Many Australian workers regret their education and job choice according to new international survey
17 July 2008
Almost half of Australia’s workers say that if given the chance, they would have studied something totally different after leaving school, while one in seven say they chose the wrong career, according to a new international workplace survey.
The survey, by global recruitment firm Kelly Services, found that many Australian workers have deep seated concerns about the quality of their education – both at school and post school – and many have regrets about the career choices they made.
The global survey sought the views of 115,000 people in 33 countries including almost 19,000 in Australia.
Kelly Services Managing Director, James Bowmer said the findings show a fairly high level of concern about career choice and direction.
“Many people in the workforce do not believe that their education properly prepared them for working life and quite a few a have regrets about the direction that their job has taken them”.
Amongst the key findings of the survey:
- 71% of people wish that they had studied further
- 48% of people wish that they had studied something totally different.
- 16% say that they chose the wrong career, while 25% say they are ‘not sure’.
- 39% say that their school education did not prepare them well for working life.
- 20% say that their post-school education did not prepare them well for working life.
The findings throw light on how those in the workforce feel about the quality of their country’s education system. The highest level of support for school education came from India with 69% saying it prepared them well for working life. It was followed by Puerto Rico (67%), Indonesia and Thailand (65%), Poland (63%), Spain (61%), Canada and Hungary (59%), and, Japan and Mexico (57%).
The lowest rankings were for Sweden (26%), Norway (27%), Denmark (29%), Turkey (30%), Ukraine (37%), Russia and Italy (39%).
Australia ranked in the middle of the 33 countries with 50% happy with the way the country’s education system prepared them for working life, slightly higher than the global average of 49%.
People across the globe were much more satisfied with their post-school education, with a global average of 65% saying it prepared them well for working life. Australia was in line with the global average.
Almost three quarters of Australians (71%) say they wish they had studied further while the same number say they wish they had studied harder.
Women were much less satisfied with the quality of their school and post-school education than men.
An overwhelming 71% of people agreed with the proposition that ‘post-school/professional education should be more practical and less theoretical’.
In Australia, 59% of respondents were happy with their career choice, while 16% said they had made the wrong choice and 25% were ‘not sure’. More women than men expressed the view that they had chosen the wrong career.
“It is only natural that people reflect in a positive way on what they have done and the extent to which they have achieved their professional goals,” James Bowmer said.
“It is to be expected that many wish they had worked harder while at school, college or university. There are also many who have had second thoughts about the career choices they made.
“Regrettably, someone who discovers that they are in the wrong career is probably not as productive as they could be and may be missing out on a more fulfilling professional life.
“It’s also important that people don’t over react or set up false expectations in evaluating their study and career choices.
“It is now the norm for most employees to have several career changes in the course of a working life, so it’s possible for someone who is dissatisfied with their career to do something positive about it,” he said.
Both men and women cited ‘financial’ considerations as the major obstacle to changing career, followed by ‘time’ and ‘family’.
Media contact:
Renata Davis
Foresight Communications
02 9241 2811 or 0438 525 413
rdavis@forecoms.com.au