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Kids’ hopes and dreams for the future can change from one minute to the next and very often depend on the TV shows they watch and whatever their friends are talking about on any given week. But a recent survey conducted by human resource consulting company Adecco has revealed some interesting information about the future aspirations of children from Japan compared to those of kids from other eight other Asian countries.

In the survey, which collated the responses of hundreds of children aged six to fifteen years of age from Japan, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam, kids were asked the simple question: “What job would you like to do in the future?”

The research group noted that in countries other than Japan, the most popular occupations were those that involved assisting others, with “doctor” and “teacher” ranking at the very top of the lists.

The most popular response from the children of Japan? Pâtissier, or pastry chef.

▼ Japan’s future: sweet and very likely smothered in chocolate
sweets

It would seem that Japan’s little girls (22 percent of those surveyed, in fact) are extremely fond of the idea of piping icing, baking buns and creating cakes for a living, putting the occupation right at the top of the country’s combined response data. Little boys, on the other hand, were generally more interested in pursuing careers as professional soccer or baseball players, which took the first and second spots, respectively.

Although the survey also showed that nine percent of girls were interested in taking up a role in the medial profession and boys were more likely to aspire to be doctors and teachers when they were asked the same question during their junior high school years, pâtissier remained the girls’ top choice even amongst junior high school students, making Japan unique in that fewer of its children expressed a desire to become engaged in work that directly benefits others than any the other countries surveyed.

Here is a selection of responses from kids in Japan on the reasons for their choice of future job:

“I want people all over the world to enjoy beautiful and delicious sweets.” (pâtissier)
“I want to do the thing I love and am most interested in.” (professional soccer player)
“I want there to be fewer people who are in pain or suffering.” (doctor)
“It’s cool. They earn a lot of money.” (pro baseball player)

What can we take from this? Well since they’re just kids with constantly changing opinions, and have yet to learn that some people actually get paid to sit on their arse all day and type words into a computer, we should take the survey’s findings with a pinch of salt. But if these kids do hold onto their dreams, and, 20 years from now, you’re in Japan and feeling under the weather you might be better off seeking medical advice in one of its neighbouring countries. But by the very same token, if you’re in the mood to stuff croissants in your face while watching a good baseball game, Japan could one day be the place to be!

Source: Hachima Kikou
Top image: Japan School News Inset image: RocketNews24