Gen Z Survey Exposes New Insights

Date: Wednesday, June 29, 2022

SURVEY ON GEN Z CAREER CHOICES, WORKPLACE PREFERENCES, HIGHER ED SELECTION, TRAVEL, AND INTERNSHIPS EXPOSES NEW INSIGHTS

11,495 College and High School Survey Respondents from All 50 States Reveal:   

  • Gen Zs are adventurers, but not crazy about the world we live in. 55% are interested in living and working on Mars or the Moon
  • 70% want to travel internationally despite tensions (87% of responses came after the Russian invasion of Ukraine)
  • Gen Zs want to work at Spotify (moves from #42 on the desired employer list - to #3)
  • Fair treatment of all employees ranks #1 of all workplace preferences
  • 44% of college grads expect employers to help pay their college loans
  • 63% say they expect employers to offer in-person training

The new 2022 Career Interest Survey of 11,495 Gen Z students (born after 1997), conducted by the National Society of High School Scholars (NSHSS), gives insights into what motivates an adventurous, civic-minded, concerned, vocal, tech-savvy, emerging workforce.

Here are just some of the additional key findings:

Employment/Career:

  • Gen Zs have a strong work ethic: 65% say “There’s a lot to learn, so I will roll up my sleeves and do anything.”
  • More than 1 in 4 students plan on staying in their first full-time job for one year – or less
  • Hospitals remain #1 job choice, great news for the healthcare worker shortage
  • 82%, mainly high schoolers, plan to have an internship before first job
  • Gen Zs maintain their keen interest in STEM, their #1 career choice, which continues to grow particularly among women and students of color
  • Covid concerns have largely waned, as few say the chance to work from home was most important. Only 23% rated the option to work remotely as very or extremely important

Benefits & Compensation:

  • Gen Zs choose health benefits, flexible work schedule, and time-off benefits over salary
  • Median salary expectation for their first full time job is $50,000-$69,999K
  • Work/life balance ranks #1 in regard to importance (working conditions)

Living:

  • 55% of scholars are somewhat interested, very interested, or extremely interested in living and working in outer space, on the moon or Mars.
  • Gen Zs prefer the city over the burbs (47% vs. 42%)
  • 60% say they’ll live at home for 1-2 years after graduation to help pay their bills

For the complete data set, methodology, and visuals or to interview NSHSS President James Lewis, please contact Terese Greer at 201-843-5600 ext. 206, terese@rosica.com.

 

About National Society of High School Scholars (NSHSS):

NSHSS is the premier honors and scholarship program co-founded by Claes Nobel, of the Nobel Prize family, and James Lewis. NSHSS offers a lifetime of benefits, pairing the highest performing students worldwide with college scholarships, events, connections, internships, and career opportunities that begin in high school and carry on through college and careers. For more information, visit https://www.nshss.org/.

Back to NSHSS press