Surprises in list of most explored careers

MEDIA RELEASE

1 June 2007

Surprises in list of most explored careers

New Zealanders are just as interested in being motor mechanics, graphic designers and police officers as they are in being doctors, teachers and veterinarians, according to data released today by Career Services.

Career Services Chief Executive Lester Oakes says visits to job profiles on the Career Services website indicate that New Zealanders are actually looking at a wider range of career pathways than suggested in a recent Reader’s Digest poll.

The Reader’s Digest poll listed doctor, veterinarian, nurse, teacher and pilot as parents’ most favoured professions for their children.

Lester Oakes says visits to Career Services’ job profiles show that people are looking at a diverse range of career pathways.

“We analysed visits to our job profile pages over six months to see which career pathways people are exploring. Teachers, doctors and veterinarians figure regularly in our top 20, but so do graphic designers, automotive engineers, police officers, architects, accountants and barristers,” says Lester Oakes.

“I think most educators, parents and employers would find this mix reassuring. Our young people are exploring a variety of career pathways. They’re not just looking at careers their parents know and feel comfortable with. They’re not simply responding to popular media images. Sure, they are looking at topical jobs like forensic scientist, animator and animal attendant - and there’s always interest in being professional sportspeople and flight attendants - but there’s more interest in hairdressing, cooking and administration,” says Lester Oakes.

Career Services is the government agency that provides free information and advice about jobs, courses and training in New Zealand. There are more than 670 job profiles on the Career Services website (www.careers.govt.nz), all based on interviews with people employed in the jobs. The profiles link to information about qualifications required, courses available and employment prospects.

About 100,000 people use the website every month and the most popular job profiles were accessed about 1600 times per month.

Jobs that were always in the Career Services top 20: Graphic Designer, Automotive Engineer, Police Officer, Architect, Financial Accountant, Primary School Teacher, Barrister, Veterinarian and Secondary School Teacher. (Full details in tables below.)

Jobs that were often in the top 20: Hairdresser/Barber, Chef, Administration Officer, Physician, Animator, Surgeon, Zoologist, Flight Attendant, Social Worker, Clothing Designer and Solicitor.

Lester Oakes says the data has its limitations but it does add to the picture of what career pathways people are exploring.

“We can’t tell exactly who visited these pages, but we do know that nearly one third of our website users are under 30, and almost half are under 40. People come to our site to explore. Many are looking for independent and reliable information about a career they are thinking about. Others are lost for ideas and use our online tools to help identify careers related to their skills and strengths. These tools lead them to possible career options.”

“There are some interesting omissions. The creative arts and service jobs, in hospitality for example, don’t figure in our top 20. I suspect people who are interested in those areas already know a lot about them and they can get real experience through casual work. Computing and IT are also low on the list, possibly because people can go to more specialized sources for information, and interest in those areas could be dispersed across the more specific IT job profiles on our site,” says Lester Oakes.

ENDS

Top 20 based on monthly data for the 6 months Sep 06 – Feb 07

Rankings based on number of appearances + ranking in each month. Numbers following job titles indicate how often the job was in the Top 20 in months analysed. eg Early Childhood Teacher was in the Top 20 6 times - ie every month.

1. Early Childhood Teacher 6
2. General Practitioner
3. Graphic Designer 6
4. Automotive Engineer 6
5. Police Officer 5
6. Architect 6
7. Financial Accountant 6
8. Primary School Teacher 6
9. Barrister 6
10. Veterinarian 5
11. Secondary School Teacher 6
12. Hairdresser/Barber 4
13. Chef 4
14. Administration Officer 4
15. Physician 3
16. Animator 3
17. Surgeon 3
18. Accounting Technician
19. Property Valuer
20. Zoologist 3
21. Travel Agent
22. Flight Attendant 3
23. Forensic Scientist 2
24. Social Worker 4
25. Animal Attendant 2
26. Photographer 2
27. Hotel Manager
28. Computer Systems Technician
29. Programmer 2
30. Bank Teller
31. Check In Agent
32. Clothing Designer 3
33. Aeroplane Pilot
34. Professional Sportsperson
35. Accounts Officer
36. Solicitor 3
37. Dentist

Almost always appear in top 20
Graphic Designer 6
Automotive Engineer 6
Police Officer 5
Architect 6
Financial Accountant 6
Primary School Teacher 6
Barrister 6
Veterinarian 5
Secondary School Teacher 6

Often appear in top 20
Hairdresser/Barber 4
Chef 4
Administration Officer 4
Physician 3
Animator 3
Surgeon 3
Zoologist 3
Flight Attendant 3
Social Worker 4
Clothing Designer 3
Solicitor 3

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