The Top Careers for Generation Z and Graduates in 2023

Small Business Prices analyses the top industries and countries for a graduate career trajectory to reveal the best places for Gen Z to work in a post-pandemic world

Gen Z is the largest generation in human history, and over the next 10 years, 1.3 billion of its members will enter the global workforce. However, the Covid-19 pandemic has meant that this new generation is entering one of the toughest job markets in decades.

Small Business Prices analysed the top industries for Gen Z, looking at the number of jobs, salary expectations, social orientation and face-to-face contact to reveal the top positions where Gen Z will thrive. The research was conducted on a global scale to highlight the top cities and countries around the world where Gen Z has the most potential to succeed. 

The 10 most popular career paths for Generation Z to work 

Elementary trades such as selling goods, providing services, delivering or door keeping rank as the most popular profession for Gen Z to pursue a career in a post-pandemic world. The enticing starting salary of £33,000 can grow to nearly double at £64,000 for committed workers and the profession provides 17,000 jobs to the Gen Z demographic in the UK alone. 

Sales occupations and health and social care professions are the next most popular option for Gen Z graduates and school leavers. Sales occupations account for a staggering 17.5% of the Gen Z working population, providing 124,000 jobs each year to Gen Z alone.

Job Description (18-21 years)	Social Orientation	Face-to-Face Contact	Average Salary	Overall Score
1. Service occupations	69	100	£44,829	7.1
2. Sales	82	99	£22,259	5.9
3. Health and social care	92	100	£30,004	5.8
4. Business and public service	66	86	£35,979	4.7
5. Media	58	92	£35,495	4.7
6. Technical occupations	53	93	£40,317	5.1
7. Construction and building trades	69	100	£26,075	4.5
8. Science and engineering professionals	51	92	£37,528	4.6
9. Healthcare workers	86	99	£25,323	4.7
10. Personal service occupations	76	97	£26,080	5.5

The top 10 most social roles for Generation Z who want social interaction at work 

While Gen Z may have grown up surrounded by technology and social media, they still prioritise face-to-face contact as one of the top requirements for choosing a career path. According to a survey by the World Economic Forum, 72% of Gen Z prefer face-to-face conversation over digital conversations at work.

Health and social care professions are the most popular for Gen Z who’s necessity for face-to-face contact is further intensified by the Covid-19 pandemic, which allowed even less exposure to peers in a workplace setting. Leisure and travel are the next most popular professions followed by sales occupations and teaching professions which offer the most in terms of social interaction for Gen Z.

Job Description (18-21 years)	Social Orientation	Face-to-Face Contact	Entry level Salary	Average Salary	Highest Salary
1. Health and social care	92	100	£23,000	£30,004	£38,000
2. Healthcare workers	86	99	£21,000	£25,323	£36,000
3. Leisure, travel and related personal service	86	90	£12,000	£17,770	£28,000
4. Sales	82	99	£16,000	£22,259	£46,000
5. Teaching	81	82	£21,000	£29,430	£42,000
6. Protective service	77	93	£21,000	£29,813	£41,000
7. Personal service	76	97	£19,000	£26,080	£37,000
8. Customer service	72	86	£16,000	£19,229	£25,000
9. Textiles & printing	72	77	£20,000	£28,297	£39,000
10. Secretarial and related occupations	71	91	£15,000	£20,642	£30,000

 

The top 10 countries and cities for Generation Z to start a career

For Gen Z looking at moving abroad to start a career, Bern in Switzerland ranks as the most popular choice. With 438 bars and pubs per 100,000 capita, it is the top choice for those wanting a vibrant social scene following the pandemic. While the rent borders on the expensive side at an average of £902.66, the above-average salary of £4,174 more than compensates for this.

Bogota in Columbia and Budapest in Hungary rank as the next top cities for Gen Z. Both cities boast a large social scene and affordable living costs for the younger generation who have yet to accumulate enough savings to facilitate extensive spending. 

Country	City	Population	Number of Bars/ Pubs	Bars/ Pubs per 100,000 Capita	Cost of Living	Average Monthly Rent Costs	Average Monthly Salary	Cost of a Bottle of Local Beer	Final Index
1. Switzerland	Bern	133,115	582	437.22	£1,070	£903	£4174	£1.36	6.66
2. Colombia	Bogota	11,167,392	44	0.39	£311	£272	£248	£0.64	6.09
3. Hungary	Budapest	1,771,865	86	4.85	£416	£324	£704	£0.64	6.02
4. Turkey	Ankara	5,215,747	23	0.44	£272	£118	£357	£1.25	6
5. Mexico	Mexico City	21,918,936	48	0.22	£354	£356	£461	£0.79	5.88
6. Poland	Warsaw	1,789,620	48	2.68	£431	£497	£829	£0.65	5.8
7. Lithuania	Vilnius	539,978	27	5	£443	£377	£876	£0.93	5.76
8. Czech Republic	Prague	1,312,199	147	11.2	£502	£552	£1,099	£0.61	5.76
9. Slovakia	Bratislava	424,428	61	14.37	£489	£356	£461	£0.79	5.63
10. Germany	Berlin	3,566,791	75	2.1	£671	£670	£2081	£0.69	5.58

The bottom 10 countries and cities for Generation Z to start a career

Reykjavík, in Iceland on the other hand, is one of the least popular cities for Gen Z to work in 2021. This is predominantly due to the lack of a social scene with only 4 bars and pubs per 100,00 capita. It also has significantly higher living costs in comparison at £880.28 and an average rent of £1,082 making it increasingly difficult to have spending money or savings. 

