Gen Z losing faith in American Dream as traditional career paths fail

Gen Z is on the verge of opting out. Not out of laziness — out of disillusionment. We’ve inherited a roadmap that no longer leads anywhere, and for many of us, the American Dream feels more like a bedtime story than a blueprint for life.

I know this because I almost walked away from it too. But I didn’t. And now I’m building the tools to make sure others don’t have to.

I’m 23 years old, a first-generation American. My parents came here from China in the late ’90s, carrying little more than hope and an oversized suitcase. They believed — maybe more than anything — that hard work meant opportunity. They didn’t have much, but they had that belief. And through discipline and what I now recognize as unimaginable sacrifice, they carved out a life that gave me the freedom to dream bigger than they ever could.

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That dream led me to pave my own way. I started investing in 2nd grade with a custodian account I begged my parents to open. I dropped out of high school to build and sell my first company, a virtual reality startup. 

I then found myself starting Harvard at the height of the pandemic. From my dorm room, I participated in the COVID investing boom — memestocks, crypto, super-star fund managers… I embraced it all. And the eventual collapse of the mania inspired me to take action. I dropped out to build dub, a fintech platform to help all Americans invest with more clarity and confidence.

In many ways, I’m living proof that the American Dream is still possible. But I know I’m an outlier. And unless we make bold changes — fast — my generation will stop believing it’s even worth trying.

We recently partnered with Harris Poll to ask Americans how they really feel about their financial future. What we found is sobering. Sixty percent of Gen Z no longer believe a traditional 9-to-5 job will get them to their financial goals. Forty-three percent say side hustles are essential. Forty-one percent believe you have to be an entrepreneur just to make it. And something that hit me hard: only about half of Gen Z still sees owning a home as a meaningful financial milestone.

For many of us, success isn’t a white picket fence. It’s paying off debt. Supporting our parents. Having breathing room. The old roadmap — graduate, get a job, buy a house — sounds like fiction in today’s economy.

I’m living proof that the American Dream is still possible. But I know I’m an outlier. And unless we make bold changes — fast — my generation will stop believing it’s even worth trying.

This isn’t laziness. It’s adaptation. We’re rising costs, shrinking wages, and an education system that never taught us how money works. We’re the “FinTok Generation” — 62% of us turn to social media for financial advice. Not because it’s ideal — but because it’s all we’ve got. We didn’t grow up with financial advisors. So we take what we can get — TikToks, Reddit threads, group chats.

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And we’re not just passively watching. Sixty percent of Gen Z is already investing outside of retirement accounts. Sixty-five percent believe that’s our best shot at building wealth. But only 17% of Americans say they actually feel confident in how the stock market works. We’re out here trying. But we’re often guessing.

And the tools we’re using? A mixed bag. Seventy-two percent of Americans believe fintech has made investing more accessible — and it has. But too many of those platforms profit off confusion. They push people toward options trades, meme stocks, FOMO bets. That’s not investing. That’s gambling in a suit.

I built dub to flip that script. Instead of blindly investing, dub lets users copy the trades of real investors with real investing strategies. No hype. No TikTok influencers peddling the next billion dollar meme coin. Just transparency, long-term investing, and real expertise. And it only takes $100 to start.

We’re actually not re-inventing the wheel. We’re democratizing what the wealthy already have: access to expertise. Rich people don’t DIY their investments — they hire fancy wealth managers and invest with elite hedge funds. We’re making that experience available for all Americans. You no longer need wealth to build wealth. Anyone can now outsource the hard work of investing in a single tap. 

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But this isn’t just about dub. It’s a wake-up call to every company building for Gen Z.

We’re tired of being monetized to the brink. Tired of platforms profiting from the very confusion they create. Tired of watching tools that could empower our generation instead exploit us for short-term gains.

It’s why I built dub: to prove that mission-driven companies can create a brighter, more optimistic future — not just for shareholders, but for entire generations. If even 1% of Americans learn to invest better, we begin to show that anyone, from any background, can participate in the greatest wealth engine ever created: the American stock market.

Why do I call out other industry leaders? Because I’ve lived the alternative. My family came to Detroit with $10,000 a year and lived in section 8 housing — and today, I’m building one of the fastest-growing investing platforms in New York City. 

That’s the American Dream. And it shouldn’t stop with me.

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But to keep it alive, we need to build differently. We need to stop creating products that amplify the worst of human nature and profit off the confusion of my generation. We need tools that give Gen Z a reason to believe again — in the system, in themselves, and in the future of this country.

We’re redefining the Dream. I’m here to lead the way. But I can’t do it alone.

Here’s how we unlock the American Dream for Gen Z in 2025.

1. Build the right tools. Tech companies must stop profiting off risky behavior. Build tools that feel native to Gen Z, but nudge us toward long-term investing, not YOLO bets.

2. Teach financial literacy like it’s life or death — because it is. Start from the moment our children can read. Teach compounding. Teach ownership. Teach debt and credit. These are not electives. They’re survival skills.

3. Make ownership the new norm. Let every American feel — not just hear — that they’re part of this country’s wealth engine. When we own a piece of innovation, we believe in its future.

If Gen Z stops believing in the American Dream, we don’t just lose a generation. We lose the future of this country. But I believe we’re not beyond repair.

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When Gen Z sees a real path — we take it. We grind. We build. We help each other up. But if the path stays hidden or rigged, we’ll stop walking it altogether. And we’ll build a different one instead.

The American Dream made me. Now I’m working to make sure I’m not the last.