High House Prices Force Gen Zs to Change Careers
13 March 2025, Sydney
The career choices of students are being reshaped by Australia’s high cost of living and housing, according to a national study from digital youth engagement platform Year13.
The new research has found nearly a third (31%) of young people say they have chosen to pursue a different career which is higher paying but not what they’re most passionate about due to cost of living and housing pressures.
Year13 surveyed 1055 18-24 year olds nationally in December and found how these systemic pressures are affecting young people’s career choices, with youth quotes from the survey featured below.
Year13 Co-Founder Will Stubley said: "This shows the tough trade-offs many young people are making to get through the current economic climate as they compromise and shift their career aspirations in response. In many ways they’re adapting to survive as they sacrifice passion for pay and financial security with their career choices. Young people finding themselves in this situation shouldn’t just focus on a specific career or job title but also look at their transferrable skills and passions and see where else and how else they can be used."
Choosing a different career due to cost of living and housing pressures is highest among young people from Queensland (35%), followed by New South Wales (34%), Victoria (29%), and South Australia (25%); while it’s also more likely to be a choice made by young people from regional areas (35%) compared to metropolitan areas (28%).
Males (32%) were found to be more likely than females (29%) to say they have chosen a different career path due to financial pressures, as are young people from a low SES background (44%) compared to those who aren’t from a low SES background (27%).
“I initially moved out of home during my first year of university, renting near the university. Within that year I returned home due to being unable to balance rent and food while maintaining solid grades. I have since also changed career paths from clinical psychology to organisational psychology so that I am able to handle the cost of living and someday affording a house.” (Male, 20, NSW, metropolitan)
“I was studying paramedicine and nursing however seeing the pay vs cost of living I will pursue a different higher paying job when able to. Which is sad because Australia desperately needs more paramedics and nurses, and it has always been my passion.” (Female, 21, NSW, regional)
The research has also found more than one in five (22%) young people say they cannot afford to live where they want to pursue a career due to the high cost of living and housing. Young people from a low SES background (35%) are twice as likely to say they face this problem compared to those who aren’t from a low SES background (17%).
Young people from NSW (26%) are most likely to say they are experiencing this financial barrier to living where they want to pursue a career, followed by South Australia and Queensland (both 24%), and Victoria (19%); while it’s also more likely to impact young people from regional areas (27%) compared to metropolitan areas (18%).
“I had a plan to move closer to uni and where my dream career is located but had to forfeit that dream because house/renting prices meant I couldn’t afford to move out. I could have started my dream career during uni, but will have to wait until I can save up enough.” (Female, 19, Queensland, regional)
“I have just started my gap year and feel that I will not be able to pursue the career I want due to the necessity of moving away for it and my worries that I will not be able to do that. I want to go to university in a different state but that would mean I would have to work full time and study full time to be able to afford it and then be unable to do fun things like travelling and concerts. Basically, the cost-of-living crisis has left me very unsure of my future and what I want to do vs what I can realistically do.” (Female, 18, ACT, metropolitan)
Around one in five (19%) young people also say cost of living and housing pressures have prevented them from changing jobs in the past year.
“I messed up by buying a home before working out my career goals. Now I’m stuck in a job I don’t like because I can’t study and work full-time, and I can’t afford my mortgage if I work any less. I think either a mortgage shouldn’t cost as much as it does, or we shouldn’t have as much pressure to move out so young. I had no idea what I wanted to do at 21.” (Non-binary, 23, South Australia, regional)
It was also found one in ten (10%) young people say they have been stopped from starting a business over the previous 12 months due to the financial climate.
“I am struggling to choose between passion and money for my future career. I want to create my own business but am not sure if it's realistic or even possible considering the state of the world at the moment. I am also terrified I will never own my own home.” (Female, 19, Western Australia, metropolitan)
About the Research
Online survey of 1055 Australians aged 18-24.
Conducted December 2024.
About Year13
Founded in 2011, Year13 is a Gen Z Publisher and Ed-tech whose purpose is to support young people to live happier, healthier and more fulfilled lives, and whose mission is to upgrade the school-to-work transition. Year13’s suite of brands includes Career Tools, Australia’s largest school-to-work transition platform, with over 1250+ subscribing schools. In 2023, Year13 acquired Good Education Group, including The Good Universities Guide, The Good Schools Guide and Studies in Australia, together with Australia’s most comprehensive database of schools, universities and training providers.