What Do U.S. Teens Want To Be When They Grow Up?

What do you want to be when you grow up? This supposedly innocent question has been lobbed at children and teenagers for decades, although the answers might differ now due to the rise of social media and the possibility of achieving worldwide fame not being confined to appearing on the big screen or arena stages anymore. According to a 2021 survey by YouGov weighted by age and gender, teenage boys and girls in the United States share some similarities when it comes to their dream job - even though the top spots couldn't be further away from each other.

12 percent of male teens listed professional athlete as their preferred future job, followed by 11 percent who wanted to become an online content creator. Classic dream jobs like musician (six percent) and doctor or nurse (five percent) still made the top 5, albeit barely. For females, the latter seems to be the most coveted future job, with 13 percent of teenage girls wanting to become a medical professional, while 11 percent put actress as their dream occupation.

The fact that becoming a YouTuber, streamer or vlogger made the top five for participants of both genders shows the rapid development of financial and societal clout attributed to online personalities, for better or worse. According to Influencer Marketing Hub, the market size for influencer marketing has doubled since 2019 and was valued at $16.4 billion worldwide in 2022.