Fast Track - college students want it all now - Brief Article

American Demographics, April 1, 2001

Forget climbing the corporate ladder; college students want the brass ring, pronto. A survey of 1,000 college students and recent graduates by Jobtrak.com finds that 81 percent believe that it will take them just 10 years or less to achieve their career goals. Forty-eight percent think it will take them five years or less to get the corner office or to add the title of CEO to their resumes.

America's working neophytes' unrestrained optimism stems from having come of age in a flush economy and a tight labor market, with lots of highly visible examples of meteoric corporate career arcs. Success is expected, and quick promotions and salary increases from potential employers are a given among the young turks. After all, 79 percent of these whippersnappers believe that Social Security won't be around in their golden years.