CAPE CORAL, Fla. — For generations, we've been told the recipe for success was simple: go to college, get a degree, get a good job, make a good life.
That college degree was essentially the gateway to bright future.
But new figures suggest that, for many young men, that once-reliable path may no longer deliver the expected payoff.
Watch senior reporter Emily Young speak with local career coach:
According to new analysis from the Financial Times, men between the ages of 23 and 30 with a college degree are now slightly more likely to be unemployed than their peers without one. Both groups face an unemployment rate of around 7%—almost twice the current national average.
Career coach Rasheka Battle, based in Fort Myers, says one of the biggest reasons for this dramatic change is that many degrees are funneling graduates into industries that are shrinking fast—particularly in tech.
“A lot of companies… instead of them using actual people to do IT jobs, which is one of the main degrees men obtain, they’d rather pay for the program than pay a person to do it,” Battle says.
Another main reason: AI is replacing tasks that once offered stable employment, leaving some graduates with credentials but fewer opportunities.
While white-collar roles in technology are under pressure, traditional trades—many of which are also male-dominated—are holding strong. Plumbers, electricians, and similar skilled professions continue to see steady demand, jobs that AI and automation haven’t touched.
Women in the same age bracket don’t show the same unemployment patterns. Part of the reason is industry choice—but Battle points to a hard truth: women often enter jobs at lower pay because they’re willing to accept less.
That wage gap, while a problem of its own, makes women statistically more employable in cost-conscious industries.
