Here’s what today’s kids want to be when they grow up
Mashable
Posted On November 26, 2015
If you’re thinking cowboy, princess and astronaut are typical careers choices for the pre-adolescent child, you’re out of step with the times.
This year’s annual Fatherly Imagination Report — based on 500 responses by kids ages 1-10 — discovered what this generation’s kids really want to be when they grow up. The most popular answer of 2015 across all age groups was — drumroll please — a professional athlete.
While most of the children interviewed dreamed of becoming the next Lebron James or Serena Williams, others hoped to find careers like doctors, firefighters, teachers and vets.
“For me personally, as a dad, the study underlined the fact that if I want my daughter to grow up to be whatever and whoever she wants to be, it’s all about exposing her to as much as possible – and this also means being deliberate about the toys, games and media we bring into our home,” Fatherly cofounder Simon Isaac tells Mashable.
When sorted by region, kids in the northeast and southwest areas of the United States most wanted to be doctors. Kids in the southeast wanted to help animals by being veterinarians, and kids in the midwest desired to teach the future minds of America.
Children in the northwest were most likely to dream of becoming superstar athletes.
When sorted by male and female response, Fatherly found that boys were more likely than girls to chose pro athlete as their future career, while girls were overwhelmingly more likely to respond with doctor as their desired profession.
“While we were pleased to see more girls than ever before choosing professions such as doctor and scientist, it was surprising how little overlap there was between genders,” Isaac says. “While professional athlete was the top career choice for boys, almost no girls chose this route, and vice-verse for teachers.”
When careers responses were sorted by age group, a significant difference between realistic and unrealistic profession choices emerge between the ages of 4-5. Here is where the rate of children who desire to become a superhero transitions to the desire to become a veterinarian or a scientist.
Interestingly enough, in all but two age groups is doctor listed in the top 3 choices.
Although only 35% percent of respondents chose a career in a STEM related field, girls chose more STEM careers than boys, at 41% versus 32%.
“Kids career aspirations are a reflection of their environment – the careers, media, and experiences we expose them to.,” Isaac says. “In many ways, this study is a litmus test to how we are doing on key issues such as STEM education and girls empowerment.”
While the infographics Fatherly created include the most popular future career choices by surveyed children, other answers included “Kitty Cat,” “Mattress Tester,” “American Ninja Warrior,” and “Hedge Fund Manager.”
One cheeky child said they just wanted to be “taller.”
And to the kids who don’t yet know what they want to be — don’t worry, you have plenty of time to decide.
I personally wanted to be an “animal doctor,” but alas, the cries of injured animals and amount of gushing blood forced me to change career paths. And that led to the article you’re reading now.
