UK Jobseekers Dream of Being Their Own Boss

ï Entrepreneurship is the key to career fulfilment

ï Job seekers shun traditional professions in favour of
lucrative financial careers

ï 68% of respondents said that money is top driver for career choice

Alan Sugar look out, it seems we are a nation of budding entrepreneurs. A poll of over 2000 jobseekers, commissioned by Reed Employment this month, reveals that the dream job for the majority of respondents is to own their own business. More people want to become entrepreneurs than pilots, a more conventional childhood ambition, which was the second choice.

The survey also revealed that traditional professions such as medicine and law are being shunned by jobseekers in favour of more lucrative careers in the fields of accountancy and banking and finance.

Accountancy was the third most popular career choice and banking and finance was the ninth most popular choice, scoring more highly than law. Medicine didnít even make the top ten of dream jobs. In addition, science was only chosen as a dream job by a handful of respondents, lending strong support to this monthís CBI report that the worrying decline of science students could have a long term detrimental impact on the UK economy.

Money was considered the most important factor in choosing a career today according to 68% of respondents. In fact, financial rewards were considered a bigger motivator than career progression, which was selected by just fewer than 40% of respondents.

Additionally, despite the increased pressures upon companies to improve their brand image and act in a social responsibility way, corporate reputation has very little influence over a job seeker. Just 6% of respondents would select a company because of its corporate social responsibility programmes and only 2% stated they would be swayed by an employerís brand image.

Janine Parry, Head of Marketing at Reed Employment states, ìThese results paint an accurate picture of the current economic climate and job market. With house prices at all time high, mounting student debt, rising living costs and a very competitive job market, job hunters are under more pressure than ever before to earn a decent wage. These pressures are being reflected in career choices, with more young people shunning more creative jobs, which are traditionally less well paid or professionals such as medicine which involve long training periods, in favour of well paid jobs in the financial services industry.î



ìDespite the strong shift towards financial careers, it was heartening to see that some young people have ambitions to help others by becoming vets, teachers or want to pursue their creative ambitions and become writers or actors. More surprising however, is the strong entrepreneurial spirit amongst jobseekers today. The majority of young people seem to share the ultimate goal of working for themselves which is excellent news for the future of the UK economy,î she added.

Interestingly, the least favourite jobs were politicians, plumbers and dentistry.

Top Ten UK Jobs

1. Business owner
2. Pilot/astronaut
3. Accountant
4. Teacher
5. Air hostess/cabin crew
6. Writer
7. Vet
8. Policeman
9. Banking
10. Law