Survey reveals that being a lawyer is the most popular career
choice and that spending time with family is far more important
than earning money
SINGAPORE, Jan. 11 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- An
annual survey of children living in Singapore, conducted by Adecco
Singapore, a subsidiary of the world's leading human resource and
staffing services company, reveals that 93% of the children
surveyed believe that it is more important to spend time with
family than to make lots of money.
The survey of children, aged between 7-14
years, asks just five simple questions:
1. What do you want to be when you grow up?
Why have you chosen this and
how much do you expect to
earn?
2. What is the best/coolest job that you can
think of?
3. If you became Prime Minister of Singapore,
what are the first three
things you would do?
4. What is more important: to make lots of money
or to spend time with
you family?
5. What are you looking forward to doing in
2010?
In the same survey from last year (released
in January 2009), 88% of those surveyed stated that they would
choose to spend more time with family than in making money. This
year that percentage rose to 93%.
The most popular career choices for those
surveyed are for becoming a Lawyer, Doctor, Teacher or joining the
Singapore Police Force. Those wanting to become a doctor nearly all
want to help people - however their monthly salary expectations
range from S$2000 right up to S$60,000! Other children surveyed
have slightly different career aspirations that include wanting to
be a Weapons Engineer, F1 Driver, Game Critic or an Entertainer (as
being an Entertainer is a 'lot of fun').
One of the children surveyed is hoping to
earn S$10 per month as a Dancer, with another wanting to become a
Food Critic as they will receive 'free food'. Another is hoping to
become a Model so that they can wear pretty clothes in front of a
camera and earn enough money to 'buy toys'.
When asked about the best/coolest job that
they can image, being a lawyer came out tops for the second year
running. Others thought that being The President, a vet or a
scientist would be very cool too. Some of the more intriguing
choices included a job where you 'could play at the water park each
day', as well as 'taking care of a remote nature resource on an
island in the US'. One child thought that being a Deep Space
Researcher would be the best job - the reason being that 'space has
no boundaries'.
The children surveyed had little hesitation
in suggesting what the first 'three things they would do' were if
they were fortunate enough to become the Prime Minister of
Singapore. Many children wanted to help others and to maintain a
safe Singapore for all to enjoy. Ensuring that all Singaporeans
could enjoy a solid education was also a popular choice. A
selection of the first things the respondents would do if they got
this 'top job' are:
- Give a 'thank you' speech
- Upgrade computers in schools
- Build more theme parks
- Ensure that everyone has a job
- Make more peanut butter factories
- Use my money to help those in need
- Ensure that each child is given a game
console
- Save our coral reefs
- Kill all insects
- Find more way to reduce global warming
- Ban exams
- Buy a super big white house!
The most moving answers to the survey came
from the question "What is more important - to make lots of money
or to spend time with your family?" As many children see their
parents' lives becoming more hectic, some wise answers make it very
clear that children value family time over money earning
opportunities. Some of the responses include:
- Without our family, we are nothing
- My family cares for me and loves me. Money has
no heart
- Money is not important to me. I am happy as
long as I have my family
with me
- Family comes first
For the first time the survey also asked the
question "What are you looking forward to doing in 2010?" A
fascinating selection of academic & lifestyle responses were
received and that include:
- Watching the Youth Olympic Games
- Getting better results in school
- Canoeing on a cyber lake (if there are
any)
- Keeping my family united and together
- Living my life
This is the fourth year that Adecco has
conducted this survey - a survey that allows us a peek at what our
children and those around us think about their future and how they
would like it to look.
Lynne Ng, Regional Director for Adecco South
East Asia, commented "2009 was clearly a challenging year for many
families in Singapore and this has been demonstrated in many of the
answers provided by the children in the survey. Those surveyed are
from diverse family backgrounds, yet nearly all show signs of being
very much in touch with their hopes and aspirations for the future.
Children in Singapore sometimes get criticized for being too
materialistic, although we're pleased to say that again our survey
has shown otherwise."
About Adecco
Adecco S.A. is a Fortune Global 500 company
and the global leader in HR services. Established in Singapore in
1985 and celebrating its 25th Anniversary in 2010, Adecco Singapore
offers a comprehensive range of services that includes temporary
& contract staffing, permanent recruitment, outsourcing,
executive search, leadership development, career management and
outplacement. Services are delivered through a network of 18
offices and specialist divisions.
Contacts:
Citrus Public Relations
Ian Grundy
[email protected]
Tel: +65-6736-4119
http://www.citrus-pr.com
SOURCE Adecco
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