Gen Z has been lambasted by critics as being professionally unambitious and too frivolous with their money—but leaders are stepping in to add some well-needed context. USAA CEO Juan C. Andrade believes young workers are up against some unique headwinds that older generations didn’t have to contend with.
“I think, unfortunately, our Gen Z’s are not going to be as well off as our boomers and Gen Xers were, for different reasons,” he tells Fortune. “You definitely see it among the Gen Z generation, both active duty as well as associate members [and] family.”
Andrade recognizes that many young workers are stuck in a “tough” situation, struggling to make do with rock-bottom salaries. And as it turns out, they really did get the short end of the stick. In the U.K. for example, the average inflation-adjusted salary for working-age graduates is 30% lower than it was a decade and a half ago, according to a 2025 analysis from Bloomberg.
Even landing a salaried job in the first place is harder. A 2025 Kickresume report found that 58% of students who finished college recently were still looking for their first job. Meanwhile, just 25% of graduates in previous years—including millennial and Gen Xers—struggled to land work after college.
But stagnant paychecks and a lackluster labor market are only part of the squeeze. A shaky grasp on money and a fast-moving wave of AI disruption are compounding the pressure.
Gen Z’s other challenges: financial inexperience and AI automation
Every generation knows what it’s like to be an entry-level worker scraping by paycheck to paycheck, but Gen Zers are in a particularly dire economic rut. Up against stubborn inflation, high interest rates, and stagnating salaries, they’re borrowing money just to reach baseline stability. And it’s severely damaging their financial wellbeing.
Last year, Gen Z experienced the steepest annual drop in credit health of any age group since 2020, according to a FICO report. Their average FICO score slipped three points to 676—39 points lower than the national average of 715. Erin Stillwell, head of payments at Globant, told Fortune in 2025 that “Gen Z is the first cohort facing high inflation, digital credit, and social-media-driven consumption pressure simultaneously.”
Another underlying issue is young people are still decades behind Gen Xers and baby boomers in understanding financial literacy. Many Gen Zers are still in the dark, with nearly half saying they don’t know what affects their credit score, according to a 2025 USAA report. And around 62% are so anxious that they don’t check their scores at all. It’s become so fraught that some colleges and employers have already stepped up to supplement their money education; USAA is providing financial education and tools to its over 38,000 staffers and 14.3 million members as part of its $500 million Honor Through Action initiative.
The USAA CEO also points to another problem brewing in the labor force: AI automation. It’s no secret that the advanced tech is seeping into every corner of every industry, and even leaders like Anthropic’s Dario Amodei and IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva forewarn of a jobs apocalypse. The bottom rung of the corporate ladder is already burning; entry-level opportunities have been stagnating or declining across most employers, leaving young fresh-faced talent out in the cold. The percent of Gen Z employees between the ages of 21 and 25 was even cut in half at technology companies within the span of two years, according to a 2025 analysis from Pave.
“[Gen Z’s finances] also depends on the jobs that they’re in too,” Andrade explains, referencing the impact of AI on the workforce. “There’s been a lot of layoffs already across the economy, and that certainly impacts people as well.”
Not all hope is lost: USAA’s CEO tells Gen Z to start running their careers
Stepping back and looking at the stats, Gen Z has every right to feel dejected. But not all hope is lost, the USAA leader says. Budding professionals have the best shot at successful careers once they take ownership of their own paths.
“This is important to anybody that’s still young and coming up…Nobody cares more about your career than you do,” Andrade advises. “And to this day I remember that, because what that basically means is that this is up to you.”
“Other people can help open doors, but you’re the one that has to figure out what it is that you want to do with your life,” he continues. “What are you interested in? And don’t leave it for luck.”
The CEO received that critical advice while working at insurance giant American International Group (AIG). It was his first private-sector job after serving in several top U.S. government roles, and during the first five years post-career switch, Andrade says he approached work with “brute force.” He didn’t wait for a golden opportunity; taking matters into his own hands, Andrade succeeded by simply pouring all his energy into the job.
“I just had my head down, working hard…I never expected I’d be CEO of anything,” Andrade explains. “It was just doing my job right, and doing it well, and doors opened because of that.”
Nearly 40 years into his career across government, insurance, and financial services, the USAA CEO has witnessed how the jobs landscape has evolved. Namely, in the throes of the world’s newest labor market disruptor: AI. As tech continues to change the nature of work, Andrade says it’s more important than ever that Gen Zers interrogate what truly motivates them, and how they want to spend their careers.
“I think now, particularly with the onset of artificial intelligence, it’s important for kids—particularly the ones still in college and about to graduate, or [are] thinking about different degrees,” he says.
