Grit Won’t Solve Students’ Labor Market Challenges: Redefining Merit and Success for the Younger Generation

by Melissa Carleton

At The Honest Economist, we’ve long recognized that the labor market for full-time work faces a coordination problem. Job seekers bear the burden as companies cut back on hiring. Governments are not equipped to respond to the crisis by redistributing wealth away from AI-adjacent activities and towards individuals struggling in the job search, as I’ve written about here, here, and here.

As Kent Oliver Bhupathi wrote about last week, the private sector is taking the direction of eliminating labor in the pursuit of profit. The cost of living for a single adult with no dependents, according to MIT’s Living Wage Project, is approximately $23.06 per hour in Dallas County and $32.85 per hour in New York County, both above the local minimum wages. The longer individuals remain in the job search, the longer their bank accounts drain.

Mardoquero Arteaga highlighted here that entrepreneurship seems to be having a moment. ‘Founder’ profiles on LinkedIn have surged 60% year-over-year globally, and ‘Creator’ profiles have surged nearly 90% globally. He argues that this shift reflects a broken outside option of the full time labor market, where individuals face unusually low hiring rates rather than a vibes-based interpretation of people breaking free to pursue their creativity.

One piece of the puzzle we haven’t touched on yet is social norms that dictate what a “desirable” job is for upcoming generations. In many parts of the world, individuals aspire to find a full-time job that is high-paying, socially prestigious, and requires a college degree. What happens when doors close in these career paths, while social perceptions of desirable work haven’t caught up to recognize this shift?

In this piece, I argue that sticky social perceptions ingrained since childhood can lead young individuals to chase full-time careers in labor markets where opportunities are eroding rather than staying flexible, pivoting, and productively relying on other sources of income.

Social Norms Start Young

When kids grow up, they might casually hear that their cousin got an impressive job at Google that pays $300,000. Many parents aspire for their kids to attain a high-paying position in an industry such as law, medicine, or finance. These social norms can lead individuals to get caught in a treadmill of pursuing eroding career paths. Meanwhile, they may overlook promising alternative paths for making a living.

As a disclaimer, I am not arguing that such social attitudes are the main cause of today's labor market troubles. Instead, the issue is a coordination failure of a society that prepares individuals for full-time work without providing job opportunities. This failure particularly impacts the most vulnerable, such as those who have lost their only income source while raising a family.

Instead, I argue that the upcoming generation may need to recalibrate their beliefs surrounding their careers in order to avoid such a situation. It's also important for parents and guardians to adjust their perceptions of a “desirable” future for their kids.

In the remainder of this article, I point out some traps that keep the younger generation stuck. Society currently holds outdated beliefs surrounding competence and merit that no longer serve the younger generation in a world where full-time work for college degree holders may lose its function of providing security. I delve into what these beliefs are, as well as actions that students and families can take to avoid these traps.

Cultural Ideas of Merit

One obstacle that individuals face when breaking free of the treadmill of looking for full-time work is the idea that if one just tries hard enough, has enough persistence, or searches long enough, they will be able to find the right opportunity. This mentality can breed Hunger Games-like competition in which individuals interpret elements out of their control as reflections of their talent, worth, and merit.

One culprit of this mentality is the misapplication of ideals such as “having grit.” If you browse any self-help section of a bookstore, you’ll find books on the secrets of high performers. Many of these books claim that effort and persistence will lead individuals to realize their goals.

An example of such a book is “Grit” by Dr. Angela Duckworth. The core idea of the book is that passion, purpose, hard work, and persistence in the face of setbacks matter more than innate talent alone. This point is much needed when society rewards cultural myths of genius rather than acknowledging the effort behind these actions. The idea sold well: the book became a #1 New York Times bestseller, and several parenting advice blogs promote this idea by encouraging parents to call their kids “gritty” instead of “talented.”

However, our society has arguably overemphasized the importance of grit to the point where individuals are encouraged to “try harder” if something doesn’t work out. While this mentality can be useful for overcoming challenges, it can also leave individuals feeling stuck and confused when doors close in the job market.

The advice to persist longer in a certain career path often doesn’t apply when AI can lead career paths to disappear every few months. Perhaps neither innate talent nor grit alone is the solution, and the skills of shifting strategy, pivoting, and developing multiple points of leverage are more beneficial.

There is also a tendency to assume that whenever there is a high-stakes competition, the most talented will survive. Besides the fact that secure employment should be a basic human right regardless of demonstrated talent, this theory doesn't logically add up in today’s hiring climate.

When AI screens applications, it looks for a narrow set of keywords. Even if 50% of applicants meet the criteria for a role, only a tiny fraction get picked. A company could also suddenly decide on an internal hire and close the position, no matter the talent of the outside applicant pool.

Networking and referrals can help. However, individuals often spend so much time on networking activities with little luck. This is time they could spend building their own business, investing, or strategizing on how to make a living while avoiding the worst of the full-time labor market.

