The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported in January of 2018 that the average American changes jobs 12 times in their career. The report says that a high percentage of Americans spend less than five years on any one job.

That’s not the way it used to be. Changing economics and corporate decision-making and priorities have turned employment for many Americans into a more temporary state than a permanent one. Companies are more likely than in the past to conduct massive layoffs due to production costs or changes in company fortunes, while employees change more often in order to procure a big bump in salary, since most annual raises among major corporations in America range right around only 2-3 percent per year.

There are other reasons as well. Many employees today are looking to improve their work-life balance than ever before, and since life changes like marriage and parenting can impact that balance, many American workers seek to find a new employer who can better supply what they need in terms of time off or work requirements.

In Spectrem’s new study High Income Millennials,  the approximately 500 people ranging in age from 25 to 40 with an annual household income of $100,000 if single and $150,000 if married were surveyed about the factors that influence career decisions for them.

Some factors remain consistent. Eighty-three percent of high income Millennials consider the salary of a job wen making career decisions. That might seem like a low percentage, but most people do not apply for a job without some basis for knowing where the salary lies, and the question points to those factors that determine a career choice. For some Millennials, the difference of $100 a week or even $1,000 a month may not be significant when compared to other factors.

The next most popular choice is retirement and health care benefits, which 69 percent of Millennials pointed to. In today’s world, it is very possible that one employer differs greatly from another in certain occupations in terms of what is offered in retirement and health care packages. It is certainly possible to conceive that in one of the average 12 job changes a Millennial will make over time, one of them was made to improve the retirement or health benefits they get from their employer.

In those two cases, advisors can certainly provide advice related to planning for future needs in terms of both salary and benefits to assist clients in determining career moves.

The next three most popular answers are among the newest ideas to come from the American workplace. Fifty-five percent of Millennials said personal enjoyment was a factor, while 53 percent said flexible hours and 53 percent also pointed to location.

It’s the personal enjoyment factor that is most indicative of the times, and it runs parallel to the 42 percent of Millennials who said they make career decisions based on the desire to do something that makes a difference. Millennials want to enjoy what they are doing for a living, and for some Millennials, they may eschew a higher salary in order to work at a job they enjoy.

 

 

©2019 Spectrem Group

Keywords: millennials, occupation, retirement, investors, advsiors, Spectrem, career