It's Game Over, parents! The future jobs that don't have parent's approval

Working in the arts is not seen as a good decision

Out of touch parents are trying to steer their children away from pursuing lucrative 21st century careers, because they don't understand the opportunities, a study suggests.

Three quarters of North West mums and dads believe that conventional academic subjects such as Maths and English taught at school and beyond, are more valuable than creative and new technology subjects.

Ahead of A-Level results day, new research has revealed that despite the creative industries being one of the fastest growing sectors, with an estimated 2 million jobs available, there is still a sentiment from parents that they wouldn’t be happy if their child chose to pursue a creative career.

Parents would appear to have overlooked the opportunities available within expanding fields such as game development, visual effects, art, music and social media, according to a poll of 1,000 parents of under 18 year olds, commissioned by Escape Studios.

When asked which degrees would be most valuable from a lifelong career perspective – North West parents identified Maths, Computing and Medicine as their top three choices. The arts ranked in the bottom half with only 5%.

Over a third said they would try to influence the degree their teenager chooses to study at university.

Director of Escape Studios, Dr Ian Palmer said: ‘Skills such as problem-solving, decision making, risk-taking, and communication can all be used in jobs across the creative industries. Alongside storytelling and imagination. Children that adopt to technology at an early age learn skills that offer them a better chance of getting a job in the digital sectors."

Despite this, over half of North West parents think that smartphones shouldn’t be allowed in school as a tool for learning. However, 71% admit that allowing their children to use technology from an early age is beneficial for their development.

The top 5 jobs that North West parents would ideally like their children to pursue, are:

1. Doctor (26%)
2. Engineer (22%)
3. Scientist (22%)
4. Lawyer (14%)
5. Architect (11%)

The top 5 jobs that North West parents ideally don’t want their children to pursue, are:

1. Gamer (33%)
2. Social media influencer (32%)
3. Blogger (31%)
4. Stockbroker (19%)
5. Pilot (7%)

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