New survey reveals top job choices for UK teens

What do you want to be when you grow up?

What do you want to be when you grow up?

It's a question lots of children are asked, and a new BBC Bitesize Careers survey shows it's something many young people are thinking about.

Four thousand 13 to 16-year-olds took part, and the results show most UK teens aspire to become doctors one day, with one in ten choosing a career in medicine as their top job choice.

Of those surveyed 33% said they believed medicine was the most important area of work and the NHS was also ranked as the top employer young people would like to be hired by, overshadowing some of the big tech giants like Apple, Google and Tesla, as well as FIFA.

Most of the young people who took the survey said they want to become doctors when they're older

Some of the other highly ranked jobs were engineers, teachers, lawyers and nurses, showing that on the whole, more traditional industries that serve the British public are preferred among teenagers today.

Other jobs that made it onto the top 10 list include vets, footballers, artists, police officers and the building trade, which includes jobs like plumbers, carpenters, electricians and bricklayers.

Despite so many teenagers being interested in a career in medicine, the survey also highlighted how a young person's background can affect their confidence when it comes to their job aspirations.

More than two in five teens (40%) from more wealthy backgrounds said they felt 'very confident' about achieving their desired career, whereas less than a third (28%) from less privileged backgrounds shared the same level of confidence.

Building trades were also a popular choice

For teens from both groups, the main reasons for not feeling confident about achieving their top job were 'educational challenges' (30%), it being 'difficult to get into' (20%) and 'lack of confidence' (12%).

This suggests lots of teens from different backgrounds do not feel confident they'll achieve the grades needed to work in their chosen profession.

Dr Ranj knew he wanted to be a doctor when he was just eight-years-old

"I was about eight-years-old when I made the decision to be a doctor, I always had a fascination for science and wanted to do something to help people," said Dr Ranj Singh who is a doctor and TV presenter.

"It's an incredibly rewarding career and it's important that all teens feel like they can achieve their career goals, regardless of their backgrounds."

We want to hear from you - what do you want to be when you're older and why? You can let us know in the comments below.