Year13 Careers Index 2024 Reveals the Most Popular Jobs for School Students

Year13 Careers Index 2024 Reveals the Most Popular Jobs for School Students

9 December 2024, Sydney

The most popular careers for Australian school students in 2024 have been revealed, according to national data from digital youth engagement platform Year13.

The Year13 Careers Index 2024 has analysed the career intention data of more than 45,000 Australian high school students and found ‘psychologist’ is the job most teenagers are interested in pursuing for their career.

The data has also revealed the top careers male and female school students are interested in, as well as the most popular careers for school students in New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia and the Australian Capital Territory. 

The Year13 Careers Index, in its first edition this year, tracks the professions school students add to their career plans when using Career Tools - a career development platform used by career advisors and students in more than 1250 high schools nationwide.

The top 10 most popular careers for Australian school students in 2024 are led by psychologist, followed by architect, mechanical engineer, anaesthetist, interior designer, criminologist, doctor/general practitioner, mining engineer, surgeon, and sports agent/manager (see the full top 20 lists at the end of the release).

For male school students the top 10 most popular careers are led by mechanical engineer, followed by sports agent/manager, electrician, builder, mining engineer, sports coach, architect, police officer, engineering manager, and aircraft pilot.

For female school students the top 10 most popular careers are headed up by psychologist, followed by criminologist, architect, interior designer, anaesthetist, fashion designer, surgeon, nurse, lawyer/solicitor, and actor.

Year13 Co-Founder Saxon Phipps said: “The Year13 Careers Index shows which jobs have high student interest versus low, which we can then compare to industry demand to show where there might be some employment gaps emerging. We know there’s a shortage of psychologists at the moment, so to see psychologist as the most popular career for Australian school students in 2024 will no doubt be very welcome news to the profession and to people who need these vital mental health services. The top 20 careers align well with many existing skills shortage areas, particularly in healthcare, engineering, and construction, however there are gaps in representation for critical sectors like aged and disabled care, education, agriculture, and emerging industries like tech and sustainability.”

State breakdown

The top 20 most popular careers for school students in each of New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia and the Australian Capital Territory were analysed, revealing significant differences in career interests - often influenced by local industries and opportunities (see the full top 20 lists at the end of the release).

Psychologist is the most popular career in every state except for Western Australia where mining engineer tops the list, reflecting the major role mining plays in the state.

In total, 38 job titles feature across the top 20 most popular careers of Australia’s states and territories. When these 38 professions are grouped by ABS industry divisions, health care and social assistance is the leading industry with 14 roles, followed by professional, scientific & technical services with 13.

Nine career paths in total are found in every state's top 20 most popular careers list, including anaesthetist, architect, criminologist, general practitioner or doctor, interior designer, mechanical engineer, mining engineer, psychologist, and surgeon.

Engineering roles appear in the top three most popular careers in every state except the ACT, while mining engineers feature in the top seven most popular careers in resource rich states like New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia and South Australia.

Meanwhile electricians rank in every state’s top 20 list except the ACT, making it the most popular trade with school students.

Other jobs which feature in the top 20 most popular careers in multiple states include:

• General practitioner or doctor in Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia and the Australian Capital Territory.
• Secondary school teacher in New South Wales, Western Australia and the Australian Capital Territory.
• Lawyer or solicitor in New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland and Western Australia.
• Builder in New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia.
• Fashion designer in Victoria, Queensland, and South Australia.
• Actor in South Australia and Western Australia.

Jobs which only feature in the top 20 most popular careers in one state include:

• Counsellor and Human Resources manager in New South Wales.
• Aircraft pilot, graphic designer and police officer in Victoria.
• Barrister, media presenter, police detective, creative director and veterinarian in the Australian Capital Territory.
• Electrical engineer, forensic psychologist, and pharmacist - hospital in Western Australia.
• Sports coach in South Australia.

Year13 Co-Founder Saxon Phipps said: “School students across all states are showing a strong interest in healthcare, engineering and creative industries with careers like psychologist, anaesthetist, architect and mechanical engineer consistently topping the state lists. But there are really interesting differences between states like the ACT being the only place where barristers and media presenters make the top 20, which is a good reflection of Canberra’s focus on government and media, while airlines might want to be looking to Victoria for their next generation of pilots. Then you have Western Australia reinforcing its status as the country’s mining powerhouse with mining engineer topping its most popular careers list, making it the only state where psychologist isn't the preferred career path of school students.”

