Teen Dream Jobs Compared To Current Workplace Realities

2 min read

by Homer Nievera, Executive Chronicles |

Everyone has a job they want to do when they grow up. Whether it’s one that your parents pressure you into, or one you dream of yourself. I always wanted to either work for a zoo or be a professional baseball player. As I grew up I realized that neither profession was a fit for me and moved to a very enjoyable career in marketing. Most kids are similar to me and have big career aspirations in their teen years. But is there a growing disparity between the jobs that we all dream about and the jobs that are actually available?

To help answer that question, C+R Research, a marketing research firm located in Chicago surveyed 476 teens to find out the top dream jobs that teens in America aspire for. The goal of the survey was see how those dream jobs fit into workplace realities. They then took the results of the survey and turned it into an infographic that can be seen here.

Let’s explore some of the interesting takeaways from the survey:

Of the twenty-five most common jobs available in American today, only seven percent of teens want to hold these jobs. Of the twenty-five most common jobs, only registered nurses, sales reps, elementary school teachers, accountants and construction workers are jobs that today’s teens actually want.
Twenty percent of American teens want one of fifteen jobs that combine to make up only one percent of the workforce. Think jobs like musicians, actor, filmmaker and photographer. Teens seem to want jobs that aren’t out there or jobs that have very little demand.

There amounts to a huge problem for the future of the American workforce. While kids aren’t dreaming about servicing wind turbines or driving ambulances, these jobs need to be fill and are in huge demand and expected to grow in the next ten years. To learn more about the jobs that young people want and their chances of actually landing them, check out the full infographic from C+R research.