The coronavirus pandemic could completely derail the careers of Gen Z - and they might end up a lot like older millennials

"For those of us who come from low income families, there's an expectation that once we graduate, we're expected to help bring money home and bring food to the table for our families," Mier said. "I know that for a lot of us, that's going to be really difficult."

Phillips and Mier are two of thousands of college students nationwide who have had their senior years cut short, as schools move to online learning amid the coronavirus pandemic. Mier, a first generation college student, was looking forward to bringing his parents, who immigrated from Mexico, to his college graduation. But as of right now, USC's in-person commencement has been postponed indefinitely.

"My parents sacrificed so much for me by coming to this country," Mier said. "I was so excited to celebrate this big accomplishment with them in May."

As Business Insider's Hillary Hoffower previously reported, the millennials who graduated into the Great Recession are still facing a grim affordability crisis, which was triggered by student debt burdens and skyrocketing living costs. Many millennials are expected to do worse financially than previous generations — the first time generational economic prosperity has declined in such a manner.

Gen Z could potentially find themselves on the same path, as they were already set to enter the same world that millennials were struggling to grapple with.

Hoffower reported that 62% of adults ages 18 to 29 who have a bachelor's degree also have student debt. This is compared with 48% of adults ages 45 to 59 — or, in other words, Gen X. In 2019, Americans owed $1.5 trillion total in student loans, and college tuition has more than doubled since the late 1980s. Meanwhile, income for young adults has risen by just $29 since 1974, when adjusted for inflation — not nearly enough to keep up with ever-rising living costs.

Most newly constructed homes in 2019 cost $500,000 or more, as the median price of home sales saw a 39% increase from 1974.

If Gen Z does graduate into a recession, it could add to the many burdens they were already set to face. Already, economists are expecting that if there is a financial crisis, the recovery will not be as quick as it was for the 2008 downturn.

And if the unemployment rate continues to rise, it could hold back economic recovery even more. Economists at Morgan Stanley predicted that unemployment could spike from its current rate of 4% to as high as 12.8%. For comparison, the peak of unemployment during the Great Recession was 10%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Tribitt moved from Los Angeles to New York City to complete her internship, which has now been moved online. She was also set to intern at the Tokyo Olympics, though that has since been postponed until 2021. As a result, she is still searching for a job for this summer.

"This is my last summer before graduating and I want to get as much experience as I can," Tribitt told Business Insider. "I've been writing cover letters almost every day and a few times in a row I've logged on to the application portal for an internship, just for the internship to be gone."

The New York Times' David Yaffe-Bellany reported that job listings between mid-February and mid-March dropped 29% in comparison to last year. Job postings for retail stores, in particular, fell 14%, while event job postings were down 20% and casino and hotel job postings fell 23%.

"I'm a little worried about ending up like those who graduated around 2008," Tribitt continued. "A lot of the fear people my age have about getting jobs right out of college have come from the horror stories of people 10 years older than us. It's really scary to think that might be our new reality."