IS GENERATION COVID SCREWED?

TEENS COMING OF AGE SINCE THE PANDEMIC ARE SHUNNING COLLEGE IN RECORD NUMBERS. THE CONSEQUENCES FOR THEMAND THE COUNTRY-COULD BE DIRE

- ANNE KIM 

A TAGE 19, BRIAN JONES SEEMS THE perfect example of Gen Z success without college and also, perhaps, of the perils that lie in that path.

During his high school years in Memphis, Tennessee, Jones began training as a barber, eventually becoming so adept at cutting hair that he decided to pursue it full time when he graduated in 2020 rather than continue his education. He quickly built a client book that included a smattering of NBA players and other celebrities who discovered videos of his cuts on Instagram. His posts @ wheat head, displaying precocious skill and creativity, sometimes earned millions of views.

Since the heady first days of his launch, however, the business has taken a turn, as soaring inflation prompted clients facing higher prices for food and gas to cut back on less necessary expenses, like pricey haircuts (at Jones' shop, the going rate is $75 for a cut, $90 if you add a beard trim). Where once he was working 12- to 15-hour days, now Jones sometimes has no appointments at all. To supplement his income, he has launched an online barber school, and is thinking about jobs that could be a last resort, like selling shoes and mowing lawns-things he did to earn money before he cut hair. Jones says, "I'm trying to thrive, but as of now I'm just surviving." Three years into the pandemic, after two years of isolation, shuttered schools and virtual commencements, high school graduates like Jones from the classes of 2020, 2021 and beyond-call them Generation COVID-are shunning college in record numbers. Enrollment is down nearly 10 percent over the past two years, a loss of 1.4 million students pursuing degrees. At TikTok, where variations on the hashtag #NotGoingToCollege have racked up more than 30 million views, young people argue "my career doesn't need college" and talk about starting their own businesses (often as influencers).