Z世代身处人工智能驱动的就业市场，就业保障日益减少，就连商学院也不再像过去那样被视作救命稻草。
2026年，美国商科研究生项目申请量骤降25%，创下近十年最大跌幅。
根据管理专业研究生入学委员会（GMAC）周二发布的数据，此次下滑扭转了此前连续两年的增长势头。
多重因素叠加形成“完美风暴”：经济前景不明、签证政策变动、地缘政治紧张，共同抑制了申请需求。其中，经济因素的拖累最为显著。90%的受访商科研究生项目表示，经济变化（包括对经济衰退的担忧、裁员潮以及就业市场波动）对申请量造成影响；73%项目称受到重大或中等程度冲击，这一占比高于其他所有影响因素。
这一现象打破了过往规律：以往就业机会稀缺时，人们往往选择深造以提升竞争力。而这一次，经济不确定性使Z世代潜在申请者因高昂的学位成本而审慎权衡。
与此同时，初级岗位持续受到人工智能冲击。
管理专业研究生入学委员会今夏发布的《雇主招聘调查报告》显示，三分之一的雇主正用人工智能替代初级岗位。本次调查约600名受访者中，半数以上负责《财富》100 强或《财富》500强企业的招聘工作。
MBA申请量下滑，顶尖商学院毕业生薪资预期仍达17.5万美元
MBA项目的申请量同样下滑：全球三分之二的全日制MBA项目申请人数同比下降 13%。
不过降温幅度并不均衡。录取率低于40%的高竞争性项目申请量仅下跌9%，而录取率高于85%的项目申请量降幅却达到21%。这表明，即便申请者对攻读商学院愈发谨慎，优质项目的抗风险能力依然更强。
六位数的高薪回报或许能够解释名校的吸引力。M7商学院（哈佛大学商学院、哥伦比亚大学商学院、斯坦福大学商学院、西北大学凯洛格商学院、麻省理工学院斯隆商学院、宾夕法尼亚大学沃顿商学院、芝加哥大学布斯商学院）的数据显示，2025届求职毕业生中，约九成已斩获录用通知；顺利入职者，基础薪资中位数均不低于17.5万美元。
亮眼的职业前景也伴随着高昂的代价：部分顶尖MBA项目的学费已攀升至30万美元以上，这让那些权衡这笔教育投资是否值得的学生承担更高的试错成本。
与Z世代一样，《财富》美国500强CEO们也开始质疑学位的价值
年轻人愈发怀疑学位的价值，部分商界领袖也指出，文凭的含金量早已不如从前。
摩根大通首席执行官杰米·戴蒙（Jamie Dimon）1982年毕业于哈佛大学商学院，他并不认同“名校出身就一定能成为更优秀的员工”的观点。
“我认为，就读常春藤盟校或成绩优异，并不代表这个人一定能做好工作或品行出众。”戴蒙2024年接受领英采访时表示。
渣打银行首席执行官温拓思（Bill Winters）是宾夕法尼亚大学沃顿商学院校友，他的表态更为直接。
“我本科攻读国际关系与历史，后来虽获得MBA学位，但那段经历纯属浪费时间。”温拓思去年表示。
“我在大学里学会了如何思考，然而在毕业后的40年里，这些技能却在不断退化。”
管理专业研究生入学委员会首席执行官乔伊·琼斯（Joy Jones）本人拥有斯坦福大学MBA学位。她认为商学院应坦诚披露教育投资回报，不回避自身短板。
“Z世代期待的回报远不止薪资：他们追求稳定充实的职业生涯、保留选择空间的工作灵活性，以及能产生积极影响的工作。”她对《财富》杂志表示。
但她依然看好商科教育：“我认为问题不在于商学院能否复苏，而在于哪些项目能够赢得这一代人的信任——他们想要先看到实实在在的价值，才愿意买单。”（财富中文网）
译者：中慧言-王芳
Gen Z is staring down an AI-driven job market with fewer guarantees—and even business school is looking less like a lifeline.
Applications to U.S. graduate business programs plunged 25% in 2026, marking the steepest decline in nearly a decade.
According to the data released Tuesday by the Graduate Management Admission Council, the drop reverses two consecutive years of application growth.
A perfect storm of factors—including economic uncertainty, shifting visa policies, and geopolitical tensions—is weighing on demand. But the economy stands out as the biggest drag: 90% of graduate business programs surveyed said economic changes, including recession fears, layoffs, and shifts in the job market, affected application volumes, while 73% reported a major or moderate impact, the highest share of any factor.
That’s a shift from the usual pattern: When jobs are scarce, people often turn to school to improve their prospects. But this time, economic uncertainty is making prospective Gen Z students think twice about the cost of another degree.
It comes as entry-level jobs continue to be in the crossfire of AI.
One-third of employers said they were replacing entry-level jobs with AI, according to GMAC’s Corporate Recruiters Survey released over the summer. More than half of the roughly 600 respondents recruit for Fortune 100 or Fortune 500 companies.
MBA applications are on the decline—but top schools still offer salary prospects of $175,000
The decline extends to MBA programs specifically: Two-thirds of full-time MBA programs worldwide reported application declines, with applications falling 13% year over year.
But the pullback isn’t equally distributed. Applications to highly-selective programs, with acceptance rates below 40%, fell just 9%. At programs with acceptance rates above 85%, applications dropped 21%—suggesting that even as prospective students grow more cautious about business school, selective programs are proving more resilient.
The six-figure payoff may help explain why. Across the elite “M7” business schools—Harvard, Columbia, Stanford, Northwestern Kellogg, MIT Sloan, University of Pennsylvania Wharton, and University of Chicago Booth—roughly 90% of 2025 graduates seeking employment received job offers. Median base salaries for graduates who accepted jobs reached at least $175,000 at each school.
But the high career prospects also come with a hefty price tag: Tuition at top MBA programs has climbed to over $300,000 in some cases, raising the stakes for students weighing whether the degree is worth the investment.
Like Gen Z, Fortune 500 CEOs have begun questioning the value of degrees
Even as young people increasingly question the value of degrees, some top business leaders have similarly voiced that credentials may not be worth the same as they did previously.
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, who graduated from Harvard Business School in 1982, has pushed back on the idea that an elite education automatically makes someone a better employee.
“I don’t think necessarily because you go to an Ivy League school or have great grades it means you’re going to be a great worker or great person,” Dimon told LinkedIn in 2024.
Standard Chartered CEO Bill Winters, an alum of the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, has been more blunt.
“I studied international relations and history. I got an MBA later, but that was a waste of time,” Winters said last year.
“I learned how to think at university, and for the 40 years since I left university, those skills have been degraded, degraded, degraded.”
For Joy Jones, GMAC’s CEO and a Stanford MBA alum, business schools need to be more upfront about the return on investment they can offer—or where they fall short.
“[Gen Z] want a return on their investment that goes beyond salary: careers that feel stable and fulfilling, the flexibility to keep their options open, and work that makes a positive impact,” she told Fortune.
Still, she remains bullish on business education: “I believe the question isn’t whether business school rebounds, but which programs earn the trust of a generation that wants proof of value up front.”