Gen Z is seeing the appeal of finance jobs, as cost-of-living concerns rise, a new survey finds
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- A new study reveals that Gen Z thinks finance is the best industry for future career prospects.
- A quarter of graduates said finance is the No. 1 industry for career prospects — up from No. 5 in 2021.
- Part of the reason may be the money: Graduates' top career fear is low pay.
At the end of the day, money talks.
A mid-June survey conducted by the CFA Institute, a non-profit organization that offers a range of certifications for investment professionals, found that Gen Z is putting more stock in careers in finance.
One in four recent respondents designated finance as the industry that they feel most confident about in terms of career prospects, making it the No.1 most promising sector, ahead of education and sales. This attitude has shifted since 2021, when finance was ranked at No. 5, according to the survey.
Medicine and architecture, meanwhile, experienced the biggest drops in career confidence.
The survey polled 9,437 individuals aged 18 to 25 from around the world who are either in college or have graduated within the past three years,
The inclination toward finance likely has to do with money: Recent graduates' top fear is low pay in their preferred job sector, and a majority (62%) said "good salary" is the most important factor in an employer, the study found.
These findings mirror a Deloitte survey from earlier this year, in which millenials and Gen Zers said that the rising cost of living is a "top societal concern."
More than half of the respondents to the CFA survey said they have reassessed their career options in light of cost-of-living increases. This could be one reason interest in finance surged, as respondents voted it the most stable industry.
"Although the financial services sector was impacted by the 2008 financial crisis and more recently by the pandemic, graduates appear to view it as a resilient profession that has shown itself able to adapt, survive, and recover," a spokesperson from the CFA told Insider.
As mass layoffs have unfolded across industries this year, it makes sense that stability and good pay have re-emerged as top considerations for the youngest entrants to the labor market.
Still, their fears don't come without optimism: The CFA report found that Gen Zers feels like they have it better than previous generations — a majority of participants (56%) believe they have higher career prospects than their parents, up from 2021's results (48%).