Majority feel their schools are doing a good job of preparing them for financial success and a world changed by AI, though many still harbor concerns about how AI will impact their future job prospects.
July 28, 2026 – A new Junior Achievement survey, with data collection by Ipsos, reveals the majority of American teens 13-17 years old are generally positive about their future, with 68% feeling either “optimistic” (34%) or “hopeful” (34%). As they head back to school, nearly nine in ten (87%) teens aged 13-17 somewhat or strongly agree they learn best when they can apply learning to real-world situations. Furthermore, most teens feel their schools are doing a good job teaching them how to be financially successful (65% strongly/somewhat agree) and preparing them for an AI-driven world (61%). Despite this preparation, over half (55%) remain somewhat or strongly concerned about AI’s impact on their ability to get a job in the future.
Detailed Findings
1. Feelings About the Future
- Over two-thirds of American teens aged 13-17 (68%) feel positively about the future, describing their feelings as either “optimistic” (34%) or “hopeful” (34%).
- Another 14% describe themselves as “curious.”
- Less than one in six teens 13-17 years old feel negatively about the future, with 10% feeling “concerned,” 5% feeling “unprepared,” and 1% feeling “sad.”
2. Real-World Learning
- Nearly nine in ten American teens aged 13-17 (87%) agree with the statement “I learn best when I can apply what I’m learning to real-world situations”, with half (50%) strongly agreeing and 37% somewhat agreeing.
- Further, less than one in ten (9%) neither agree nor disagree with this statement, while 2% somewhat disagree, and 0% strongly disagree.
3. Financial Preparation in Schools
- Roughly two-thirds (65%) of teens agree (27% strongly, 38% somewhat) with the statement “my school does a good job teaching things that will help me be financially successful in the future.”
- About one in six teens aged 13-17 (16%) indicate they neither agree nor disagree with this statement, while nearly one in five (18%) disagree (11% somewhat, 7% strongly) that their school is adequately preparing them for financial success.
1. AI Preparation and Job Concerns
- Six in ten teens aged 13-17 (61%) agree (23% strongly, 38% somewhat) with the statement “my school is doing a good job of preparing me for a world being changed by Artificial Intelligence.” About one in five (18%) neither agree nor disagree, while a similar proportion (19%) disagree (13% somewhat, 6% strongly).
- Despite feeling prepared by their schools, more than half of teens 13-17 (55%) agree (21% strongly, 34% somewhat) with the statement “I am concerned about the impact AI will have on my ability to get a job in the future.” Similar proportions of teens 13-17 neither agree nor disagree (20%) as do disagree (22% — 13% somewhat, 9% strongly) with this concern.
These are findings of a Junior Achievement survey, with data collection provided by Ipsos, conducted between June 29-30, 2026. For this survey, a nationally representative sample of 1,005 U.S. teens aged 13 to 17 were surveyed online in English. The results of this research have a credibility interval of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points for all respondents.
For full results, you can view the annotated questionnaire from Ipsos.
