Here's How Many More Jobs Younger Generations Will Have In Their Lifetime

Retirement, 401(k) plans, and even health insurance all seem to be predicated on an increasingly antiquated notion of having a single career throughout your entire life. While baby boomers largely worked in the same career for the majority of their working lives, younger generations have faced a decidedly different work environment. From changes in higher-education expectations to innovations in remote and flexible work, the U.S. job market has made dramatic shifts in recent years. Plus, the expectations from younger generations in the workplace has led to important cultural shifts in the way office environments operate (like how millennials value their time).

However, despite more contemporary shifts, the traditional view of a single career or long-term company still persists, with millennials being the first (of what's sure to be many) generation accused of job hopping. It's worth noting that, according to Pew Research Center data, millennials were just as likely to stick with their employers as young adults as their Generation X predecessors were. The more important question is not how younger generations might job-hop, but how our views of work, and job environments, have shifted from more traditional boomer views.

In fact, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, baby boomers held, on average, around 12.4 different jobs during their career. However, almost half of those were worked between ages 18 and 24, meaning that for the bulk of their careers (age 25 to 52), the baby-boom generation worked for approximately 6.6 employers. This notably contrasts with predictions that Gen Zers will end up working 18 jobs across six careers in their lifetime.

There's no denying that millennials have had an unfair shake of it economically. From the Great Recession to stagnant wages, the average millennial in the U.S. has 30% less wealth at age 35 than baby boomers had at the same age, according to a 2023 study published in the American Journal of Sociology. On top of all this, the millennial generation has led the charge in terms of changing workplace environments.

It's no wonder then that Gallup found in a recent survey that only half of millennials (compared to 60% of non-millennials) strongly agreed that they planned to be with their current company one year from now. Emily He, former Senior VP at Oracle, explained this new development to Business News Daily, "For millennials, it is more a matter of career exploration than climbing the traditional ladder. Research suggests that today's college graduates will have a dozen or more jobs by the time they hit their 30s."

Gen Zers are even more likely to work multiple jobs than their predecessors. In a 2023 survey by data provider McCrindle, for example, 72% of those surveyed reported considering leaving their role in the last 12 months. Interestingly, Gen Z is set to make up 27% of the entire workforce by 2025, meaning their influence is due to grow substantially in the near future. With an anticipated 18 jobs across six different careers, Gen Zers will be particularly affected by the country's rigid view of how retirement, investment, and health care works in relation to employment. Generation Z also faces a financially bleak outlook, especially in the housing market, with 60% worrying they'll never be able to afford a home, per a July 2024 survey by Clever Real Estate. (Here's more on the impact Gen Z will have on the U.S. housing market.)

The changing trends in careers and the frequency of new jobs can/will affect things like retirement, Social Security, 401(k)s, and other generally thought of as "normal" elements of a workplace (not to mention health care).While the notion of a nine-to-five with the same company for 25 years might have been the norm for past generations, this has become an increasingly antiquated way of looking at work.

Worse than that, though, the perspective hurts future generations who ultimately will prioritize far more flexible career paths. With freelance work and side gigs on the rise, it's especially detrimental to young generations to continue to cling to a traditional mode of working and retiring. Plus, with Social Security set to run out (which could have an especially important impact on Gen Xers when they retire) in 2035, the concept of retirement is already a far-fetched idea for many young people entering the workforce.

It's also worth noting that the current financial predicament for millennials could change in the future, at least for millennials coming from certain socio-economic backgrounds (that might include inheritances). Over the next two decades, baby boomers are anticipated to pass down $84 trillion in the "great wealth transfer," with their Gen X and millennial children serving as the main recipients. This could shift the financial makeup of the millennial generation, in particular, as they get older, which could be a financial necessity in the face of Social Security and retirement challenges.