"More Middle School Students Say 'No Hope for a Job... I Don't Know What I Like'"

No.1 Desired Occupation Among Middle and High School Students: 'Teacher'

For students, the most desired occupation was athlete for elementary school students and teacher for middle and high school students. Additionally, the number of students, especially middle schoolers, who do not have a desired occupation due to not understanding their aptitudes has increased.

Photo by Joint Photo Coverage Team

The Ministry of Education and the Korea Research Institute for Vocational Education and Training announced the results of the "2023 Elementary and Secondary Career Education Status Survey" on the 26th. This study surveyed students (23,300), parents (12,202), and teachers (2,800) from 1,200 elementary, middle, and high schools from June 5 to July 18.

Among elementary school students, the most desired occupation was athlete (13.4%). The second was doctor (7.1%), and the third was teacher (5.4%). Last year, the top desired occupation for elementary students was also athlete, but the second was teacher, and the third was crater.

For middle school students, the top desired occupation was teacher (9.1%) again this year, following last year. The second was doctor (6.1%), and the third was athlete (5.5%), all the same as last year.

For high school students, the top desired occupation was also teacher (6.3%) as in the previous year. The second was nurse (5.9%), the same as last year, but the third changed to life scientist and researcher (3.7%). Last year, the third most desired occupation for high school students was soldier. Doctor ranked fifth (3.1%).

The most desired major fields for high school students were health (14.1%), arts (13.9%), and engineering (13.2%) in that order.

The most important factor students considered when choosing their desired occupation was "work they like" (elementary 60.3%, middle 46.6%, high 39.9%).

The percentage of students who responded that they have a desired occupation was 79.3% for elementary students, 59.0% for middle school students, and 74.5% for high school students.

For middle school students, the percentage of those who said they have a desired occupation has been decreasing since 2018. The trend shows ▲72.0% in 2018 ▲71.9% in 2019 ▲66.7% in 2020 ▲63.2% in 2021 ▲61.8% in 2022 ▲59.0% in 2023.

Among students who responded that they do not have a desired occupation, the most common reason across elementary, middle, and high school students was "I still don't know well what I like" (elementary 43.9%, middle 54.6%, high 40.2%).

The next most common reason was "I don't know what I am good at and what I am not" (elementary 20.9%, middle 19.8%, high 29.7%).

The percentage of students who have conversations with their parents about interests, aptitudes, and desired occupations at least once a week was highest among high school students at 73.2%, followed by middle school students at 65.3%, and elementary students at 59.1%.

Among them, the proportion who talk with their parents about career issues almost every day was 23.3% for high school students, 20.0% for middle school students, and 18.0% for elementary students.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.