The Ministry of Education* conducts an annual survey to learn about the dream jobs of students in Korea. First held in 2007, the survey is organized together with the Korea Research Institute for Vocational Education and Training (KRIVET).*

The most recent survey was held in the middle of 2024 and involved around 38,000 students in 1,200 elementary, middle, and high schools. The results were then released to the public in December.

For the sixth year in a row, elementary school students chose athlete as the most popular dream job. It was followed in the ranking by doctor, creator, teacher, and chef.

Middle and high school students selected teacher as the most preferred job, and this choice has remained at or near the top since the first survey 17 years ago. Middle school students filled out their top five dream jobs on the list with athlete, doctor, police officer, and pharmacist.

High schoolers showed high interest in such professions as nurse, soldier, and police officer. Both middle and high school students mostly preferred jobs that they considered stable and secure. At the same time, a significant number of high schoolers said they hoped to become entrepreneurs someday.

Overall, this year’s list of dream jobs shared some similarities with that of 2007, when the first survey was conducted. Jobs like teacher, athlete, and doctor have stayed popular with students for the past 17 years.

On the other hand, jobs like entertainer and civil servant have fallen out of favor with contemporary students. Instead, they now dream of becoming chefs, creators, and police officers.

At the same time, the number of students who said that they do not have a dream job has increased over the years, as well. Last year, 20.4 percent of elementary school students, 40 percent of middle school students, and 29 percent of high school students gave this response.

* Ministry of Education 교육부

* Korea Research Institute for Vocational Education and Training (KRIVET) 한국직업능력개발원