teens select career in “business” as job of choice for third consecutive year
“Doctor” and “Teacher” tie for second place; teen salary gender gap narrows
Colorado Springs, Colo. — For the third consecutive year, teens selected a career in business as their ideal job, according to a new JA Worldwide (Junior Achievement) “Interprise PollTM.” “Business” occupations received 9.7 percent of the responses, “doctor” and “teacher” each received 6.2 percent, and “entertainer” received 5.7 percent.
Owning their own business appeals to more than two-thirds of students (68.4%). Male students are much more inclined to be entrepreneurs (74.1%) than their female classmates (62.9%). Among ethnic groups, black students indicate a greater preference for owning their own business (79.1%) and white students show the lowest preference (63.5 percent). The results reflect a survey of 1,065 teens between the ages of 13 and 18.
Two years ago, salary expectations for male teens in the 2003 poll exceeded female expectations for the careers of “businessperson,” “doctor,” “entertainment,” and “computer field.” For these four career fields in the 2005 poll, gender-based earnings margins narrowed, disappeared, or reversed, reflecting a greater sense of potential earning power among female students.
In many cases, occupational choices and earnings expectations are driven by gender. Nearly five times as many female students (9.4%) indicate that becoming some type of “doctor” is their ideal career compared to only 1.9 percent of males who provide that preference. By somewhat smaller, but still impressive margins, female students express a greater interest than their male counterparts in becoming a “teacher” (7.2% to 4.1%) and “lawyer” (5.3% to 3.1%).
Given sharp distinctions in career preferences, it is not surprising that 81.2 percent of female students indicate a need for at least a four-year college degree for their ideal career, compared to only 73.2 percent of male teens.
Teens will have a chance to learn more about potential careers during National Job Shadow Day, a nationwide initiative that kicks off on February 2, 2005. Sponsored by ING, Nelnet, and Valpak, the National Job Shadow Day Coalition aims to further student career exploration by pairing young people with on-the-job “hosts” at their workplace. Last year, one million students were able to visit more than 100,000 workplaces throughout the nation. The coalition includes America’s Promise - The Alliance for Youth, the U.S. Department of Labor, the U.S. Department of Education and Junior Achievement.
Students from 80 JA locations across the country participated in the “2005 JA Interprise Poll on Kids and Careers.” This is the sixth time this poll has been conducted, and 1,065 students voluntarily participated. The poll was administered in October and November of 2004, and most participants were involved in JA programs. For a complete summary of the results, please visit www.ja.org.
About JA Worldwide (Junior Achievement)
JA Worldwide is the world’s largest organization dedicated to educating young people about business, economics and free enterprise. Through a dedicated volunteer network, JA Worldwide provides in-school and after-school programs for students in grades K-12. JA Worldwide offers educational programs that focus on seven key content areas: business, citizenship, economics, entrepreneurship, ethics/character, financial literacy, and career development. Today more than 140 offices reach four million students in the United States, with over two million students served by operations in 98 countries worldwide. For more information, visit www.ja.org.