British Children Are Aiming For Careers In Technology, Says Study

By : On : 23 Jan 2018 17:34
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A new study has revealed that more British children are aiming for careers in technology.

When you ask kids ‘what do you want to be when you are older’ the answer is normally singer, vet, actor, or if you were a strange child like myself, an archaeologist just like Indiana Jones.

However the times are a changing and now that kids are surrounded by technology and the internet, they now dream about having jobs such as vloggers, animators and software developers.

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The research, which was carried out by O2 and children’s charity NSPCC, asked children aged 5-16 what career they intend to pursue and the results has led to them being dubbed the ‘digital generation’.

More and more children are using tablets, mobile phones and other gadgets on a daily basis meaning they probably know how to work these better than you do.

The average child is therefore quite confident using technology and accepts that this will be a massive part of their future.

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That means when you ask a kid ‘what do you want to be when you grow up’ the more traditional answers such as doctor and teacher are being replaced with the likes of web designer and coder.

Bill Eyres, Director of Sustainability for O2, said:

Our research shows that children are excited by the opportunities that technology can bring.

We also know parents want to encourage their children to embrace technology and future proof their career paths, but in spite of this, some are still nervous of actively supporting their children to enjoy the online world.

As well as polling 2,000 children, the study also surveyed 2,000 parents who said that they would be more comfortable if their child followed a more traditional career.

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One quarter of parents admitted they do not encourage their children to embrace gadgets.

Although three quarters chat to their kids about what they did at school, two thirds do not ask them what they do online.

One in ten parents believe this is due to them having a lack of confidence in talking to their children about online safety.

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Although eight in 10 parents know that it is vital their children learn digital skills, only 11 per cent actively encourage their children to embrace it.

These results come after leading economists predicted that 44 per cent of traditional jobs in the UK economy could feasibly be automated by the time children at school today enter the world of work.

The robots certainly appear to be taking over.

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Below is the children’s top career choices:

YouTuber / Vlogger (30 per cent)
Animator (15 per cent)
Software Developer (14 per cent)
Web Designer (12 per cent)
Coder (12 per cent)

And here are the parent’s top career choices for their children:

Doctor (28 per cent)
Teacher (24 per cent)
Software Developer (23 per cent)
Lawyer (23 per cent)
Engineer (22 per cent)

There’s going to be a few awkward chats in UK households moving forward then…