What Goldman’s Intern Survey Reveals About Young Wall Street

Want a crystal ball into the future of Wall Street? You might try starting with Goldman Sachs’ annual intern survey.

Goldman polled around 2,100 summer analysts and associates for its 10th annual intern survey, asking about everything from AI use to morning commutes to their homebuying ambitions.

Technology dominated the topics covered in this year’s survey, with close to 100% of respondents saying they use AI in their personal lives, up from 86% in 2023. At the same time, the results seemed to underscore a desire for more face-to-face interactions and the ability to unplug from technology.

“While today’s future leaders are undeniably digitally-native,” said Jacqueline Arthur, Goldman’s global head of human capital management, the survey shows these interns “are craving in-person collaboration and experiences.” She added that the interns were selected from a record pool of 360,000 applicants.

Business Insider combed through the data to pull key insights from the class of Gen Zers who might one day lead the world’s biggest banks.

AI use and fears

About 97% of interns reported using AI tools in their personal lives, mostly to support their writing (31%), look up or check facts (19%), or get advice (16%). Though 84% of them think that AI will have a net positive impact, a whopping 98% think it should be “heavily” or “somewhat” regulated.

Some of the hesitation has to do with data: 54% of interns were cautious about sharing information on certain topics with AI tools, and 37% were nervous about how the tools might store or use their data. More than half of those surveyed said they didn’t want AI to be involved at all in creative work, like art, music, and books.

Many of the interns seem to believe that AI will transform their experience on the internet, with 77% saying they think it will replace search engines at some point.

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The most important skill for the future, according to 69% of the interns? How to give AI effective prompts.

Spending money

When it comes to buying power, 98% preferred to pay in full instead of the buy now, pay later services that tend to be popular with Gen Zers. To actually make that payment, 57% of them use a digital wallet, up from 49% in 2024 and 44% in 2023. Twenty-two percent said they use an app like Venmo, and 19% use a physical card. A measly 2% use cash.

Though online shopping seems to be everywhere, 59% said they prefer shopping in person. Food and fitness are the biggest categories for fun purchases — 37% of interns said they spend their extra funds on dining or takeout, and 15% said they spend on wellness.

Communication and life outside work

Outside the office, the interns said being with friends and family is their favorite way to relax, followed by working out or playing sports. Some of their favorite books included classics, like “1984” and “The Great Gatsby.” There were also some more stereotypical banker titles: “Rich Dad Poor Dad,” “How to Win Friends and Influence People,” and “The Psychology of Money.”

Some 74% of interns said they use tools like do not disturb to limit screen time, up from 65% in 2023.

Career expectations

Most of the interns envision mentorship as a part of the workplace — 84% of them said they “expect to be paired with a mentor when starting a new job.” As they enter the workforce, 52% plan to stay in their first job for two to five years.

In-person work has been back on Wall Street for some time, and 47% of interns said they would rather communicate with colleagues face-to-face, compared to 35% who said they prefer Teams messages.

What they want for future selves

Professionally driven as they may be, the Goldman interns are also ambitious about their personal and romantic lives. Among those surveyed, 97% expect to buy a home at some point, up from 85% in 2024.

And many plan to fill that home with people — 96% of the interns said they expect to get married or have a formal relationship, up from 92% in 2024 and 89% in 2023. More than half said they have either met or expect to meet their significant other in real life instead of online.

The biggest year-over-year percentage jump for lifestyle questions relates to kids: 87% of the interns plan to raise children, compared to 61% last year.