You’re Probably Gonna Have Five Different Careers in Your Lifetime, So Don’t Sweat It

If you’re under 25, you’re likely to have 17 different employers altogether 😮

When you’re in primary school, adults will ask you all the time: “what do you want to be when you grow up?”

Your answers might range from firefighter, to author, to YouTuber—and you generally have grand dreams for your future life.

But then, as you approach the end of high school or your university degree, reality sets in. People ask you the same question with a greater sense of urgency because you are the supposed ‘grown up’ now. And you should know what you want… shouldn’t you?

Studies from McCrindle show you should wipe your brow and fret less, because your career path is a lot windier than you thought it would be when you were nine.

This little thing called ‘job mobility’ has changed in a massive way since your parents were growing up, and it tells a thing or two about what you can expect from your future employment journey.

In Australia today, young people aged under 25 have an average of three different jobs per decade, with each one lasting just 1 year and 8 months (McCrindle).

Let’s say you start your working life when you turn 18, even in a part-time position. And let’s say you retire from all work completely by 75. Over that time, you’re likely to have 17 different employers.

The thing is, young people aged under 25 have always had greater ‘job mobility’ than older workers. This is due to, among other things, moving in and out of education, upskilling in different careers and moving in and out of home.

What has changed is that people in the older age brackets (45+) are now following suit and also decreasing their job tenures. Why?

The job landscape has changed a helluva lot. Employment is a lot more flexible, as a result of pandemic measures such as working from home and remote work, more parents in the workforce who want flexibility looking after their children, and people being more confident in leaving jobs to try something new.

So next time you start sweating when someone asks, “what are you gonna do with your life?”, you can reply, “a little bit of everything.”

Psst - btw, if you sign up to Student Edge (for free), you'll get all the advice you could possibly need to kickstart whatever career you're interested in. Plus, we've got this epic jobs board that makes the search a whole lot easier.