A new report has revealed that influencing ranks among the most preferred careers by Kenya’s Gen Z, with a majority believing that being an influencer is a reputable career.
The nationwide Gen Z survey conducted by Odipo Dev and Africa Uncensored in April revealed that the top dream career among the generation was to be self-employed or run a business. S
In the survey which aimed at assessing the attitudes of Gen-Z towards work, how to make money and their ambitions, it was disclosed that high internet penetration and a tough economic environment are some of the factors reshaping how young Kenyans think about their future.
According to the “Fame, Fortune, Freedom: Decoding the shape of the Dream for Kenya’s Gen Z” survey, self-employment and economic self-determination were ranked as very strong drivers for the generation.
22% of the respondents admitted that they want to get into business for themselves.
Influencing or being a ‘Tiktoker’ on the other hand ranked second, tying with being a doctor at 12%.
Close to 80% of the Gen Z surveyed believe that being an influencer is a real job and that they see potential in making a lot of money from it.
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Tied to the influencing culture was the response by Kenya’s Gen Z on whether they preferred being famous.
Gen Z on Being Famous
In the survey, a whopping 75% responded positively with the response partly being attributed to them being digital natives and the constant screen culture that has normalized the affinity for publicity and visibility among them.
Also, the rise in influencer culture with which personalities across music, sports, and film, have utilized their popularity to market goods, events, and services for brands could be attributed to the response.
According to the survey, the growth of influencer as a viable career has risen together with the wide internet connectivity in Kenya, access to cheaper smartphones, and lower internet costs.
Traditional careers and legacy jobs such as engineering, and law seemed to struggle in the face of the new opportunities that the internet has afforded this generation.
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Any office job (10%), Engineer (9%), Lawyer (8%), and Musician (7%) rounded up the top six most preferred jobs in that order.
In the kind of expectations considered by most Gen Zs in a work environment, Money, Mental Health, Vibe, Passion, and ability to Remote work were the top 5 considerations.
According to the survey, 67% of the respondents listed that money was their top considerations when choosing a job followed by mental health (33%).
Legitimacy in Making Money
When asked if they believe one can build a hustle the right way, 34% of Gen Zs involved in the survey responded to supporting a legal and moral job.
In the survey, 23% agreed that making money is admirable regardless of how it is done, while 19% of the respondents agreed that they don’t judge people who make money illegally, but they wouldn’t do it themselves.
On the other hand, the report revealed that 84% of Gen Zs (four in every five) would take up the chance to leave the country if the opportunity presented itself.
Additionally, about 50% of those surveyed mentioned that they have looked up the visa requirements of at least 1 country that they would like to immigrate to.
Even then, only 1 in 10 of the respondents admitted having applied for a visa, while about 40% of them have applied for a passport.
The most preferred destination for those who want to relocate was the West, with close to 80% choosing the United States as the desired destination.
60% of the respondents chose Europe as their ideal region, with Australia also being ranked as a highly preferred destination.
Gen Z Report
The report involved a total number of 1300 respondents aged between 18 and 27 categorized as Kenyan Gen Z youth.
It also involved a face-to-face survey method and targeted youths living both in Urban and Rural Areas, with a Gender Ratio of Female (51%) and Male (49%).
The Regional Coverage of the survey was divided into Rift Valley (25%), Western (10%), Nyanza (13%), Northeastern (5%), Nairobi (11%), Eastern (15%), Coast (9%), and Central (13%).
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