Young Adults Have a Surprising New Top Dream Career, and It Isn’t Being an Influencer

Young Adults Have a Surprising New Top Dream Career, and It Isn’t Being an Influencer

Sherin Shibu

Mon, September 14, 2026 at 6:15 PM GMT+3 3 min read

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Key Takeaways

• Move over, influencers — young adults have a new top dream job.

• A survey of thousands of teens and young adults ages 11 to 24 attempted to pinpoint which careers interest this demographic.

• For the first time, influencers, YouTubers and content creators were not the top choices.

Influencer dreams are taking a backseat to medicine and healthcare as young adults set their sights on a new top career.

Retailer PacSun and analytics firm GlobalData polled more than 6,000 U.S. respondents ages 11 to 24 about the jobs they may want to pursue, allowing them to select more than one career path.

The survey found that young adults are responding differently to the question: "What do you want to be when you grow up?" More young adults are naming a career in medicine as their dream job, rather than a career as a YouTuber or influencer.

The results mark a reversal from last year. In PacSun's prior survey in 2025, becoming an influencer ranked first, chosen by 22.2% of respondents, while medical careers came in second at 19.4%. This year, interest in influencing slipped to 18.8%, putting it just behind healthcare-related careers, which drew 19% of responses.

Why healthcare is attracting more interest than influencing

According to Business Insider, healthcare is becoming an increasingly attractive career path because it has steady demand in a competitive job market.

The field also remains a consistent source of job creation. Healthcare and social assistance added 28,400 jobs in August, representing 18% of all jobs added that month, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Longer-term forecasts point to continued expansion. Labor Department data projects private healthcare and social assistance will add more jobs than any other major sector between 2025 and 2035. Nurse practitioners are expected to be among the fastest-growing occupations, with employment projected to rise 41% over the decade, compared with 3.5% growth across all U.S. jobs.

It's harder than ever to make it big as an influencer

The influencer lifestyle still has obvious appeal. A successful social media career can mean travel, free products, brand partnerships and an audience of millions.

However, posting videos is not a sure path to fame. It is a business that requires constant production and an ability to adapt to platforms that can change the rules overnight.

Breaking through has become harder as more people enter the field. The Interactive Advertising Bureau estimated there are over 1.5 million full-time creators, a 7.5-fold growth since 2020, while millions more post as hobbyists or side-hustlers.

Algorithms are also increasingly tailored to individual viewers, making it more difficult for a creator to reach a broad new audience.

A small percentage of influencers actually bring in significant income. CreatorIQ found that the top 10% of creators captured 62% of brand-ad payments in 2025, while only 11% of surveyed creators made at least $100,000. Median earnings fell to $3,000, even as average earnings rose.

Platforms are raising the bar as well. YouTube has doubled several Partner Program thresholds and now requires 8,000 watch hours or 20 million Shorts views for new applicants to access ad-revenue sharing.

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