The Return of Boomerang Children

It’s that time of year again—Boomerang season. Just when we thought those adult children would be leaving the nest, it seems many will end up back home instead, and it’s happening earlier each year.

Although the university year isn’t officially over, many institutions have shifted from traditional written exams to dissertations and online assessments, which appear to be less expensive. With third-year students returning home shortly after Easter, there’s a noticeable trend of them leaving without securing jobs.

Students with impressive degrees from respected universities have jumped through countless hoops—working in bars, traveling, even using AI to help with their CVs—all while facing the stress of applying for their first real job. Imagine sitting alone in front of a webcam, trying to impress someone, and that someone being evaluated by a bot that doesn’t even have a handshake to offer. The rejection can sting, especially if you’ve received a letter suggesting you were close to getting hired.

Then there’s LinkedIn. Of course, students have been on LinkedIn for years now, but it often only intensifies their anxiety, making them feel like others are more organized about their futures. This social media platform seems to feed into their fears, creating a comparison trap that leaves them feeling uneasy.

According to a recent Recruitment survey from the Student Employer Research Institute, the ratio of applicants to graduate jobs is staggering, around 140 to one. A big reason for this flood of applications could be that students, lacking confidence in their own writing, resort to using AI like ChatGPT to fill out forms. This, unfortunately, creates an awkward situation where AI is sometimes communicating with AI, complicating recruitment instead of streamlining it. As the job market has slowed, fueled by economic uncertainties, the opportunities seem to be dwindling.

I recently revisited my old college in Cambridge, expecting to see students grasping golden tickets to success. To my surprise, many still felt lost, unsure of what to do after graduation. It’s disheartening; as other students flood Reddit threads with tales of endless applications and exhausting assessment centers, the collective despair is palpable.

It feels like a betrayal, doesn’t it? Students work hard through school, secure university spots, and then… the reality hits. The economy simply hasn’t generated enough graduate-level jobs, especially outside of London, leading employers to continuously raise their expectations. Meanwhile, universities charge hefty fees, often leaving students with debt burdens—over £83,000 for an MBA at places like the Said Business School in Oxford, exemplifying the cost barrier that keeps many from advancing.

Furthermore, the encroachment of AI into entry-level roles is unsettling. The tasks typically delegated to new graduates—routine work that can easily be monitored—are often the first to be automated. For instance, while baby lawyers are busy drafting contracts, AI can churn them out in mere seconds. What happens to young professionals when the basic jobs are taken over by machines? Evidence indicates that the job market is indeed declining, with the biggest shortages appearing in low-paid sectors like care work.

For anxious parents, the silver lining is that most of the kids returning home during this Boomerang season will eventually find their footing. It might take them longer and involve more convoluted pathways than before, but the current economic storm won’t last forever. What’s concerning is the handful of young people who are unable to return home while they wait for opportunities to arise.

We can’t continue this cycle without facing consequences. If we keep telling students that their hard work will pay off, the eventual fallout will catch up to all of us.