Education Report Roundup

Career Choices

By Sean Cavanagh — June 07, 2005 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

Results from the Gallup Youth Survey are available with a paid subscription or temporary membership from The Gallup Organization.

Teaching remains a popular career choice among female teenagers, a survey has found, and it has re-emerged as a top option for males.

The most recent results of the Gallup Youth Survey, released May 17, which has been conducted since 1977, found that teaching was the No. 1 pick for a career among girls ages 13 to 17, followed by lawyer, doctor, and nurse. Teaching has consistently ranked near the top of occupational aspirations among teenage girls, according to officials at the Gallup Organization, based in Princeton, N.J., but not among boys.

Professional athlete ranked as the top choice of boys in that age group, followed by doctor, architect, engineer, and teacher. Teaching was a top choice of male teenagers in 1977, but it did not reappear near the top until 2003. It scored well again last year.

The poll was conducted by phone in January and February. It has a margin of error of 3 percentage points.

Events

This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Artificial Intelligence Webinar
AI in Schools: What 1,000 Districts Reveal About Readiness and Risk
Move beyond “ban vs. embrace” with real-world AI data and practical guidance for a balanced, responsible district policy.
Content provided by Securly
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Recruitment & Retention Webinar
K-12 Lens 2026: What New Staffing Data Reveals About District Operations
Explore national survey findings and hear how districts are navigating staffing changes that affect daily operations, workload, and planning.
Content provided by Frontline Education
Education Funding Webinar Congress Approved Next Year’s Federal School Funding. What’s Next?
Congress passed the budget, but uncertainty remains. Experts explain what districts should expect from federal education policy next.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Education Opinion The Opinions EdWeek Readers Care About: The Year’s 10 Most-Read
The opinion content readers visited most in 2025.
2 min read
Collage of the illustrations form the top 4 most read opinion essays of 2025.
Education Week + Getty Images
Education Quiz Did You Follow This Week’s Education News? Take This Quiz
Test your knowledge on the latest news and trends in education.
1 min read
Education Quiz How Did the SNAP Lapse Affect Schools? Take This Weekly Quiz
Test your knowledge on the latest news and trends in education.
1 min read
Education Quiz New Data on School Cellphone Bans: How Much Do You Know?
Test your knowledge on the latest news and trends in education.
1 min read