Becoming a footballer is still the top career choice for young boys, with girls opting for teaching as their dream job, according to research by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
The poll of 397 primary school children, conducted by LVQ Research, revealed that boys are most likely to aspire to sporting or ‘protection’ professions, while girls aspired to caring or nurturing professions.
One in 10 boys said they wanted to be a footballer when they grew up, with police officer or fireman coming in as joint second favourite with 7%.
Almost one in six girls (13%) said they would like to become a teacher, and 9% said they wanted to be a nurse.
Other professions appearing in the top 10 of youngsters’ aspirations were vet, hairdresser, dancer, doctor and driver.
Jobcentre Plus adviser, Jenni Vardy, said that when looking for work, it is often worth considering hobbies and interests, as people are more likely to be good at something they enjoy and which comes naturally to them.
Her tips for turning a hobby into job are:
- Ask yourself questions to identify whether a job already exists that involves your hobby, or is it something that would require you to start your own business?
- Does the job or career sector you are thinking of require specific qualifications? If so, don’t be put off. There are many opportunities to train/retrain to obtain these.
- If you don’t have a specific hobby, think about what you enjoy doing in your spare time. Do you enjoy being around people, or do you prefer spending time alone? If you like spending time helping out at your children’s school, you could obtain a teaching qualification to work with children. If surfing the internet and computers are your thing, consider web-design or IT.
- Discuss your thoughts with a friend or an adviser to sound out different ideas and work out how a new job would really fit in with your life and best suit your requirements.
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