Indeed, as an economist, many economic models that I’ve studied suggest that one's outcome, such as their wage, is a combination of talent, luck, and initial resources. The logic in these models states that, all else equal, the more talented individuals will find jobs sooner or receive higher wages.

While these theoretical models can speak to certain situations, the mentality they represent is not always useful in 2026. There are several alternative action steps that students can take to stand out, rather than trying to prove their talent on the full-time labor market by prepping for endless interviews and coding tests.

An Action Plan for Students and Families

I have just outlined the dangers of over-relying on conventional definitions of grit and merit when developing a career strategy. In this age where the rug could be pulled out from under your feet at any moment, what should you do instead if you’re a student?

First, you can enhance your personal brand. As the rise of the ‘creator’ profile on LinkedIn illustrates, people pay attention to others who demonstrate that they can solve a clear problem, are interesting, or are useful. In Daniel Priestly's book, Key Person of Influence, he argues that to become a highly sought-after expert in your industry, you should develop an online presence for what you do, which requires posting frequently on social media to communicate how you help others.

He states that this approach is better than trying to prove your talent by constantly upskilling and learning the latest technical tools in your industry, which yields only marginal gains over your competitors.

Regarding your career search strategy, it is fantastic to develop career-relevant passions and interests. However, I'd recommend focusing on particular topics you care about, such as climate change or finance, rather than specific jobs. If you end up choosing a career that requires a substantial time commitment, such as medicine, stay up to date with recent trends in your field to see whether your skills could be valuable in another setting if doors close while following the conventional route.

For families, I'd strongly suggest not to over-encourage children to pursue any particular career path. Given that a college degree no longer guarantees full-time work, the cost-benefit analysis of a college degree may change. The advice should no longer be "get a college degree." It should be "do what makes sense according to your financial future, your interests, and opportunities available."

For example, several students have gone on to pursue rewarding careers as electricians, earning $70,000 a year without a college degree. The company Zeroo Degrees, started by a non-college degree holder, connects individuals who don't attend college with social events and job opportunities. By chasing the market rather than prestige, students can find overlooked opportunities while their peers struggle to find full-time work.

Concluding Thoughts

Policymakers must respond to the crisis of lack of full-time work, but in the meantime, we are responsible for the norms that we instill into the next generation as they build their careers. Promoting traditional ideas of talent and merit, or suggesting that opportunities will come to students if they try harder, will not solve their problems in an AI-driven labor market.

It will take educational institutions, from primary to secondary school, to prepare students for alternative career paths. It will take parents and families who support their kids through changing circumstances rather than over-preparing them for a singular “prestigious” life path. Finally, students should start figuring out how to generate income without relying on full-time white-collar work through pursuing entrepreneurial activities.

With massive technological disruption, today's youngest generation is arguably going through one of the most difficult times in recent history. It’s our responsibility to support them and to ensure they're prepared to face the challenges that come with a rapidly changing labor market.

Works Cited:

Arteaga, Mardoqueo. “The Great Labor Opt-Out: Entrepreneurship as a Fallback.” The Honest Economist, February 10, 2026. https://www.honesteconomist.com/column/entrepreneurship-as-a-fallback

Bhupathi, Kent O. “If Work Becomes Optional, What Does the State Owe Us? (Job Guarantee in an AI Economy).” The Honest Economist, February 12, 2026. https://www.honesteconomist.com/column/job-guarantee-in-an-ai-economy

Carleton, Melissa. “Trillionaires and Layoffs? An Approach to Redistribute Companies’ AI-Related Wealth.” The Honest Economist, February 5, 2026. https://www.honesteconomist.com/column/ai-wealth-redistribution

Carleton, Melissa. “Exploring Universal Basic Income in an AI‑Driven Age: Economic Security or Power Dynamics?” The Honest Economist, January 8, 2026. https://www.honesteconomist.com/column/ubi-ai-power-dynamics

Carleton, Melissa. “Universal Basic Income in an AI‑Driven Age Part 2: Architecting a Fair Policy.” The Honest Economist, January 22, 2026. https://www.honesteconomist.com/column/ubi-ai-power-dynamics-pt2

Duckworth, Angela. Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance. Scribner, 2016. https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Grit/Angela-Duckworth/9781501111105

Duckworth, Angela. Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance. Penguin UK, August 8, 2019. https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/431137/grit-by-angela-duckworth/9781785042669

Priestley, Daniel. Key Person of Influence: The Five-Step Method to Become One of the Most Highly Valued and Highly Paid People in Your Industry. Rethink Press, 2014. https://openlibrary.org/books/OL46538771M/Key_Person_of_Influence

Rosen, Sherwin. “The Economics of Superstars.” The American Economic Review 71, no. 5, December, 1981: 845–858. https://www.jstor.org/stable/1803469

Zeroo Degrees. “Home – Zeroo Degrees.” Accessed February 18, 2026. https://zeroodegreesuk.com/