In May, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, or OECD, released a report on the state of teenage career preparation. Using data from the 2022 OECD Programme for International Students Assessment, or PISA, a global survey of 15-year-olds across more than 80 countries, the OECD found that many students are uncertain about their career plans.
In addition, the report notes that career expectations are concentrated in very traditional jobs that are not in alignment with the needs of the labor market (OECD, 2025). Notably, few girls indicated an interest in engineering or technology professions compared to boys (Fig. 1). The only OECD countries that had enough girls express interest in engineering to make it into the top three expected occupations were Morocco (13.8%), Qatar (9.2%), and the United Arab Emirates (7.5%).
Fig. 1: Occupational Expectations for Select OECD Countries, Top 3 by Gender, 2022
By percentage of girls and boys expecting to work in these occupations:
In contrast, the top occupational expectations for boys in many countries often include engineering and technology. In fact, engineer and information and communication technology, or ICT, are two of the top three expected occupations for boys across all OECD countries, while for girls, doctor, lawyer, and teacher top the list.
Notably, the report highlights that girls are less likely than they were 20 years ago to list female-dominated careers as their expected occupation, such as hairdresser or office clerk, and more likely to list architect or police officer. This indicates that more occupations are attracting interest from both boys and girls than they were in the past, though gender still appears to influence career interests. Family pressure can affect this, as one-third of students in PISA 2022 said that they feel pressure from their families to follow a specific path after completing compulsory education.
The report notes that students’ uncertainty about their career prospects has never been higher, with many expressing anxiety and confusion about how prepared they are for their future career. Researchers found that across OECD countries, about 20% of students who expect to work in a profession that requires postsecondary education as an entry requirement do not plan to continue their education beyond high school or upper secondary education. However, students who participate in career development activities tend to have clearer career plans and better outcomes than students who do not.
The report notes that students’ uncertainty about their career prospects has never been higher, with many expressing anxiety and confusion about how prepared they are for their future career.
The PISA assessment asks students if they have engaged in an internship (typically unpaid), attended job-shadowing or worksite visits, or visited a job fair. Across most countries, boys report more exposure to these career-development activities than girls (Fig. 2). Additionally, given that the PISA is administered to 15-year-olds, some countries appear to encourage career exploration at a younger age than other countries.
The OECD report stresses the importance of employer engagement in supporting students’ career development. Particularly for students from disadvantaged backgrounds, who are often less certain of their career plans than their more affluent peers, engaging with individuals in the workforce helps build social capital, increases access to opportunities, and challenges career stereotypes.
Programs like SWENext, its Invent It. Build It. events, and the numerous outreach programs that the Society of Women Engineers and its members engage in across the globe introduce young people to the field of engineering. Through outreach activities like these that facilitate engagements between students, collegiate members, and working engineers, a more diverse and inclusive engineering workforce can be created to meet the growing global need for STEM talent.
Fig. 2: Participation in Career Development Activities for Select OECD Countries, by Gender, 2022
For more information:
- The OECD hosts a Teenage Career Readiness Dashboard.
- SWE’s research site offers more global data and research on the state of STEM education and the workforce.
- Read “SWENext Celebrates 10th Anniversary” in this issue of SWE Magazine.
Source
OECD (2025), The State of Global Teenage Career Preparation, OECD Publishing, Paris.
