Community: Polls & Surveys

Work and study

In summer 2007 we asked you whether or not education is important, how you rate job satisfaction and where you've found helpful careers advice.


The basics

  • 451 people participated in the survey
  • Over half the respondents were female
  • 18-21 year-olds were the best represented age group
  • 3% were under 16 and 27% were over 25
  • null

Getting educated

Nearly half of you (48%) were still in education when you completed the survey and most of you (81%) agreed that study is a really important part of your life. Looking to the future, only three in 10 of you had an idea of exactly what you'd like to do when studies were over, but seven in 10 of you were looking forward to starting work. Just over half of you (58%) think that most people end up doing a job they don't really like.

The working world

Two thirds of you (66%) had a job when you completed the survey. You were most likely to work in retail or education, but the counselling, guidance and service industries were also popular, followed by IT.

The majority (72%) told us you enjoyed your job and 69% said you found it interesting and were treated well by your employer. On the downside, less than half of you (45%) thought your job had good careers prospects.

Job satisfaction

You told us that the two most important aspects of working are having job satisfaction and a good work-life balance. On the other hand, you told us the least important part of working is having a social life related to the job.

When considering your work options, just one in 10 of you said you've never been put off a particular career path that you'd seriously considered.


Top five reasons for rejecting a career path

  • Not enough money: 52%
  • Limited prospects: 36%
  • Too competitive: 35%
  • Takes too long to get Qualifications: 35%
  • Too difficult or stressful: 30%

Careers advice

Only four in 10 of you believe there's lots of help available for making decisions about careers. The internet is likely to be the most popular source for advice as 78% of you considered it to be helpful. Over half of you (58%) said parents are helpful and 55% of you turn to friends. You rated independent careers advisors and Connexions as the least helpful sources. 

Dream jobs

In alphabetic order, here's a selection of your ideal occupations.

Actor
Archaeologist
Astronaut
Billionaire philanthropist gigolo
Car designer
CEO of a big corporation
Cheese shop owner
Criminal lawyer
DJ in Ibiza
Doctor
Footballer
Foster carer
Game developer
Marine biologist
Movie star
Music producer
Night club owner
Pharmacist
Police officer
Scuba diving instructor



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