By spring 2004, the Class of 2001 had been in the workforce for three years and was rebounding from the world's extraordinary economic and geopolitical challenges: an erratic economy, the continued threat of terrorism, harsh realities of war and corporate scandal. When Northwestern Mutual commissioned its fifth study to see how these events had affected the mindset of young professionals, it expanded the Millennium Generation Studies to include the graduating Class of 2004 who was first getting ready to enter the job scene.

Study at a Glance (142k)
Full Report (pdf) (2498k)
Women of the Millennium Fact Sheet (112k)
Gauging the Gap Quiz (335k)
News Release

The Findings

The Fifth Study: Eager But Anxious
This broadened study ⁴ revealed Millennials were — at once — eager but anxious. Anxious because they had been living in a world of conflict, yet eager to move on with their lives.

Their anxiousness was highlighted by:

• They felt they had to grow up a lot faster. Nearly half listed growing up faster/lack of innocence among the biggest disadvantages of their generation.

• They became pessimistic about the direction of the country. Sixty-two percent believed the country was headed in the wrong direction — only 42% felt this way earlier.

• They were dissatisfied with American leadership. Those running the White House, news media, organized religion and major companies got more D's and F's than before.

• They were at odds with their own beliefs and values. They seemed to be struggling with spirituality, as the number attending religious services declined since 1997.

Their eagerness was reflected in what matters most to them:

• They showed enthusiasm for friends and family. Family time was a priority — less than a third were willing to sacrifice it just to "get ahead."

• They were ambitious about careers that help others. They wanted to impact the world, relate with idealistic and committed co-workers, and use creativity.

• They viewed themselves as reliable. Half believed children should bear financial costs for elderly parents unable to care for themselves (as compared with less than a third among the national population).

• They embraced the advantages of the Millennium Generation. The majority listed computer-based technologies like the Internet as the No. 1 advantage.

Millennials held a strong orientation toward others and were focused on making the world a better place. Three-fourths said how they spend their time is more important than how much money they make. In these ways, this group emerged as a 'WE Generation.'

Entrepreneurial interests remained stable with more than half reporting that they are likely to start their own business or have already done so. Six percent of the Class of 2001 and three percent of the Class of 2004 already started their own businesses.