Survey: many parents want children to identify job interests by middle school

Nine of 10 parents believe in the importance of nurturing a child's "career quotient" and 45 percent think middle school is the best time to start identifying job interests, a survey found.

Similar to terms like intelligence quotient and emotional quotient, the term "career quotient" refers to a child's willingness to explore different industries and find their occupational interest before entering the job market.

The survey, which polled nearly 5,000 parents in China, was released jointly by Swedish education company EF Education First and edu.qql.com, a leading education portal in China.

More than 90 percent of the parents who responded to the survey said it is necessary for children to get to know different industries and find their occupational interest. Forty-five percent of the parents said such exploration should start when the children are 14 to 18 years old, the period of junior and senior middle schools. Another 27 percent of parents said such education should start even earlier, when children are under 9.

Almost half of the parents said their children already had found a general direction for their future careers. Among these parents, 81 percent said their children's ideas are in harmony with their expectations. The rest said they would respect their children's thoughts even though they might not be in agreement.

Most parents said they hoped their children could land a job that balances personal interests and making money, while 2 percent said their children should choose a career that brings the highest financial rewards.

Chinese parents identified the top four employment fields for their children as finance, education, health and the arts.