2026 Summer Intern Survey

Summary

• 150 Stifel summer interns from 96 colleges representing 20 offices and speaking 20 languages participated in the 2026 Summer Intern Survey.
• 56% of interns stated that working from home is not at all important for their job, while most would still like to work from home at least once a week if given the option.
• 14% of interns intend to stay at their first job for more than 10 years, while 29% expect to move within one to three years.
• 73% of interns plan to work 0 days in retirement, 24% plan to work 1-2 days, 52% aim to retire between ages 50-54, 19% aim to retire between ages 55-65, 22% want to work as long as they can, 3% aim to retire between ages 65-75, 1% aim to retire after age 75, 3% have no plan, 1% are unsure, 1% are retired, 1% are disabled, 1% are deceased, 1% are incarcerated, 1% are in the military, 1% are in school, 1% are unemployed, 1% are self-employed, 1% are retired, 1% are disabled, 1% are deceased, 1% are incarcerated, 1% are in the military, 1% are in school, 1% are unemployed, 1% are self-employed.
• 61% like the idea of dining in a restaurant with robots as waiters, 91% would not feel comfortable having an AI bot as a primary care doctor, 66% are somewhat to very likely to attend a virtual entertainment event, 68% prefer shopping in-store for items like apparel, footwear, 50% think of "Unique Experiences" when the word "Luxury" comes to mind, 50% think of designer brands.
• 61% use a physical credit or debit card, 37% use cash, 2% use a virtual wallet.
• 27% believe cryptocurrencies will gain widespread acceptance as a form of payment.
• 128 respondents use Venmo, 103 use Apple Pay, 77 use Zelle, 15 use PayPal.
• 14% invest in individual stocks, 44% invest in mutual funds, 42% invest in exchange traded funds (ETFs), less than 3% invest in other options.
• 50% of interns hold their investments for over a year, 24% hold for 1-3 years, 25% hold for 3-5 years, 1% hold for 5-10 years.
• 81% prefer receiving investment guidance through their own research, 54% trust their own research, 31% rely on a financial advisor.
• 85% invest for wealth accumulation, 12% invest for retirement savings, 3% invest for short-term gains.
• 62% are starting to save for retirement now, 30% will start saving between 22-25 years of age.
• 50% believe their generation will be worse off financially than their parents, 80% feel confident in their understanding of credit scores.
• 65% would not be willing to travel less to have a positive impact on sustainability.
• 29.3% believe environmental risks are the biggest threat to society over the next 20 years, 27.3% believe geopolitical risks, 40% believe artificial intelligence, automation & cybersecurity threats, 2.7% believe health risks, 0.7% believe other threats.
• 58% would be willing to change their diet, 59% say slower shipping is worth it for a smaller carbon footprint, 46% are willing to pay $1-$5 more for food at a restaurant if the food was "sustainable".
• 71% said a company's ESG policy does not influence their investment decisions.
• 97% expect to raise children, 99% expect to get married or have a serious relationship, 91% want to have a pet, 91% say staying close to family is the biggest factor in deciding where to move for a job.
• 98% expect to purchase a car in the future, 37% prefer gas powered, 30% have no preference, 26% prefer hybrid, 7% prefer electric.
• 71% selected Spotify as their preferred music platform, 57% selected Instagram as their preferred social media platform, 38% have Netflix as their go-to streaming platform, 33% said Nike is their preferred athletic footwear brand.
• 65% have purchased a product after seeing an influencer/content creator post it.
• 74% expect that drone delivery services will become a common method for receiving goods in the future.
• 43% expect NVIDIA to be the largest Magnificent Seven company in 10 years.
• 95% are using AI in their personal life, 62% use it mainly for research purposes, 82% believe that AI is helpful to humanity, 67% have second-guessed the legitimacy of an article because of generative AI.
• 84% of interns say AI helps them learn and retain information, 33% worry they have become too reliant on it to solve problems.
• 23% are not okay with their data being used to train/improve AI.
• 44% use ChatGPT most frequently, 40% use Claude most frequently.
• 10.6% expect 20%+ of current jobs will be replaced by AI by the end of the decade, 31.9% expect 15-20%, 34.0% expect 10-15%, 14.2% expect 5-10%, 9.2% expect 0-5%.
• 62% believe the biggest disruption from AI will be in the Information Technology sector, 27% in Communication, 6% in Financials, 5% in Energy.
• 90% of respondents believe artificial intelligence will have a meaningful impact on the future GDP growth.
• 74% believe GMO, 26% believe Non-GMO, 47% prefer Text, 53% prefer Call, 38% are Morning person, 62% are Night Person, 37% prefer Digital Notes, 63% prefer Paper Notes, 50% prefer Group Work, 50% prefer Solo Work, 68% prefer E-mailing at work, 32% prefer Calling at work, 55% prefer Formal, 45%