Survey: Teens See Future 'Dream Jobs' In Health Care, Information Technology
DETROIT (WWJ) - Midwest teens are wise beyond their years when considering their future careers, a new survey reveals.
In a recent survey, Everest Institute asked high school students in six Midwestern states the field of work that would provide them their "dream job."
The No. 1 answer: a job in health care, cited by nearly one in five (19 percent) of those polled. A career in computer and information technology (IT) ranked second at 16 percent, followed by a job in education, named by 10 percent. No other "dream job" ranked higher than six percent.
"The survey indicates, perhaps a surprise to some, that young people are quite savvy and realistic about the paths to successful employment, recognizing that health care and IT are among the hottest careers today," Ken Sigmon, regional vice president of operations at Everest Institute, said in a statement.
Interestingly, it seems gender stereotypes in the top three dream job categories persist. Female respondents were more than twice as likely than their male peers to select health care, and three times more likely to select teaching. Conversely, young men were twice as likely as young women to select computer and information technology as their dream jobs.
"Some stereotypes apparently die hard," Sigmon said.
The teens surveyed also acknowledged the role education plays in gaining employment. More than eight in 10 (84 percent) agree it is important to have both good grades and a college degree.
Also, fairly high percentages -- about three-quarters or more -- indicated professional certificates or licenses (79 percent of respondents), job experience (75 percent) and prior training in a field (74 percent) are important factors in landing a job.
The Everest poll results are based on the responses of 300 high school students, ages 14 to 18, living in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri and Ohio. The online survey was conducted in late November.
