ICT careers the top choice for Generation Z
- 28 July, 2009 12:09
- Comments 13
ICT careers have licked graphic design, acting, fashion, animation and gaming to become the number one choice for teenagers, according to an Australian Computer Society (ACS) survey.
Conducted online, the survey asked 1820 Australian and New Zealanders aged 12 to 18 (Generation Z) to rank their preferred careers and quizzed them on their perceptions of various industries.
The majority of respondents said they considered a career in ICT to be about “being on the edge of new technological developments” and 21 per cent though it was “pretty cool”, while 15 per cent thought it was a career that earns a lot of money.
ACS chairman, Kumar Parakala, said in a statement the results demonstrated teenagers no longer considered the technology sector as ‘geeky’, a result he attributed partly to increased computer literacy and access to technology and training.
“This next generation of teenagers seems to understand the breadth of opportunity on offer within our industry” he said. “The foundation for attracting more students into ICT careers has been laid. Now the industry needs to showcase the career paths available”.
He pointed to brands linked with innovation such as Google, Nintendo, Apple and Microsoft as being instrumental in boosting the appeal of ICT careers.
Regional Director for Habbo Asia Pacific, Jeff Brookes, said it made sense innovation would be one of the primary motivating factors for Generation Z.
“Australian teens want to be where the action is… [They] are a truly digital generation and research showing technology careers being more popular than more traditional careers such as doctor, teacher or lawyer demonstrates that,” he said.
The survey was conducted online at Habbo (www.habbo.com.au), an online virtual world popular with teenagers.
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Comments
Jonathan
So a survey conducted in an online virtual world, by an organisation that represents ICT professionals, managed to find respondents who want to become ICT professionals?
Might be just a tiny bit of bias here don't you think?
Co-processor
To some extent, yes. But Habbo is full of untechy types. I expect the tech teens are too busy playing WOW to be bothered with buying virtual furniture for a virtual hotel room.
Note that only 21% of respondents thought IT was "pretty cool".
Anonymous
Who uses Habbo Hotel?
"The survey was conducted online at Habbo (www.habbo.com.au), an online virtual world popular with teenagers. "
Well I'm an Australian teenager of 17. I can honestly tell you that no one I know in any of the year levels at my school uses Habbo Hotel.
But yes, many of my friends are considering careers in IT. They see it as an easy field to get into and the fact that we teens live on the computer and internet theses days (Facebook, MSN, MySpace, YouTube etc...) makes it seem even more appealing.
Maneesh
But where are the ICT jobs?
Its kind of good, because the government may finally realize that there are too many desperate international "students" here who work in highly skilled jobs for just $16/hour.
Which makes it much harder for young aussie workers to get paid properly or even to get the job in the first place...not least because generation Y (the white ones anyway) have all been unfairly stereotyped as being lazy, demanding and job-hopping!
James
Not IT
The results might show an interest in what is perceived as IT. But an IT career is note likely to involve Facebook, WoW and Habbo Hotel, certainly not as a consumer.
It might be worth mentioning to these teens that working in IT involves very little of what they do at home on the Internet.
Ace Nasir
RE:
I agree considering the company (I.T Based) considering the survey tactics and survey releasing(I.T Based) it would be a bit bias.
I am a I.T Professional and have been for the past 2 years now. I wanted to go into computers in high school. and I think im gen x not gen z. but yeh you are right in my gen x I think i was maybe 2% of the gen x population who wanted an i.t career.
and its not so easy to get into either..
Anonymous
dreaming
what a 12 yr thinks they want to do & reality are two different things....i'd have loved to be in a generation that 'thinks' they can pick & choose but are not prepared to work hard at school. sadly they are lazy & very fussy about what they will & won't do in a job - the 'international students' are just grateful for a job - consider that an excellant engineer gets paid $300 per month in china (i have worked there & seen it) - this generation of western kids are in for a shock - best go rent the movies idiocracy & blade runner whilst you are at it! - that'll give you an idea of your future.
Andy
LOL
As a 21yr old currently studying for an IT qualification all i can do is laugh. I wanted to do IT since i was 14-15, but it took me until 20 to figure out exactly what in IT i wanted to do. IT is the about broadest field of work there is. Just going through IT classes in Yr11 there was about a 60% dropout rate because all the people who joined because they thought they were "experts" at using a computer. In fact out of the 40 or so people who started IT classes in year 11 by the end of it only a few of us finished, most gave up at creating a database or spreadsheet, which is about as basic as it gets.
So, about 15-20% of people at my school year level went in thinking they were going to get into IT, about 2% of us came out of school still wanting to go into IT.
Conor
RE: Who uses Habbo Hotel
Sadly Anonymous, as I myself am studying currently for a Bach. of IT in my second year, I want to burst your high school bubble, nothing about IT is easy short of going to Tafe and becoming a Network Administrator and going back to the school you learnt at to reset passwords and recover assignments the student deleted in vain hoping to get an extension! Sure some parts of IT are easy, but to get a good job in IT, there are extensive skill sets required, none of them found in editing the CSS on your MySpace nor in uploading YouTube videos I'm afraid. Living on a computer and knowing the inner workings, or being able to program or being able to create database systems or run large networks for company's are severely different things, as MANY first year first semester Uni students discover!
Anonymous
Dreaming is correct! Your IT jobs will go to INDIA and CHINA!
Anonymous
What they want and what happens are 2 different things
I think this is a useless survey. I studied IT in Ireland, and of the 120 people in the course on the 1st day of university, 4 of us graduated 4 years later. Most people who get into IT havent got a clue about the work involved and think if they can install an app on their phone they know everything about computers. Dont want to sound like an know-it all ass, im not saying these people dont know anything, its just a lot of people dont realise what working in IT actually involves. They know what the outcome is, cool games, phones, facebook etc, but dont realise all the coding and low level stuff behind all that, and as a result, quickly drop out, regardless of what their intentions (which is what this survey is about) were.
Mike
IT as a career-
Well now, I am a baby boomer, and an IT Professional; it is a fallacy that IT is only a field for the very young-if you are smart, versatile and interested in the world you can learn how to use, support and maniplulate IT-I have worked in IT for well over 10 years after being an educator of adults. I can honestly say it is an area where you usually go home at the end of the day having learnt something you started the day not knowing....It pays quite well, but money is not the only issue-job satisfaction counts for a lot-i suggest IT to all people of my age who have been made redundant, learn new skills, get with the program!!
Anonymous
Even if you like me are in your mid eighties and sitting in God's waiting room you will find you canlearn and enjoy things with a computer WEARY 8o plus
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