The University of Law, the UK's longest-established specialist provider of legal education and training, has polled both 1,000 UK teenagers aged between 13 and 17, and 1,000 UK parents (of children this age), to reveal the nation’s worries and expectations about getting the grades they need to be accepted into university in future.
Two thirds (66%) of the secondary school children polled were worried about getting onto their chosen university course, with a third (33%) saying it’s too competitive and 14% saying this was down to their performance at school.
For one in seven (14%) their worry stems from disappointing their parents if they didn’t secure a place. Despite this, the parent survey showed a quarter (26%) of parents don’t have a preference in their child’s career choices.
The research also looked into the top career choices in the eyes of British teenagers, versus those they believe pay the most – highlighting the two don’t always correlate. Owning a business was the most aspired career (32%), followed closely by the similar self-employment goal of being a YouTuber, Blogger, or Social Influencer (18%) - although these 21stCentury careers only made it 4th and 5th on the list of those believed to bring in the most income.
The top five dream careers of secondary school children are:
1. Own my own business (32%)
2. YouTube/Blogger/Social Influencer (18%)
3. Doctor/Nurse (15%)
4. Teacher (14.5%)
5. Scientist (12%)
The top five roles perceived to be the highest earnest among secondary school children are:
1. Lawyer (39%)
2. Doctor/Nurse (26%)
3. Athlete/Professional Sports Player (23%)
4. Owning my own business (21%)
5. YouTuber/Blogger/Social Influencer (16%) / Senior Manager or Director in a Business (16%)
