Forget work-life balance: Gen Z say their top priority is actually career growth, with 93% aspiring for the C-suite

Turns out the generation raised on smartphones and now facing an AI-scrambled job market isn't chasing chill vibes at work — they're chasing the corner office. KPMG surveyed more than 900 of its summer interns and found career growth beat out work-life balance, salary, culture, and even staying current with tech as the top thing they want from a full-time employer. And 93% of them said they want to reach the C-suite or a senior executive role at some point in their careers.

That's a notable shift, given that other surveys have painted Gen Z as the generation most devoted to work-life balance. KPMG's Derek Thomas, who leads university talent acquisition for the firm in the U.S., framed it as a survival instinct: young workers see companies pulling back on entry-level hiring while demanding more skill and ambition upfront, and they're responding by protecting the grunt work that actually builds judgment. Lean too hard on AI to do your thinking for you early on, he warned, and you never develop the instincts that make you worth promoting.

The money at the top helps explain the pull. KPMG partners in the UK pulled in roughly £880,000 — about $1.2 million — in fiscal 2025, an 11% jump from the year before, per Business Insider. Zoom out further and the average S&P 500 CEO made $18.9 million in 2024, up 7% year over year, according to AFL-CIO figures. Climbing the ladder, in other words, still pays.

What's interesting is what these interns think will actually get them there. Critical thinking topped their list of skills expected to separate entry-level employees over the next five years, and 76% said long-term success will hinge on pairing strong human skills with the ability to direct AI agents well. More than four in ten flagged overreliance on AI as their biggest worry, specifically that it could dull their critical thinking. Thomas found that a little surprising coming from the most digitally native generation ever hired — he expected them to lean into their tech fluency as their edge, not away from it.

That instinct lines up with what a chorus of executives has been saying. KIND bar founder Daniel Lubetzky has urged young people to double down on curiosity and creativity because AI can't replicate them. JPMorgan's Jamie Dimon has told people to work on critical thinking, EQ, and communication rather than betting everything on technical skills. And Amazon's Andy Jassy credited relentless questioning — asking why and why not — as central to how his company solves problems. Gen Z, apparently, has been listening.