YOUNGSTERS SHUN HIGH SALARIES FOR "INTERESTING" JOBS
Here's what young people say is important about their future careers, and what jobs they want to have
JOB satisfaction and security are more important to young people than having high salaries, new analysis has revealed.
A survey from the Office for National Statistics asked 16-21 yearolds what was most important to them in their future careers.
Nearly three-quarters (71%) said that having an interesting job was very important to them, while 60% said that job security was also very important.
Interestingly, just a quarter of 1621 year olds said that having a high income was very important.
The data also shows the difference between the dream jobs we desire when younger… and the ones we actually get.
The ONS conducted a survey in 2011 that asked 16-21 year olds what job they wanted to work in when they were older.
The data then shows the proportion of 22-29 year olds actually in those jobs in 2017.
Back in 2011, some 11.2% of people said they wanted to work in the artistic, literary and media field - which includes jobs such as writers, actors and producers.
But in reality just 1.4% of 22-29 year olds do so.
That is likely because jobs in this sector are often unstable - meaning many could be freelance positions with no real guarantee of when the next job will come in. Some 8.8% of 16-21 year olds aspired to work in teaching and education jobs in 2011, of which 4.5% ended up doing so. A further 8.2% of young people said they wanted to work in health professional roles, such as pharmacists, dentists and vets though just 1.7% did so as of last year. The most common jobs for people aged 22-29 have changed a little, too, from 2011-2017.
While sales assistants and retail cashiers remain the most common job (at 6.9% in 2011 and 6.2% in 2017) others have shifted in rank.
The caring professional service was the second most popular job type for 22-29 year olds in 2017, up from fourth place in 2011.
Teaching and education was the second most common job in 2011, but dropped to third place as of last year.
While young people are less concerned about having a job with a high salary, it seems their estimations of how much they are likely to earn are wildly off the mark. Nearly a third (33%) of 16-21 year olds say they expect a salary of between £30,000-£39,999 by the age of 30 if they have a degree. But data from the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings shows a more sobering figure - with only 19% achieving that much.