When measuring their success, the average young adult says that a salary of $121,553 per year would indicate that they have “made it.”
Key Details
- Millennials and Gen Zers are still working their way up in their careers, but many have high ambitions when planning their future.
- Gen Z is slightly more ambitious than millennials. These younger workers generally say a $124,494 salary would indicate success, while millennials hope for $120,902.
- However, despite these lofty ambitions, the median income for Americans in 2021 was $69,717, Fortune reports.
- With such high aspirations, it is no surprise that 58% of millennials and Gen Zers are unhappy with their current pay.
Why it’s news
Younger workers have high expectations for pay, even for their current jobs. Researchers warn many of these workers to keep in mind that they are still at the beginning of their careers and can expect pay to increase with experience. Many millennials and Gen Zers think their current roles should offer a salary somewhere in the $71,000 to $80,000 range rather than their current offerings.
However, for workers looking to “make it” early on in their careers, there are specific fields where younger employees are more likely to make six figures. Jobs to consider include:
- Lawyers ($149,646)
- Securities, commodities, and financial-services sales agent ($134,029)
- Web developer ($120,595)
- Architectural and engineering manager ($115,875)
- Software developer ($113,066)
Even with this high pay, few Gen Zers would be willing to consider careers in these fields. Around 88% of Gen Zers say they would not consider law as a profession, Fortune reports.
The most popular fields among young professionals were retail management, teaching, vehicle driving, customer services, and nursing—none of which will pay employees near their $121,000 goal.
If workers want to reach their goals, they will likely have to change professions.
