One in eight surveyed fancies being an engineer

Job site CV-Library claims that more than 54% of people responding to its survey said they were unhappy in their present role.

Asked to choose what jobs they would like to do, nearly one in eight opted for being an engineer. Overall, the profession ranked seventh in the research.

CV-Library founder and managing director Lee Biggins remarked: “It’s great to see that being an engineer made the list of the top 10, especially given ongoing skill shortages in the industry right now.

“With the introduction of new technologies and the ever-growing popularity of freelance work, it can often feel like some of the key professions such as engineering are being disregarded.”

Great to see engineer made the top 10, given the ongoing skill shortages in the industry

Lee Biggins, MD, CV-Library

Among engineering professionals taking part in the survey, 42% ranked job fulfilment as more important than salary. Nearly one third, however, admitted that they would be more likely to take a job that included ‘manager’ in its title.

While the growth in popularity of engineering will be welcomed by a sector with a serious shortage of recruits, the job ranks behind a few unexpected contenders.

Teaching, whose desirability had waned in recent decades, is the top choice with more than 18% of respondents naming it, together with 17% for designer and 15% for IT technician.

More surprising though is that nearly 17% included office manager and almost 13% included accountant among their preferred jobs. And – proof perhaps not every respondent had realistic job ambitions – slightly more people cited being a professional athlete in preference to working as an engineer.