- LONDON/NEW YORK
- Despite the downturn in the economy over the past year and the failure
of dot.coms that fuelled big-money dreams, university students are still
optimistic. 65% of students say they aim to become millionaires, many of
them (30%) hoping to achieve this goal by the age of 40, according to a
poll of students conducted at the Ernst & Young International Intern
Leadership Conference. But 43% of students also said that family and friends
are a current priority as they manage their work and personal lives.
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- Interestingly when students were surveyed at last year's
(2000) annual conference - when the economic climate was much more hopeful
- 75% (10 percentage points more than this year) predicted they would become
millionaires in their lifetime.
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- These and other questions about money, careers and workplace
issues were asked of the nearly 900 Ernst & Young interns from 22 countries
around the world, including the UK, who gathered for the fifth annual international
intern conference in Florida, USA from August 2-5, 2001.
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- "Young people entering the workforce today seem
very confident about their abilities to succeed in their careers,"
explains James Freer of Ernst & Young. "But at the same time,
they are coming to their jobs with their priorities focused on how best
to manage their workloads and still spend quality time with their families
and friends".
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- The students also expressed strong opinions about society,
money and investing. 50% of the students chose long-term conservative shares
and mutual fund investments as their primary method for saving for the
future. Only 15% say they plan to rely on a company pension plan.
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- Additional findings from the survey include:
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- -74% of the students expect to be better off than their
parents in terms of income and quality of life over their lifetime
-
- -47% of students plan to retire in their 50s. Only 26%
plan to retire in their 60s
-
- -50% say having flexibility in planning a career around
major life events is the most important element for achieving a good balance
between a career and personal life.
-
- -34% say career development will be their priority over
the next three years. Balancing a personal life with their career will
be a priority for 32% of respondents.
-
- -If they were independently wealthy and didn't have to
work, over 50% of students say that intellectual stimulation and learning,
as well as a sense of social contact and camaraderie, would make them want
to go to work. Only 3% said achieving fame or celebrity would motivate
them to go to work.
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