Why you’re probably not doing your Dream Job

When you were 15 years old or a teenager, what kind of job did you anticipate holding in your 30s?

Asking a teenager what they want to be when they grow up is a timeless way to gauge how young people think about the future. The top jobs listed below are the most common answers given by 15 year old teenagers, as captured from surveys conducted in 2000 and 2018.

In the year 2000, the most popular jobs listed by teenagers were medical doctor and athlete, with decorator and military officer at the bottom of the list. Similarly, in 2018, the top jobs expected by teenagers were medical doctor, lawyer, and athlete. Moreover, half of the teenagers surveyed in both years expected to do the same 10 jobs.

It has been two decades now, so these children are in their mid-30s. The question is, did they get what they wanted? not really. Only a few teenagers’ career aspirations evolved into actual jobs later in life. For instance, only less than 0.5% of working-age people in countries surveyed in the 2000 survey expected to become doctors actually work as doctors. This discrepancy highlights a misalignment problem: many teenagers expect to have a certain job in the future, but they do not plan on obtaining the required education or experience to qualify for these careers.

For instance, they should plan to attend college if they anticipate getting a job that requires one. Interestingly, the survey also discovered that among the children who anticipate having a job that requires a professional education, 1 in 5 had no desire to go to university. This means that they probably won't be doing the job they dreamed of. Consequently, researchers caution about the negative outcomes of misalignment or having no alignment.

Based on these findings, teenagers who are misaligned at 15 years old are twice as likely to be unemployed or not in school at age 25. In contrast, students who plan to obtain more education than necessary for their expected job (over-aligned) tend to enjoy higher salaries throughout their careers compared to misaligned kids. Thus, helping teenagers align their career aspirations with their education and experience plans is crucial for their future success.

Solving the problem of misalignment requires providing young people with diverse experiences such as job shadowing, worksite visits, volunteering, and participation in job fairs. Unfortunately, the survey results suggest that many students lack these opportunities. Less than 50% of teenagers in the 2018 survey reported participating in either job shadowing or worksite visits. A similar percentage missed out on opportunities to attend job fairs.

The issue of misalignment tends to disproportionately affect children from less affluent backgrounds, demonstrating an entrenchment of inequality. Roughly 1 in 3 underprivileged students expressed career goals that were not aligned with their current education level. Conversely, among more affluent teens, only 1 in 10 are misaligned. Additionally, the researchers investigated which of these jobs are susceptible to automation. It turns out that about 40% of 15-year-olds anticipate working in a field that faces automation threats in their country.

In conclusion, the issue of career aspirations’ misalignment among teenagers does not only reveal a mismatch between their expectations and future plans, but it also highlights deeper social inequality issues. Addressing this problem requires a more equitable distribution of opportunities, especially for those with fewer resources. When we support teenagers in aligning their career aspirations with their education and experience plans, we can help prepare them for a fulfilling future and for contributing meaningfully to society.

What did you anticipate becoming when you were 15 years old? It addresses the fundamental question of who you anticipate being and how you envision the world. Whether or not it’s fair to ask 15-year-olds this question, these surveys reveal that they require more assistance in coming up with answers.