Students Are More Worried About Taxes and Budgeting Than Finding a Job, New Study Finds…

From finding a job to supporting yourself, graduates are faced with a number of “real world” challenges that are new to them. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, during the 2016-2017 school year, colleges and universities are expected to award 1.9 million bachelor’s degrees. And with so many grads going out into the workforce, what are they most worried about and what are they looking for in an employer?

Related: 12 Things College Students Need to Know About the Business World

From post-college concerns to employment expectations, online student loan website LendEDU conducted a series of polls with college students over an 11-month period.

It turns out, even before finding a job, students are more worried about their finances. One of the polls, surveying more than 3,700 college students, sought to discover the main concerns that students have about life after school. Nearly half of those surveyed said paying taxes and budgeting was the thing that scared them the most and 26 percent said having to find a job was their biggest worry. However, for some, their concerns had more to do with socializing and sleep. Fourteen percent are worried about not being around friends all the time and 11 percent are nervous about waking up early five days a week.

Related: Should You Work or Travel After Graduation? (Infographic)

With the number of students concerned about their finances, it’s no surprise that when choosing an employer, most kids are focused on money. In a poll of 3,617 students, more than 70 percent said good pay was most important to them, compared to a strong company culture or a good training program. Not only that, but students would rather work at large, more established companies rather than small startups. Of 3,103 students, 69 percent they’d prefer a large company than a startup.

Rose Leadem

Rose Leadem is an online editorial assistant at Entrepreneur Media Inc. 

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