What do teens want to be when they grow up? Rich and famous

ONE in ten teens have unrealistic expectations about their future jobs, wanting to be professional footballers, YouTubers, “Apple geniuses” or ballet dancers, a new study shows.

Very few teenagers aged 14 and 15 want to work in less prestigious jobs such as retail, hospitality or manufacturing, an Australian Institute of Family Studies survey of 3378 teenagers has found. This is despite the fact that these jobs make up half of the workforce.

The study, released today, also shows boys and girls have very different views about what they want to do in their careers, with boys wanting to work in engineering, IT or construction, and girls in law, teaching or psychology.

“The highly gendered career aspirations may have been shaped at a much younger age by parents’ occupations, the local area labour market, or their own interests and perceptions of available jobs,” Institute director Anne Hollonds said.

Teenagers with poorer academic results have a better idea of a future career than kids who excel, the study found.

However AIFS researcher Dr Jennifer Baxter said 40 per cent of 14-15 year-olds in the study had no idea of their career future.

“Even those doing well in school were not always clear about future plans,” Dr Baxter said.

“A high proportion of girls with high Year 9 NAPLAN numeracy scores did not know what career they might pursue.

“By contrast, both boys and girls in the lowest quartile of Year 9 NAPLAN numeracy results were the most likely to know what they want to do.

“These teens could often visualise specific jobs, such as working as plumbers or hairdressers.”