Being a doctor is still the most popular career choice for Hong Kong schoolchildren, followed by becoming a teacher and firefighter.
The second annual ‘Children’s Career Survey’ of children between 7 and 14 living in Hong Kong has revealed that becoming a doctor is—for the second year—the top career choice. The survey, conducted by Adecco Hong Kong, also found that most children believe that it is more important to spend time with family than to make lots of money—showing that our children are indeed a caring lot!
The survey gives an insight into the Hong Kong workforce of tomorrow—what they think about the world that they live in, and what they aspire to do and become in the future.
The survey involved just five simple questions for the children:
- What do you want to be when you grow up? Why have you chosen this and how much do you expect to earn?
- What is the best/coolest job that you can think of?
- If you became the Chief Executive of Hong Kong, what are the first three things you would do?
- What is more important: to make lots of money or to spend time with you family?
- What are you looking forward to doing in 2014?
The survey was carried out in Taiwan, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and the USA. The findings, as expected, are very different in each country.
Three in ten children in Hong Kong want to become a doctor when they grow up, showing that our children start thinking about good career choices at an early age. Those wanting to become doctors have monthly salary expectations ranging from HKD 2,000 right up to HKD 100,000. Becoming a doctor was also one of the top career choices in some other Asian countries.
Becoming a teacher or a firefighter are the next two most desirable career choices, followed by becoming a nurse or a policeman, amongst others. One young girl wishes to become a inventor when she grows up as she ‘love ideas’ and wants to ‘invent many good things to help the poor and save the world’.
Top 5 ‘What do you want to be when you grow up?’ jobs:
- Doctor
- Teacher
- Nurse
- Firefighter
- Chef
Although we may find humour in some of the findings, the survey also uncovered a serious side. Many of the children hope to support fellow citizens who are most in need. The on-going national discussions about improving living conditions in Hong Kong have likely influenced the children surveyed and their thoughts about the support that they could offer and the difference that they could make to others.
The survey asked the children what they think is the best and/or coolest job, and what would be their dream job. Becoming a doctor also came out on top in this category. Other cool jobs included becoming an artist, architect, inventor and singer.
Becoming the Chief Executive of Hong Kong may be a daunting task for many adults but clearly is not for many of their children. When asked what the first three things they would do if they were fortunate enough to become Hong Kong’s CEO the answers were both enlightening and amusing:
- Continue to improve the education system.
- Help homeless people.
- Build an environmentally-friendly city.
- Make everyone happy!
Several responses centred around ensuring that Chinese culture would continue to flourish.
A key part of the survey was the question ‘What is more important—to make lots of money or to spend time with your family?’ An encouraging 96% responded by saying they would rather spend time with their families than making money. Some of the reasons included:
- Money cannot buy me love.
- Being with my family makes me very happy.
- To take care of my parents.
The survey asked the question ‘What are you looking forward to doing in 2014?’ This ‘big’ question for the young respondents generated some interesting answers:
- Travel around the world.
- Swim with dolphins.
- Make my dreams come true
The majority of responses to this question focused on school and education, with most children surveyed stating that that they were most looking forward to studying harder and excelling at school.
Paul Arkwright
Publisher