---

Year13 Careers Index 2024 full rankings

National

1. Psychologist
2. Architect
3. Mechanical Engineer
4. Anaesthetist
5. Interior Designer
6. Criminologist
7. General Practitioner or Doctor
8. Mining Engineer
9. Surgeon
10. Sports Agent/Manager
11. Pharmacist
12. Electrician
13. Medical Scientist
14. Nurse (Registered)
15. Lawyer or Solicitor
16. Fashion Designer
17. Builder
18. Paramedic
19. Graphic Designer
20. Aircraft Pilot

Male

1. Mechanical Engineer
2. Sports Agent/Manager
3. Electrician
4. Builder
5. Mining Engineer
6. Sports Coach
7. Architect
8. Police Officer
9. Engineering Manager
10. Aircraft Pilot
11. Motorsport Engineer
12. Coach - Professional Sport
13. Physical Education (PE) Teacher
14. Electrical Engineer
15. Robotics / Mechatronics Engineer
16. Plumber
17. Psychologist
18. Business Analyst
19. Nuclear Engineer
20. Sales Manager

Female

1. Psychologist
2. Criminologist
3. Architect
4. Interior Designer
5. Anaesthetist
6. Fashion Designer
7. Surgeon
8. Nurse (Registered)
9. Lawyer or Solicitor
10. Actor
11. Costume Designer
12. General Practitioner or Doctor
13. Pharmacist
14. Judge
15. Counsellor
16. Secondary School Teacher
17. Medical Scientist
18. Paediatrician
19. Nutritionist
20. Psychiatrist

New South Wales

1. Psychologist
2. Mechanical Engineer
3. Mining Engineer
4. Criminologist
5. Architect
6. Anaesthetist
7. Interior Designer
8. Sports Agent/Manager
9. Electrician
10. Builder
11. Lawyer or Solicitor
12. Nurse (Registered)
13. Secondary School Teacher
14. Medical Scientist
15. Surgeon
16. Nutritionist
17. Human Resources Manager
18. Counsellor
19. Cafe or Restaurant Manager
20. General Practitioner or Doctor

Victoria

1. Psychologist
2. Architect
3. Mechanical Engineer
4. Interior Designer
5. General Practitioner or Doctor
6. Criminologist
7. Surgeon
8. Anaesthetist
9. Sports Agent/Manager
10. Pharmacist
11. Lawyer or Solicitor
12. Electrician
13. Fashion Designer
14. Builder
15. Nurse (Registered)
16. Medical Scientist
17. Aircraft Pilot
18. Mining Engineer
19. Graphic Designer
20. Police Officer

Queensland

1. Psychologist
2. Mechanical Engineer
3. Architect
4. Anaesthetist
5. Interior Designer
6. Criminologist
7. Mining Engineer
8. Surgeon
9. General Practitioner or Doctor
10. Electrician
11. Medical Scientist
12. Nurse (Registered)
13. Fashion Designer
14. Paediatrician
15. Sports Agent/Manager
16. Paramedic
17. Lawyer or Solicitor
18. Pharmacist
19. Costume Designer
20. Nutritionist

South Australia

1. Psychologist
2. Architect
3. Mechanical Engineer
4. Interior Designer
5. Mining Engineer
6. Electrician
7. Criminologist
8. Anaesthetist
9. Sports Agent/Manager
10. Cafe or Restaurant Manager
11. Nurse (Registered)
12. Builder
13. Costume Designer
14. Surgeon
15. General Practitioner or Doctor
16. Actor
17. Pharmacist
18. Fashion Designer
19. Sports Coach
20. Paramedic

Western Australia

1. Mining Engineer
2. Architect
3. Psychologist
4. General Practitioner or Doctor
5. Mechanical Engineer
6. Pharmacist
7. Surgeon
8. Anaesthetist
9. Criminologist
10. Electrician
11. Medical Scientist
12. Electrical Engineer
13. Forensic Psychologist
14. Pharmacist - Hospital
15. Actor
16. Lawyer or Solicitor
17. Costume Designer
18. Interior Designer
19. Secondary School Teacher
20. Cafe or Restaurant Manager

Australian Capital Territory

1. Psychologist
2. Anaesthetist
3. Interior Designer
4. Medical Scientist
5. Surgeon
6. Secondary School Teacher
7. Architect
8. General Practitioner or Doctor
9. Media Presenter
10. Pharmacist
11. Police Detective
12. Barrister
13. Criminologist
14. Nurse (Registered)
15. Paediatrician
16. Sports Agent/Manager
17. Creative Director
18. Mechanical Engineer
19. Mining Engineer
20. Veterinarian

---