Graduates say salary talks more stressful than breakups

Recent graduates believe it’s more “anxiety-inducing” to negotiate their salary with an employer than it is to break up with a partner, according to new research.

A survey of 2,000 higher education graduates (from 2024 and 2025) gave respondents several scenarios, asking which option would be more stressful.

Results revealed that 54% believe negotiating their salary with a potential employer is worse than breaking up with a partner (39%).

And graduates surveyed were split on which adulthood tasks are more confusing: filing their taxes or building IKEA furniture. Fifty-two percent said filing their taxes, but a solid 39% said IKEA furniture was more complicated.

In fact, only 35% have created a budget and stuck to it, while fewer have ever written a check (26%) or balanced a checkbook (22%).

Conducted by Talker Research on behalf of banking app Chime (https://www.chime.com), the survey looked at life post-graduation for respondents, highlighting how prepared graduates are entering the real world.

The survey found 71% of respondents crossed the graduation stage worried about their next step.

This is likely due to the uncertainty many graduates had about their future, as the survey found that less than half (42%) felt “very sure” about their plans post-graduation.

For those who’ve been out of school for a year (i.e., who graduated in 2024), the survey found 66% of their “future roadmap” went according to plan.

But even if it didn’t, 71% of 2024 graduates said the year following graduation was better than expected.

Still, 2025 graduates believe that they’re more mentally prepared than financially prepared to leave college behind (82% vs 63%).

Interestingly, more male 2024 graduates felt “very prepared” financially than female graduates (39% vs 27%).

When selecting their institution of higher learning, 49% of all respondents said cost had a “very big impact” on their decision.

And 76% of respondents agreed that their higher education track would have looked different if it weren’t so expensive.

“There’s a lot of pressure to have a clear plan after graduation, but that’s not always realistic. Things change, and that’s normal,” said Jeni Izuel, Vice President of the Chime Scholars Foundation. “With easy-to-use tools that support them, grads can feel financially confident whether they’re following a set path or figuring things out along the way.”

The survey also looked at respondents’ priorities after graduation. No. 1 on the list was applying for and getting a job in their sector (47%), followed by saving as much money as possible (36%).

Not everyone was confident in getting a job in their field, though and 29% said their priority was just applying for and getting any sort of job that would pay the bills.

Those who graduated from four-year college (43%) or a Master’s program (40%) felt more prepared to budget post-graduation than those who graduated from a two-year college (34%) or trade school (30%).

Men are also more likely than women to feel prepared to budget (58% vs 48%) or even invest their money (35% vs 21%).

“The best thing grads can do to feel financially ready is to start with the basics. Evaluate what’s coming in, what’s going out and where you can save,” added Izuel. “Even small steps, like setting up direct deposit or automating savings can make a big impact on your financial progress.”

RECENT GRADUATES’ TOP WORRIES

• Getting a job in my sector/field – 44%
• Paying off my student debt – 35%
• Paying my bills every month – 33%
• Finding an affordable place to live – 24%
• Making new friends – 11%
• Being away from my friends/family – 9%