{"id":1230,"date":"2025-09-24T15:09:31","date_gmt":"2025-09-24T15:09:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/onlyguider.com\/blog\/?p=1230"},"modified":"2026-02-11T10:34:11","modified_gmt":"2026-02-11T10:34:11","slug":"will-students-ditch-grad-schemes-for-onlyfans-as-ai-kills-off-entry-level-jobs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/onlyguider.com\/blog\/will-students-ditch-grad-schemes-for-onlyfans-as-ai-kills-off-entry-level-jobs\/","title":{"rendered":"Will Students Ditch Grad Schemes for Onlyfans as AI Kills Off Entry-Level Jobs?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Two in five female students say they\u2019d rather have 10,000 OnlyFans subscribers than a guaranteed graduate job \u2013 reflecting how young people are hedging their bets in an AI-threatened job market.<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The traditional career path of \u201cget a degree, join a firm, work your way up\u201d<\/em> is rapidly unravelling, new research shows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A survey of 1,000 UK students by Onlyfans search engine OnlyGuider<\/strong>, found that 42% of women<\/strong> and 34% of men<\/strong> would rather have 10,000 OnlyFans subscribers<\/strong> than a guaranteed graduate job \u2013 a stark sign that online clout and entrepreneurial hustles are now competing with traditional careers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The findings come as job platforms warn that entry-level and graduate roles are shrinking fast<\/strong>. Reed recently revealed the number of graduate job ads has collapsed from around 180,000 a few years ago to just 55,000 today. Separate analysis by Adzuna found junior vacancies have fallen nearly a third since late 2022<\/strong>, coinciding with the rise of AI.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sam Pierce, CEO of OnlyGuider, said:<\/strong> \u201cWhat older generations might sneer at as scandal, students are increasingly viewing as strategy. They know AI is wiping out entry-level jobs. So a few thousand paying subscribers, or a side hustle on TikTok or Depop, can feel like a safer bet than fighting hundreds of applicants for a grad scheme that might not even exist next year.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Side Hustle Nation<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The data highlights a new student mindset<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  • 66% of women<\/strong> and 47% of men<\/strong> said they\u2019d consider starting an OnlyFans if money was tight.
    <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Nearly four in ten women<\/strong> said they\u2019d rather sell saucy pics<\/em> for \u00a3500 a month than stack shelves or work in a bar.
    <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Both genders admitted they\u2019d keep such hustles secret: around 4 in 10<\/strong> would tell no one, and fewer than one in five would tell parents.
    <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    Rather than dreaming of a lifelong career in law, finance or media, students are increasingly building multiple income streams<\/strong> \u2013 mixing degrees with online ventures, freelancing, and content creation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Pierce added:<\/strong> \u201cThe graduate job market is in freefall \u2013 some firms are hiring a third fewer juniors because AI is doing the grunt work. Students aren\u2019t blind to that. They\u2019re hedging their bets by diversifying: get the degree, but also get the hustle.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Generational Reset<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Experts say this could represent a generational reset<\/strong> in how young people view success:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n
    • For many, 10,000 followers<\/strong> feels like job security.
      <\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Side hustles are becoming as normal as part-time jobs once were.
      <\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • OnlyFans, TikTok shops, Twitch, and Depop are part of the new student economy.
      <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

      The findings underscore that Freshers\u2019 Week 2025 is not just about clubs and cheap drinks \u2013 it\u2019s about students openly discussing which hustles can replace the entry-level jobs AI is erasing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Methodology<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

      The survey was conducted by OnlyGuider<\/strong> using Pollfish<\/strong> in September 2025<\/strong>. A total of 1,000<\/strong> UK university students aged 18+<\/strong> took part, split evenly between female (n=500)<\/strong> and male (n=500)<\/strong> respondents. Participants were screened to confirm they are either enrolling as freshers this year<\/strong> or currently enrolled<\/strong> at a UK university. Percentages are rounded to the nearest whole number.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Qualifying questions included:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \n
      1. Are you currently at, or about to start – full-time study at a UK university?<\/em> (Yes\/No)
        <\/li>\n\n\n\n
      2. Are you aged 18 or over?<\/em> (Yes\/No)
        <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

        What is your gender?<\/em> (Male\/Female\/Other\/Prefer not to say \u2014 analysis based on male\/female splits)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        Two in five female students say they\u2019d rather have 10,000 OnlyFans subscribers than a guaranteed graduate job \u2013 reflecting how young people are hedging their bets in an AI-threatened job market. The traditional career path of \u201cget a degree, join a firm, work your way up\u201d is rapidly unravelling, new research shows. A survey of…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1231,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_kadence_starter_templates_imported_post":false,"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5,6,4,3],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[13],"class_list":["post-1230","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-data","category-data-study-research","category-onlyfans","category-statistics","author-sam_pierce"],"taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":5,"label":"Data"},{"value":6,"label":"Data Study Research"},{"value":4,"label":"OnlyFans"},{"value":3,"label":"Statistics"}],"author":[{"value":13,"label":"Sam Pierce"}]},"featured_image_src_large":["https:\/\/onlyguider.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/image-1.png",613,407,false],"author_info":{"display_name":"Sam Pierce","author_link":"https:\/\/onlyguider.com\/blog\/author\/sam_pierce\/"},"comment_info":0,"category_info":[{"term_id":5,"name":"Data","slug":"data","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":5,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":24,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":5,"category_count":24,"category_description":"","cat_name":"Data","category_nicename":"data","category_parent":0},{"term_id":6,"name":"Data Study Research","slug":"data-study-research","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":6,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":25,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":6,"category_count":25,"category_description":"","cat_name":"Data Study Research","category_nicename":"data-study-research","category_parent":0},{"term_id":4,"name":"OnlyFans","slug":"onlyfans","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":4,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":26,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":4,"category_count":26,"category_description":"","cat_name":"OnlyFans","category_nicename":"onlyfans","category_parent":0},{"term_id":3,"name":"Statistics","slug":"statistics","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":3,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":16,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":3,"category_count":16,"category_description":"","cat_name":"Statistics","category_nicename":"statistics","category_parent":0}],"tag_info":false,"authors":[{"term_id":13,"user_id":3,"is_guest":0,"slug":"sam_pierce","display_name":"Sam Pierce","avatar_url":{"url":"https:\/\/onlyguider.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/sam_pierce_onlyguider.jpg","url2x":"https:\/\/onlyguider.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/sam_pierce_onlyguider.jpg"},"0":null,"1":"","2":"","3":"","4":"","5":"","6":"","7":"","8":""}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/onlyguider.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1230","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/onlyguider.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/onlyguider.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onlyguider.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onlyguider.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1230"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/onlyguider.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1230\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1233,"href":"https:\/\/onlyguider.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1230\/revisions\/1233"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onlyguider.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1231"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/onlyguider.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1230"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onlyguider.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1230"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onlyguider.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1230"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onlyguider.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=1230"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}