As a child, you may have imagined what you wanted to be when you grew up.
Perhaps you wanted to be an astronaut, a doctor, or a veterinarian. Maybe you wanted to be an artist, a musician, or a writer.
According to a BT Group survey, DailyMail reported that children of this age have moved from wanting to be teachers to desiring to be online influencers. But that’s not the only shift in “dream jobs” in the last twenty-four years.
The survey found that between 2000 and 2024, young girls shifted their career aspirations. They moved away from wanting to become nurses, midwives, or hairdressers and began to dream about careers as fashion designers, video game designers, or social media marketers.
During the same timeframe, boys went from wanting to be engineers, doctors, sportspeople, and police officers to aspiring to be software engineers, influencers, data scientists, and builders.
As we age, however, responsibilities and circumstances set in, and dreams often get diluted or pushed aside. A new survey by Talker Research indicates that overall, 43% of Americans still have a “dream job” in mind, 46% do not, and 12% are unsure.
Interestingly, the survey reflected the changing work culture, with the desire for flexible, remote work ranking high.
Many hope for jobs that allow them to maintain a better work-life balance. A common wish is to work from home and comfortably cover living expenses, reported Newsweek.
Generational differences are notable; 61% of Gen Z participants reported having dream jobs, compared to 28% of Baby Boomers.
For those who still daydream about their dream job, Newsweek reported the survey’s top categories for current dream jobs, ranging from owning a business to being a music producer.
Many Americans aspire to self-employment and entrepreneurship, desiring the freedom to run their own businesses, whether it’s a jewelry store or a small restaurant.
Others dream of careers in creative fields, such as music production, YouTube content creation, fashion design, or writing.
Additionally, there were those who ranked jobs in helping professions, such as nursing, teaching, social work, or veterinary care, as a dream job.
Passion for animals and nature also ranked high, with dream jobs including zookeeper, veterinarian, or national park ranger.
