Representational photo
New Delhi: Seventy-four per cent of Gen Z Indians prioritise work-life balance over formal leadership titles, while at least 65 per cent believe a successful career does not require becoming an executive leader, according to a new report.
The report, titled “India’s Gen Z Outlook 2026: Recalculating Education, Ambition, and Success; The No Cap Generation”, has been published by global education company Emeritus. It is based on a survey of 1,010 respondents aged 15-28 across three life stages — pre-college, transitioning and early career — in major Indian metros.
The report examines how young Indians are reassessing traditional pathways in higher education, skills and careers amid visa uncertainty, rising overseas costs and the rise of AI.
“A generation that has watched layoffs unfold in real time on their feeds, and seen visa uncertainty reshape plans has drawn a rational conclusion — the traditional career ladder is not a safe structure to climb. Seventy-four per cent prioritise work-life balance over formal leadership titles — and 65 per cent agree a successful career does not require becoming an executive leader,” the report said.
The traditional study-abroad pathway is losing ground, with 48 per cent of those who would consider studying abroad saying their interest has declined over the past year, driven by costs, visa requirements and uncertain post-study work regimes. The United States has seen the sharpest decline, while a new set of options is emerging.
“87 per cent of pre-college and 92 per cent of transitioning respondents would be likely or extremely likely to study a programme offered by an internationally ranked university in India. 69 per cent of transitioning students would actively prefer an India-based international programme over going abroad to avoid visa uncertainty,” the report said.
“On-campus remains the anchor but the pathway model, combining India-based study with partial home-campus exposure or semester exchange, is the fastest-growing preference. Interest jumps 12 points between pre-college (27 per cent) and transitioning students (39 per cent) — the closer students get to real enrolment decisions, the more compelling the model becomes,” it added.
Ashwin Damera, Co-founder and CEO of Emeritus, said that for decades, the path was clear — good scores, engineering, medicine, CA, government jobs, MBA and then a career.
“That path is experiencing an overhaul, faster than most anticipated. Skills are evolving faster than institutions can respond and job roles that did not exist five years ago are now the most sought-after. In unpredictable times like these, the most valuable thing one could do is stay close to the signals — and that’s exactly what this report intends to do,” Damera said.
“Gen Z (born between 1997 and 2012) is perhaps one of the most discussed generations today. Celebrated, misunderstood, and underestimated in equal measure. So we decided to engage and understand what they are actually saying: How they are responding to disruption, access to knowledge and tech, and the recalibration of what career capital — intellectual depth, institutional brand and peer networks — truly means,” Damera added.
This post was last modified on September 1, 2026 4:24 pm