toward industries that they think will be shielded from the disruption of generative AI.

And they’re keeping tabs on each other on social media, watching TikToks of insurance brokers bragging about their earnings and 19-year-olds who are making thousands of dollars from home.

It’s not just Gen Z: Americans are losing faith in traditional career gateways.

Just 42% of respondents in a 2025 Gallup poll said they had a “great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in higher education, versus 57% in 2015. Among recent college grads, 41% were underemployed — working jobs that don’t require a bachelor’s degree — compared to 38.9% in December, according to Fed data.

Meanwhile, the cost of college keeps rising, and AI is threatening entry-level jobs in alluring industries like consulting and Big Tech.

Of course, as a large and diverse cohort, Gen Z is not making these changes uniformly. But it’s not hard to see why more of them are rethinking what an “it” career looks like.

3 things in markets

1. Ken Griffin has our attention. The billionaire founder of Citadel and Citadel Securities hasn’t sought out more publicity in recent years, those close to Griffin say. His political clout has gotten bigger, though, thanks to his ever-expanding wealth. He’s using his foundation, Griffin Catalyst, to shape America.

2. Meet the 75-year-old meme stock icon. Tom Rairdon, 75, retired with ample savings after a three-decade career in radio. But he eventually got tired of golfing and decided to spend more time day-trading meme stocks. Here’s how he doubled his portfolio in nearly three years.

3. Your retirement fund may not need crypto and private equity. A recent executive order signed by President Trump opens up 401(k)s to riskier alternative assets that have seen massive returns. Two industry pros told BI what to consider when deciding whether to diversify from good-old stocks and bonds.

3 things in tech

1. Tesla Optimus training strategy shift. The EV maker told employees in late June that it would focus more on video recordings for its Optimus program, insiders familiar with the team told BI, moving away from motion capture suits and teleoperation. It’s a similar to approach to how Tesla trains its autonomous driving software — and reflects Elon Musk’s long-standing belief in using cameras to train AI.

2. Clio wants a seat at Big Law’s table. For nearly two decades, Clio has sold the unglamorous software that law firms use to send invoices and track cases. But in the largest deal in legal tech history, Clio bought vLex for $1 billion in June and it’s betting on two big ambitions: to sell into Big Law firms and break up the legal research duopoly.

3. It’s official: The US government is taking a nearly 10% stake in Intel. The deal involves the US investing $8.9 billion in Intel common stock — a remarkable development and a rare example of the government getting financially involved in a private company.

3 things in business

1. Why the Gap’s latest ad is winning the back-to-school jeans war. The company’s viral ad, featuring girl group Katseye dancing to Kelis’s “Milkshake,” didn’t reinvent the wheel. Gap has been doing ensemble dance videos for 30 years. There is a lesson here, though: playing it safe and sticking to a formula that works pays off, BI’s Katie Notopoulos writes.

2. The business of C-sections. Cesarean sections are now the most common inpatient surgery in America — and many of them, maternal health experts told BI, are medically unnecessary. They’re more profitable, predictable, and seen as more protective against lawsuits than vaginal births, according to experts and multiple studies. Put plainly, a high C-section rate just might be better for business.

3. How companies can keep their top talent from leaving. The AI talent wars were already hitting a fever pitch with life-changing sums of cash being thrown around. Then Meta started poaching workers for its new AI superintelligence lab. Talent retention experts shared with BI how companies can stay one step ahead to keep their best employees from going elsewhere.

In other news

• A 7-figure Amazon seller shares 2 overlooked strategies that give him an edge.
• Microsoft, Shopify, and other companies now require employees to use AI. How is AI changing your work?
• Want to live in 10 of the most popular school districts? Be ready to pay double — or quadruple — the price.
• I left my job at BCG to found an AI startup. Here’s how consulting prepared me to be a founder.
• Verizon salaries revealed: How much the telecom giant pays program managers, software developers, and other tech workers.
• Buffett watchers cheer Berkshire’s Apple and UnitedHealth bets — but wonder why he’s sitting on so much cash.
• I’m the CEO of Supergut. My routine includes 25 wellness supplements, daily movement, and ‘a little bit of chaos.’

What’s happening today

• Donald Trump hosts South Korean president at the White House.

Akin Oyedele, deputy editor, in New York. Grace Lett, editor, in New York. Lisa Ryan, executive editor, in New York. Dan DeFrancesco, deputy editor and anchor, in New York (on parental leave).

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