Gen Z Graduate With Two Degrees on Why She Works in Retail—’What Happened’

Despite holding two bachelor’s degrees, Brittany, a young woman from Connecticut, revealed on TikTok that she works a minimum wage job in retail.

Her post, shared to @socialbrit on April 28, highlights the challenges she faces in leveraging her college education in a job market that prioritizes experience over academic credentials.

“I work in retail making basically minimum wage and I have two bachelor’s degrees,” Brittany said. “Everybody is like, why do you work in retail? Everybody is always trying to give me advice.”

“There are a lot of words to explain the current job market—tough, wonky, painful—but, most importantly, competitive,” Michelle Holahan, vice president and head of employer brand for HireMinds, a boutique executive search firm, told Newsweek. “It isn’t just a perception that the market is harder; it is.”

Viewers watched as Brittany—while sat inside her car with an iced coffee—detailed her journey through higher education and her subsequent struggle to find a career aligned with her degrees. She was the “first in her family to graduate high school,” and went on to earn a major in sociology with a minor in history and anthropology.

In 2020, Brittany decided to enroll in a web development and graphic design course at Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU). She transferred many of her general education credits, allowing her to complete her second degree in under the standard four-year time frame. Graduating in 2022, she has been freelancing in web development ever since, although a full-time position remains elusive.

Despite her academic achievements, she has remained in the retail sector, a field unrelated to her studies. Brittany said that this could potentially be attributed to a lack of internship opportunities, which left her with limited professional experience.

“There is now high competition for fewer open roles,” Holahan said. “There have been a lot of layoffs, hiring budgets have been squeezed or frozen, and there is great talent actively looking. With fewer roles to fill, and more candidates to consider, many people are being passed over.”

The vice president at HireMinds added that “there are also more eyeballs on every hire.”

Despite her current struggles, Brittany feels content with what she chose to study. The creator, who has 33,000 followers on TikTok, pursued her degrees out of passion, but said that her sociology major does not align with a clear career path.

“I loved the classes that I took, but I knew the career path wasn’t necessarily for me. But, at this point, I just wanted to graduate,” Brittany said.

The lack of paid internships forced her to take retail jobs to support herself, which offered immediate financial stability but did not help her build a career in her fields of study. The creator said that she is now focusing on her freelance work in a bid to grow her professional portfolio, and was able to secure a big client in recent months.

Brittany’s experience highlights the challenges many graduates face when academic credentials do not directly translate into career opportunities. Her story has resonated with many of the video’s 1.3 million-plus viewers, prompting discussion online about the value of higher education and the barriers to entry in professional fields.

“I am 18 and chose a degree that earns money. I just wish more young [people] knew hobbies don’t pay bills anymore,” one user, @tamiihatesu, wrote.

Another, @jillianbryson, added: “The anthropology to retail pipeline.”

“I have a sociology degree and I work as an analyst for an airline,” a third user, @jtk_23, shared.

Another, @aviii.liii.aaa, posted: “No, because I have a bachelor’s degree and I’m unemployed.”

Newsweek reached out to @socialbrit for more information via TikTok.

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