Just when do young people decide on their careers - and more importantly, how?
This week, two new reports on career decisions were launched.
Firstly, the 2025 Gen Z Careers from Springpod and Amberjack, and secondly the 2025 FE Student Choices Survey from Pathways.
Links to download each of these are below, but reading them together I was struck by three things:
Careers decisions are being taken far, far earlier than you might think.
The stress that young people are feeling over their career decisions is real, and the pressure they feel to get it right is real too.
University is still seen by young people as the preferred pathway to their dream career, but that stranglehold may be slipping.
Normally I write for students, but today I write specifically for those who support them: parents, teachers, advisers and careers professionals.
Firstly, about the reports
The Gen Z Careers Report surveyed just over 1,100 young people aged 13 to 21, with the majority age 16-18.
The 2025 FE Student Choices Survey meanwhile asked questions of just over 1,500 students. All were studying at FE or sixth form colleges, so no students under age 16 were included. Again the majority were 16-18.
So they are similar groups, but not identical.
Early careers decisions
The thing that struck me most from the Gen Z report was that a full 26% of students age 13 were thinking seriously about their careers.
And this figure is rising each year.
This goes completely against the conventional wisdom that young people are growing up more slowly, and taking decisions later and later in life. And it’s well before many schools begin their careers education.
This early decision-making is underlined by an incredible figure in the FE Choices Survey: 44% of students say they still want to do a similar job to the one that they wanted to do when they were at primary school.
Let that sink in.
Nearly half of young people who are currently near the end of their school or college education still want to follow the same career path that they were hoping to follow when they were just 10 years old (or younger).
Why could this be?
Well, the data in the FE Choices Survey also revealed that when you look at the students who have a career in mind at age 16-18, a staggering 44% have a family member who works in a similar job.
And that’s the power of having role models.
Just over half (53%) of the students in the Gen Z survey say they have a role model in the career they want to pursue, while just under half (47%) don’t.
For those who have a clear family role model, the career decision is so much easier, and can be locked in at a very young age.
For those who don’t, it’s tough. They have to be brave, resourceful and resiliant!
The stress is real
Perhaps the most depressing statistic in either report is that a massive 69% of students in the Gen Z Report say that thinking about their future careers causes them significant stress.
Meanwhile 49% of those in the FE Choices Survey felt pressure from their parents to make good career decisions.
Now, I should be careful not to imply blame on the parents for the stress, but all adults involved in supporting young people can actively help with this by doing one simple thing.
Stop asking young people what they want to be when they grow up.
Instead, simply encourage them to explore ideas, challenges and interests. Encourage them to explore the things that really motivate them.
When they are ready, help them take action to explore careers that could be related to these challenges and interests, and help them connect to potential role models!
Just don’t push them into committing to a final career decision. They’ll get there when they are ready!
With any career conversation, try to think: Am I really helping the young person, or am I actually just causing them stress?
University is still the top choice for school leavers
In both surveys, university was seen as the preferred destination after school/college.
In the Gen Z survey, 67% ranked university as the top pathway to achieve their dream careers, while 18% ranked degree apprenticeships first. But the university figure was down from the previous year, and the figure prefering apprenticeships was up.
So perhaps the stranglehold that universities have had on young people may finally be weakening?
Even as a strong supporter of university education, I think this can only be a good thing. Going to university should not happen by default; it should be a positive choice.
And that positive choice can only be made if other routes have been properly considered.
Download the reports
Both reports are available for you to download.
Each has significantly more in it than I have been able to highlight here (especially when it comes to the disadvantages faced by free school meal students and other specific groups).
So do have a look and draw your own conclusions.
2025 Gen Z Careers from Springpod and Amberjack
2025 FE Student Choices Survey from Pathways
