Gen Z Student-Athletes Seek Career Guidance, Find Strength in Millennial Resilience Post-Great Recession

As graduation looms, many student-athletes are finding themselves in the same boat as the previous generation: navigating a tough job market with uncertainty and few clear paths to success. For student-athletes, this is especially challenging as they try to pivot from sports to the professional world. However, a quick look back at the struggles millennials faced during the Great Recession offers valuable lessons for student-athletes about to enter the workforce.

A Reddit user, u/Waste-Cantaloupe-270, posted an open question asking millennials for advice: “How did you survive graduating during the Great Recession? Did you end up getting a job in your field?” What followed were over 2,400 replies filled with advice, encouragement, and stories of how many millennials overcame the struggles of finding their footing in a competitive job market.

For student-athletes, this can be a wake-up call about the realities of job searching. A college athlete’s discipline, teamwork, and adaptability can play a major role in finding success, even if the journey isn’t straight. The advice from millennials often echoed one central theme: take what you can get, and the rest will fall into place.

Student-athletes transitioning into careers related to sports management, coaching, or other fields may need to take some unexpected turns at the start, just like many millennials did in the aftermath of the Great Recession. Redditor u/ecafdriew, who graduated in finance during the recession, shared, “I just took whatever job I could get when I graduated in finance, then hopped around to see different organizations and types of work. It took some time, but it helped me grow.”

For student-athletes, this experience is highly relevant. Early jobs might not always match your ideal career, but they can teach you invaluable lessons, and possibly open doors to bigger opportunities. u/Own-Emergency2166 advised, “I didn’t make decent money until I was 30, but now my career allows me to live comfortably. It was hard back then, but you have to keep going.”

Student-athletes, especially those just out of school, need to remember that a straight path to success isn’t always guaranteed. Many who posted shared the importance of not waiting for the perfect job but staying active and taking any opportunity that offers financial security. u/Rascalbean’s advice was blunt: “There is no job you’re ‘too good for’ if it puts food on your table and a roof over your head.”

This advice is particularly important for student-athletes transitioning from sports to a career. Whether you’ve been playing collegiate sports or now you’re figuring out how to apply your experiences to a job outside of athletics, the path to success might not always be what you envisioned. One Redditor, u/ghostboo77, shared their experience working a manual labor job after graduation to make ends meet, saying, “My advice is to always be working and keep your living expenses as low as possible during the early years.” That grind, while not glamorous, ultimately helped them transition into a career field they loved.

What’s clear from these responses is that student-athletes, like millennials during the recession, will need to adapt, be resourceful, and build relationships along the way. Networking—whether it’s with coaches, professors, alumni, or others in your field—will be crucial. Just like you relied on teamwork and relationships on the field, you can lean on them in your job search. u/garysmahm summed it up: “Get creative, get resourceful, get uncomfortable and get in community.”

For student-athletes, resilience and discipline are already built into your skillset. The same traits that helped you perform on the field will help you tackle the job search. Take the lessons learned from millennials’ experiences: be flexible, stay proactive, and keep learning.

The journey from student-athlete to career professional won’t always be smooth, but as u/garysmahm pointed out, “The job will work out if you put in the effort.” Keep pushing, stay open to new opportunities, and know that the hard work you’ve done as an athlete will continue to serve you well as you transition into the next phase of your life.