London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Sep 04, 2025

The world of work is changing, but the career aspirations of teenagers are not

Though the nature of work has changed dramatically since the turn of the century, kids' career aspirations have not.

In 2000, the OECD asked 15-year-olds what they wanted to be when they grew up. Some 47% of boys and 53% of girls picked 10 careers, including doctors, teachers, lawyers and business managers.

In 2018, the OECD asked again. Though the nature of work has changed dramatically since the turn of the century, kids’ answers have not: An even larger share of both boys and girls say they want to go into the same 10 professions.

“The future that students see for themselves does not square with the future of work,” said Andreas Schliecher, head of the education directorate at the OECD.

He said that schools and teachers should do more to make sure kids know about the diverse range of careers that exist, noting that kids who are exposed to more kinds of work, either through internships or job fairs, tended to like school more. “The more time they invest in career activities, the more they see the value of school,” he said.

Schliecher said there were some mismatches in the data. Among students who were top performers in math and science, for example, a far greater proportion of boys pick a career in math- and science-related fields than girls (in Finland, Estonia and Serbia, that gap was the smallest). High-performing students from more disadvantaged backgrounds, meanwhile, are far less likely to say they will pursue higher education. While education can’t make everyone perform the same, he said, it should help equalize what equally high-performers do.

The report uses data from PISA, a test administered to 15-year-olds in 79 countries and territories every three years, as well as survey responses. It was released today, the second day of the World Economic Forum summit in Davos, Switzerland. On the first day of the summit, some Davos attendees visited Davos Secondary School to talk about the jobs of the future (last year they hit the primary school).

In the report, Germany and Switzerland stand out for having the most diverse set of career expectations, reflecting “the strength of career guidance and exposure to a variety of occupations in these countries,” it says.

Studies show that teenage career aspirations are a good predictor of the jobs they go on to get. While it may seem crazy to start thinking about work in primary school, Nick Chambers, CEO of Education Employers, a charity that aims to bridge the gap between work and school, said it’s not about picking a career as much as knowing how many interesting ones are out there.

For the survey portion of the study, The OECD teamed up with Education Employers, who asked 14- to 18-year-olds what issues mattered to them, their career aspirations, and their concerns about the future (they had 8,000 responses, 80% of which were from the UK). The most desired careers were in:

Art and culture, entertainment, sport (22%)
Health, social care, social work (20%)
Legal, professional, scientific and technical (16%)
Education (16%)
But these do not match where there are vacancies, Chambers said.

Students seem to have processed the news about letting the machines do the math: the most important skills they think they will need for work include communication (55%), determination (38%) and people skills (32%), with numeracy and digital skills coming in a surprisingly low 9% each.

The study found that parents were the biggest influence on young people’s aspirations, and in a touching bit of news for them, family was cited as the most important “issue” at 45%, followed by 41% for health and 31% for education.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Putin Celebrates ‘Unprecedentedly High’ Ties with China as Gazprom Seals Power of Siberia-2 Deal
China Unveils New Weapons in Grand Military Parade as Xi Hosts Putin and Kim
Queen Camilla’s Teenage Courage: Fended Off Attempted Assault on London Train, New Biography Reveals
Scottish Brothers Set Record in Historic Pacific Row
Rapper Cardi B Cleared of Liability in Los Angeles Civil Assault Trial
Google Avoids Break-Up in U.S. Antitrust Case as Stocks Rise
Couple celebrates 80th wedding anniversary at assisted living facility in Lancaster
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
The White House on LinkedIn Has Changed Their Profile Picture to Donald Trump
"Insulted the Prophet Muhammad": Woman Burned Alive by Angry Mob in Niger State, Nigeria
Trump Responds to Death Rumors – Announces 'Missile City'
Court of Appeal Allows Asylum Seekers to Remain at Essex Hotel Amid Local Tax Boycott Threats
Germany in Turmoil: Ukrainian Teenage Girl Pushed to Death by Illegal Iraqi Migrant
United Krack down on human rights: Graham Linehan Arrested at Heathrow Over Three X Posts, Hospitalised, Released on Bail with Posting Ban
Asian and Middle Eastern Investors Avoid US Markets
Ray Dalio Warns of US Shift to Autocracy
Eurozone Inflation Rises to 2.1% in August
Russia and China Sign New Gas Pipeline Deal
China's Robotics Industry Fuels Export Surge
Suntory Chairman Resigns After Police Probe
Gold Price Hits New All-Time Record
Von der Leyen's Plane Hit by Suspected Russian GPS Interference in an Incident Believed to Be Caused by Russia or by Pro-Peace or by Anti-Corruption European Activists
UK Fintechs Explore Buying US Banks
Greece Suspends 5% of Schools as Birth Rate Drops
Apollo to Launch $5 Billion Sports Investment Vehicle
Bolsonaro Trial Nears Close Amid US-Brazil Tension
European Banks Push for Lower Cross-Border Barriers
Poland's Offshore Wind Sector Attracts Investors
Nvidia Reveals: Two Mystery Customers Account for About 40% of Revenue
Woody Allen: "I Would Be Happy to Direct Trump Again in a Film"
Pickles are the latest craze among Generation Z in the United States.
Deadline Day Delivers Record £125m Isak Move and Donnarumma to City
Nestlé Removes CEO Laurent Freixe Following Undisclosed Relationship with Subordinate
Giuliani Seriously Injured in Accident – Trump to Award Him the Presidential Medal of Freedom
EU is getting aggressive: Four AfD Candidates Die Unexpectedly Ahead of North Rhine-Westphalia Local Elections
Lula and Putin Hold Strategic BRICS Discussions Ahead of Trump–Putin Summit
WhatsApp is rolling out a feature that looks a lot like Telegram.
Investigations Reveal Rise in ‘Sex-for-Rent’ Listings Across Canada Exploiting Vulnerable Tenants
Chinese and Indian Leaders Pursue Amity Amid Global Shifts
European Union Plans for Ukraine Deployment
ECB Warns Against Inflation Complacency
Concerns Over North Cyprus Casino Development
Shipping Companies Look Beyond Chinese Finance
Rural Exodus Fueling European Wildfires
China Hosts Major Security Meeting
Chinese Police Successfully Recover Family's Savings from Livestream Purchases
Germany Marks a Decade Since Migrant Wave with Divisions, Success Stories, and Political Shifts
Liverpool Defeat Arsenal 1–0 with Szoboszlai Free-Kick to Stay Top of Premier League
Prince Harry and King Charles to Meet in First Reunion After 20 Months
Chinese Stock Market Rally Fueled by Domestic Investors
×