Oslo and Dublin are the next unpopular cities for Gen Z to move post-Covid-19. Similarly to Reykjavik, Oslo offers little in terms of a social scene with 0.38 bars and pubs per 100,000 capita. While Dublin has a vibrant nightlife, the average monthly cost of rent, £1,288 eats through half of the average paycheck making excess spending money an ambitious feat for the younger generation.

Rank	Country	City	Population	Number of Bars & Pubs	Bars and Pub per 100,000 Capita	Cost of Living	Average Monthly Cost of Rent	Average Monthly Salary	Cost of a Bottle of Domestic Beer	Final Index
1	Iceland	Reykjavík	122853	5	4.07	£880.28	1082.085	£2,313.81	£6.92	0.28
2	Norway	Oslo	1056180	4	0.38	£897.13	970.725	£2,816.22	£2.76	3.55
3	Ireland	Dublin	1241953	89	7.17	£756.96	1287.92	£2,338.19	£2.12	3.72
4	Australia	Canberra	395790	11	2.78	£681.27	949.77	£2,715.15	£3.15	3.75
5	United Kingdom	London	9425622	345	3.66	£824.44	1469.14	£2,927.72	£1.82	3.8
6	Slovenia	Ljubljana	279631	20	7.15	£585.86	1082.085	£2,313.81	£2.52	4.07
7	United States	Washington	714153	35	4.9	£779.52	1517.46	£3,645.17	£1.96	4.08
8	Israel	Jerusalem	944188	9	0.95	£755.07	757.39	£1,773.93	£2.09	4.14
9	Japan	Tokyo	37339804	4,777	12.79	£816.44	706.8	£2,325.25	£2.28	4.24
10	Luxembourg	Luxembourg City	114303	9	7.87	£800.22	1186.56	£3,404.40	£2.10	4.26

The top 10 companies that Generation Z want to secure an internship

Unsurprisingly, Google ranks as the most desirable internship for Gen Z’s to secure after their studies. Google receives over 2 million applications every year, and 1 out of every 130 applicants receives an offer for a position, making it 10 times harder to get into Google than Harvard.

This is followed by Apple and Microsoft which highlights the large tech corporations as the dominator for hiring the bright minds of the future. Tesla is the fourth most popular choice for internships and also one of the newest companies on the list, highlighting the tech billionaire CEO, Elon Musk’s profound influence on the younger generation.

Rank	The Top Internships They Want
1	Google
2	Apple
3	Microsoft Corporation
4	Tesla
5	Facebook
6	Goldman Sachs & Co.
7	Amazon
8	J.P. Morgan
9	Space
10	The Walt Disney Company

See the full data below

Rank	Job Description (18-21 years)	Social Orientation	Face-to-Face Contact	Entry level Salary	Average Salary	Highest Salary	Percentage of Jobs Occupied by Gen Z	Overall Score
1	Elementary trades and related occupations	69	100	£33,000	£44,829	£64,000	2.4%	7.1
2	Sales occupations	82	99	£16,000	£22,259	£46,000	17.5%	5.9
3	Health and social care associate professionals	92	100	£23,000	£30,004	£38,000	0.0%	5.8
4	Business and public service associate professionals	66	86	£32,000	£35,979	£89,000	3.2%	4.7
5	Business, media and public service professionals	58	92	£22,000	£35,495	£60,000	10.9%	4.7
6	Associate professional and technical occupations	53	93	£27,000	£40,317	£65,000	4.0%	5.1
7	Skilled construction and building trades	69	100	£17,000	£26,075	£40,000	0.0%	4.5
8	Science, engineering and technology associate professionals	51	92	£25,000	£37,528	£61,000	4.0%	4.6
9	Healthcare workers	86	99	£21,000	£25,323	£36,000	0.0%	4.7
10	Caring personal service occupations	76	97	£19,000	£26,080	£37,000	9.0%	5.5
11	Account managers	70	92	£20,000	£27,767	£41,000	2.5%	4.1
12	Protective service occupations	77	93	£21,000	£29,813	£41,000	0.0%	4.5
13	Customer service occupations	72	86	£16,000	£19,229	£25,000	22.6%	5.2
14	Teaching and educational professionals	81	82	£21,000	£29,430	£42,000	0.0%	3.9
15	Science, research, engineering or technology analysts	52	92	£24,000	£31,000	£45,000	1.4%	4.0
16	Elementary occupations	53	90	£11,000	£18,846	£25,000	27.1%	4.0
17	Culture, media and sports occupations	69	87	£17,000	£24,829	£41,000	2.4%	3.8
18	Administrative and secretarial occupations	68	91	£14,000	£18,211	£21,000	8.9%	3.4
19	Secretarial and related occupations	71	91	£15,000	£20,642	£30,000	7.6%	3.9
20	Caring, leisure and other service occupations	64	89	£13,000	£19,238	£27,000	12.7%	3.5
21	Process, plant and machine operatives	58	93	£17,000	£22,322	£31,000	2.5%	3.8
22	Skilled metal, electrical and electronic trades	52	89	£18,000	£25,227	£38,000	5.4%	3.3
23	Textiles, printing and other skilled trades	72	77	£20,000	£28,297	£39,000	0.0%	3.1
24	Skilled trades occupations	51	79	£21,000	£25,323	£36,000	9.3%	2.8
25	Leisure, travel and related personal service occupations	86	90	£12,000	£17,770	£28,000	3.7%	2.7
26	Transport and mobile machine drivers and operatives	55	90	£18,000	£24,481	£33,000	2.0%	2.6
27	Skilled agricultural and related trades	36	85	£10,000	£21,116	£41,000	0.0%	1.6