Its not just childs play

Itís not just childís play - most kids would rather grow up to be a doctor or nurse than a famous footballer, new research revealed today.

Medical professions like Doctors, Nurses and Vets have beaten occupations such as Footballers, Dancers and Pop Stars in a poll to find out what Brits most wanted to be when they were kids.

As a sector, the creative industries scored the highest. More than 30 per cent of Brits specified some type of creative career as their dream job in childhood.

But just 11 per cent of Brits have managed to achieve these career ambitions.

39 per cent say they changed their minds about future careers as they grew up but 25 per cent admit they never pursued their dream because they thought it was unrealistic.

The survey of 2,000 employees by Creative & Cultural Skills (CCSkills) the Sector Skills Council for the creative and cultural industries, also found that 33 per cent of Brits have different dream careers in adulthood.

Writer tops the list of dream jobs for British adults, followed by Teacher and Landscape Gardener.

And it seems that many Brits donít let go of their medical aspirations when they grow up - Paramedic and Physiotherapist also feature in the top 10.

But for many, creativity is the key to career happiness - Writer, Photographer, Movie Director and Musician are all popular dream jobs for adults.

Although more than half of Brits (51 per cent) described their childhood dream job as creative this hasnít translated to their occupations in adulthood. 44 per cent reckon the jobs they do today are not at all creative.

Despite this, a staggering 65 per cent of Brits would like the chance to be more creative in their work. But 61 per cent think their bosses are unaware of their creative talents.

The survey also shows that men are less likely to lose sight of their childhood dreams as they grow up - just 28 per cent said they changed their minds about their career compared to 44 per cent of women.

Men are also more likely to try and pursue their childhood dream jobs - 13 per cent compared to just 5 per cent of women.

But women are more likely to pursue their dream jobs in adulthood - an overwhelming 67 per cent would change their career if financial help was available to help them compared to 57 per cent of men.

Women are more likely to place greater importance on career fulfilment than finances - 75 per cent say theyíd rather be happy at work than have a large pay packet compared to 67 per cent of men.

58 per cent of men and women agree they would have made a different career choice if an apprenticeship in their dream job had been made available to them when they were younger.

These findings back up our plans to introduce a series of Creative Apprenticeships as one of our first tasks as a fully licensed Sector Skills Council, says Tony Hall, chief executive of the Royal Opera House and chair of CCSkills.

With so many people aspiring to a career in our sector we will also continue to develop our website to make it an information portal for anyone wanting to know how to get into the creative and cultural industries; what types of jobs are available; which providers offer the most relevant training; what sort of skills are necessary and how those skills can be acquired.

According to the survey, 72 per cent of respondents would use such a resource if it was available to them.

TOP 10 DREAM JOBS FOR KIDS

1. Doctor/Nurse
2. Vet
3. Footballer
4. Teacher
5. Actor/Movie Star
6. Writer
7. Dancer/Ballerina
8. Pilot
9. Pop Star
10. Astronaut


TOP 10 DREAM JOBS FOR ADULTS

1. Writer
2. Teacher
3. Landscape Gardener
4. Paramedic
5. Photographer
6. Police Officer
7. Physiotherapist
8. Movie Director
9. Restaurant Owner
10. Musician