Kristen Schwab

Somebody who just finished school.

That hit at the beginning of a career can create a scar that lasts a person's whole life.

UCLA economics professor Till von Wachter studies young people who enter the workforce during a recession.

Von Wachter says these workers tend to earn less over the course of their careers, making for more stressful marriages, smaller families, and worse health.

People who entered the workforce in 2008, they are still feeling that.

Now, to be clear, we are not in a recession right now.

And Von Wachter says the fate of these young people hinges on what happens in the next few months.

In the meantime, young people are pivoting, some of them more than once.

24-year-old Corbett Gleros graduated in 2023 with a degree in biology from George Washington University.

He applied for over 100 research jobs.

So he got another degree, a master's in business studies with a focus in AI and quantitative business.

Still, he couldn't find work in his field.

He's fallen back on his bartending skills.

Glaros says that bartending involves problem solving, which will be useful in any career.

Also, there's a steadiness that he likes.

He's grateful to have work, even if it's not the career he imagined.

I'm Stephanie Hughes for Marketplace.

Before businesses had cameras to keep an eye on shoplifters, they had notes.

John Talbot is a lecturer of marketing at Indiana University.

These days, cameras track eye movements, voice patterns, and gait.