Millennials want successful careers more than anything

The future is no place for slackers: Most millennials say having a successful career is “very important” to them.

The finding is part of Fusion’s Massive Millennial Poll, which surveyed 1,000 people aged 18 to 34 about everything from politics to dating to race issues. (For full results and methodology, click here.)

Young people were asked to rate the following life goals on a scale of “very important” to “not at all important”: having a successful career, having good friends, buying a home, having children, getting married, and being famous. Seventy-six percent said having a successful career was “very important” – making it the goal that was most important to the most people.

There was a marginal gender split when it came to the importance of a career (77 of men said it was “very important” versus 75 percent of women) and having good friends (77 percent of men versus 74 percent of women). The gender gap became slightly more pronounced when it came to kids: Fifty three percent of women said having children was “very important” versus 46 percent of men.

Young people also, apparently, hope their careers will pay off financially: Twenty-eight percent of millennials polled are convinced they will become millionaires. And among the participants who said buying a home was “very” or “somewhat” important to them, 97 percent said that they, in fact, expect to own a home in their lifetime.

Fusion’s Massive Millennial Poll surveyed 1,000 people between the ages of 18 to 34, with a general population sample and an overall margin of error of plus-minus 3.1 percentage points. The interviews were conducted via telephone from Jan. 6 to Jan. 11. For more on our methodology and poll results, click here.