Survey: Teens Want Job Security

By John Gehring

Most high school students think it's more important to find a meaningful, secure job than to make a lot of money, preliminary findings from a new survey on youth and employment show.

But of those survey respondents who have a current job or held one last summer, far more said they worked to get extra spending cash than to save for college or help them decide what job they would like when they're older.

Developed by the Families and Work Institute, a New York City-based nonprofit group, the survey was conducted as part of the institute's "Ask the Children 2000" research program. Some 1,028 10th through 12th graders from across the country responded to the survey, which asked the students about their work experience, use of...