2024 Career Aspirations of Korean Students

 

English Text

This year, as in the previous year, elementary school students most aspire to become athletes, while middle and high school students rank teaching as their top career choice. Overall, the rankings of students' career preferences remain similar to last year, but "soldier" has risen from 11th to 3rd place among high school students.


On December 4, the Ministry of Education and the Korea Research Institute for Vocational Education and Training released the results of the "2024 Career Education Survey for Elementary and Secondary Schools," conducted between May and June with students from 1,200 elementary, middle, and high schools nationwide. According to the survey, becoming an athlete has been the top choice for elementary school students (12.9%) for seven consecutive years since 2018. Teaching also remains the most desired career for middle (6.8%) and high school students (6.9%), holding the top spot for 18 years. However, among middle school students, the response rate for this option dropped by 6.3 percentage points compared to the previous year.


Interest in the healthcare and medical fields also remains strong. "Doctor" ranked second for elementary school students (7.1%) for the second year in a row and third for middle school students (5.1%). Meanwhile, "nurse" was the sixth most desired profession for middle school students (2.5%) and the second most popular for high school students (5.8%).


While the top 10 career preferences are largely unchanged from last year, the profession of "soldier" (2.7%) has climbed sharply to 3rd place among high school students. However, except for the first and second rankings, the response rates for other professions are relatively close, indicating that students' career aspirations are diversifying based on individual values.


Regarding high school students' post-graduation plans, the percentage intending to pursue higher education dropped from 77.3% last year to 66.5%. In contrast, the percentage planning to seek employment rose from 7% to 13.3%.



Vocabulary Matching

Match the terms to their correct definitions:

  1. Aspire
  2. Preference
  3. Response rate
  4. Diverse
  5. Vocational

Definitions:

  1. Related to a specific trade, skill, or career.
  2. To strongly desire or hope to achieve something.
  3. A variety of different types or options.
  4. A choice or option that is liked more than others.
  5. The percentage of people who answer a survey.

Discussion Questions

  1. Why do you think athletes and teachers are consistently popular career choices for students?
  2. What does the increase in high school students choosing "soldier" as a career suggest about changing values?
  3. Why might fewer high school students be planning to attend college compared to previous years?
  4. How do you think students' career aspirations reflect societal trends?
  5. In your opinion, how should schools help students explore a wider range of career options?

Writing Activity

Write a short essay (100-150 words) about why it is important for students to explore diverse career options. Use examples from the article to support your ideas.

Research Exercise

Complete the table comparing the advantages and challenges of pursuing traditional professions like teaching or healthcare versus less common careers like being an athlete or a soldier.

Traditional Professions Less Common Careers
Stable income and benefits         Exciting and adventurous
Often highly respected           May require physical or emotional risk

Answer Key

A. Vocabulary Matching

  1. Aspire - b
  2. Preference - d
  3. Response rate - e
  4. Diverse - c
  5. Vocational - a

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