Study: Here's The Preferred Career For Majority Of Florida Kids

ACROSS FLORIDA — In contrast to most children in America, Florida kids don't aspire to become teachers and doctors when they grow up.

A new poll by Moneypenny indicates that the largest percentage of youth in Florida long to become veterinarians and care for animals when they grow up.

Moneypenny surveyed thousands of children around the country about their career ambitions with some surprising results.

A couple of decades ago, the most popular answers were teacher, firefighter, police officer and nurse.

Despite the notoriously low wages paid, teaching continues to be the most popular future occupation for kids with a majority in 17 states saying they want to help educate children when they grow up.

Tied for second were doctors and veterinarians with eight states each. Interestingly, movie stars, astronauts and professional athletes were not popular choices.

Regionally, kids in the South and the Midwest were most likely to want to be teachers. Kids in the Northeast were most likely to want to be veterinarians and kids in the West were most likely to want to be doctors.

Going against the majority, most kids in Arizona want to become professional baseball players; most in Delaware want to be nurses; most in Kansas and Massachusetts want to be musicians; kids in Oklahoma and South Dakota want to be artists; and kids in Maryland and Minnesota aspire to be authors and zoologists, respectively.

Of course, kids frequently change their minds. What people thought they wanted to be when they grew up doesn’t always translate into their dream job or college major once they’re older.

In fact, of the people who said they wanted to be teachers, fewer than 20 percent actually became teachers.

The same sort of trends applied to the other top dream jobs. Of those who wanted to be nurses, artists and scientists, only around 15 percent of them wound up with that occupation.

Interested in encouraging your child's career ambitions? Mess for Less offers learning activities for kids, including how to set up a pretend vet's office for your child.

Pretend Play Vet's Office

You will need:

• Kid's doctor kit
• Thermometer
• Band Aids, bandages, other medical supplies
• Baby wipes
• Small flashlight
• Office visit form (download the free printable here)