When I was 15 years old, I expected to have a job as a singer, teacher, or lawyer when I turned 30. This question has been asked to millions of teenagers around the world for more than 20 years, and it is important because it can give us insight into how a generation of young people view their future.
This visualization shows all the jobs that 15 year olds listed in the year 2000. The top job was medical doctor, but there were also athlete, decorator, and military officer. Lower on the list were jobs like pharmacist and real estate agent. Researchers tried to simplify the list by clustering the jobs into broader categories, and the top 10 jobs for girls were nearly half of all kids expected to do.
Fast forward to 2018, and this question was asked again to 15 year olds in a much larger group. Again, the top answers were doctor, lawyer, and athlete. However, when researchers simplified the list, half of all kids expected to do the same 10 jobs as in 2000.
One thing that changed from 2000 to 2018 was that in 2000, 14% of kids didn’t name a job, but in 2018, that number jumped to 25%. This is a problem because research has shown that ambition, even at an early age, plays a huge part in people’s professional outcomes.
To help students think more clearly about their future, they need to explore various careers, maybe by visiting workplaces, and it is useful if they have experienced a workplace by working part-time or volunteering. Unfortunately, only 40% of students in the survey said they participated in job shadowing or worksite visits. Around 15% of 15 year olds said they participated in job fairs, suggesting that they are not getting the support they need to answer this question of what they expect to be when they grow up. This lack of support disproportionately affects disadvantaged kids, as the research found that among the most affluent kids only about 1 in 10 are misaligned, but among the poorest kids about 1 in 3 are misaligned, thus entrenching existing inequality. Furthermore, 40% of 15 year olds surveyed expected to do a job at risk of automation in their country. This raises the question of whether it is fair to ask 15 year olds this question, but surveys indicate that they need more help coming up with their answers.