What did you want to be when you were growing up? A doctor, an engineer - or maybe a footballer or actor? We all had big plans for our futures¹ and believed there was a dream job waiting for us – one that would pay well and give great job satisfaction. But how realistic was that?

 

Today, in the UK at least, young people are being warned that some of their career hopes and dreams don't match the types of jobs available. Research by the charity Education and Employers suggests five times as many 17 and 18 year-olds in the UK want to work in art, culture, entertainment and sport than there are jobs.

 

The glamour² and excitement of working in these employment sectors³ is obviously a draw. But those looking for these types of job will be 'destined⁴ for disappointment'. That's what the report, Disconnected: Career aspirations⁵ and jobs in the UK, says. Writing about this for the BBC, Katherine Sellgren points out that while young people are keen to work in art, entertainment, culture and sport, the economy is unlikely to need them all. In the meantime, there is a shortfall of young people wanting to work in careers such as catering⁶ and retail⁷.

 

Previous research about the career aspirations of young people by the Office for National Statistics also found a 'reality gap' between their dreams and the sometimes disappointing truth by the time they reached their early to late-20s. Apart from those who aimed to go into teaching, fewer than one in 50 were in the jobs they had wanted – such as a doctor, vet⁸, firefighter or actor. Most were working as sales assistants, carers or in sales and marketing⁹.

 

While it's good to have aspirations, the aims of young people need to be realistic. This latest report suggests that children need to be made more aware of a wider variety of occupations at a younger age.  It also calls for improved careers advice in secondary schools. A spokeswoman for the Department for Work and Pensions told the BBC that "early careers advice can help young people set out on the right path to the job that channels their interests and unlocks their potential."

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