Graduates who hold degrees in communications, psychology, and engineering are struggling to find decent-paying work in their fields. | Aaron Hawkins/Getty Images

Young adults are failing to launch their careers during a pandemic. That could have a lasting generational impact.

Julie Francis feels stagnant. She has been stuck, quite literally, in her parent’s home in Michigan since May. It isn’t the worst thing in the world, she acknowledges; many people have suffered worse fates in 2020. But for the past few months, the drudgery of the job-search process has exhausted Francis, a Kettering University graduate in electrical engineering. She logs onto Indeed, Glassdoor, and LinkedIn day after day to submit the same résumé and slightly tailored cover letter, crossing her fingers for a response.

“I had no preference. I was applying everywhere,” the 22-year-old, who graduated this year, said. “I kept a