Dream Jobs for Japanese Kids

What kids want to be when they grow up

A TV news program ran an interesting report on “Dream jobs for kids”.

A survey was carried out among fourth grade boys at an elementary school in Osaka. It showed that “You Tuber” (the Japanese term for vloggers = video bloggers) is the third ranked job Japanese kids want when they grow up.

The top four job kid wants to do when they grow up are:

• 1. Soccer player

  2. Doctor

  3. You Tuber

  4. Civil servant

The results are much the same as surveys of other countries' children.  Soccer player and doctor are the top career choices for kids.

Interestingly, the third most popular career choice for Japanese kids was YouTuber.  The kids cited reasons as they could make millions, they don't have to study which is a kind of depressing news for some people.

Perhaps the result simply reflects the time and trend.  Mr.Takeuchi, a former teacher, is quoted as saying, “Almost 50% of the job will be replaced by robots in 10~20 years. The top listed jobs are the ones that are less likely to be replaced with robots. It is no laughing matter if kids are choosing those jobs because they have less chance of being replaced by robots.”

We should say “Good luck” to the kids. Doing any kind of job or making money are not easy. There was a time when number one job kids want in the survey was "salaried man", which was a far more depressing result.  They should think big and aim high to become their very best!

Source: Mainichi Shinbun (March 22, 2016), TV Joho Seven Days