Although paramedic was named the most respected profession, it is not the occupation parents most often want for their children. That title goes to doctor. As in the previous year, the results show that parents are guided not only by prestige, but also by stability, demand for a given profession and, of course, high earnings, according to the “Ranking of Professions 2026” prepared by SW Research.
Children’s Day is usually a family occasion filled with shared games, conversations and activities. In the case of older children, the topic of their professional future may also come up. Children’s dreams vary and often change, while parents’ ambitions tend to be more stable, although they also evolve over time. That is why, every year, as part of the study conducted for the “Ranking of Professions”, we also check which jobs Poles would most like to see their children doing. The question is asked separately for daughters and sons, with respondents asked to indicate up to three professions.
Not only prestige
The desired profession for a child is not necessarily the most prestigious one. Doctor, the profession most frequently indicated by parents — with 23% of indications for sons and 24% for daughters — ranked only fourth in the prestige ranking. The most highly respected professions, such as paramedic, firefighter or passenger aircraft pilot, were chosen much less often, possibly because of difficult and risky working conditions. Social recognition appears to be decisive, however, in the case of the latter profession, which is one of the most desired for sons.
The importance of security and stability for parents is reflected in the fact that most of the dream professions for children are associated with calm intellectual work, such as IT specialist or lawyer, and relatively stable employment, such as pharmacist or university professor. Entrepreneurs and directors in large companies also appeared near the top of the list. Accountant also remains one of the desired professions for daughters.
The results show that parents’ ideas about a good professional future for their child are fairly pragmatic. Doctor remains a symbol of a desirable profession, not necessarily because it ranks highest in terms of prestige, but because it combines social recognition, stability and a sense of meaningful work. It is clear, however, that prestige alone is not enough. Professions burdened with high risk, responsibility or difficult working conditions do not automatically translate into parents’ dreams for their children’s future. Another important theme is the continued preference for professions associated with security, intellectual work and a predictable career path, such as IT specialist, lawyer, pharmacist or university professor. At the same time, entrepreneur and director also rank highly, showing that parents increasingly value not only stability, but also independence, agency and the potential for economic success, comments Piotr Zimolzak, Vice-President of SW Research.
The least respected professions are also the least popular
Although the prestige of a profession is not the only, or even the main, factor determining whether parents would like to see their children in it, most of the least desired professions are not popular choices in this context. According to Poles, the least desired professions for children are telemarketer or remote sales specialist for a son, and public transport driver for a daughter. Typically physical jobs dominate this group: unskilled construction worker, cleaner and taxi driver. These are professions which, apart from telemarketer, rank somewhere in the middle of this year’s profession ranking.
Telemarketer is one of the exceptions here. This profession is not only rarely desired by parents, but also has one of the lowest levels of social respect. The same applies to YouTuber and influencer, which were also rarely indicated by parents as dream professions for their children. Political roles, such as Member of Parliament or municipal councillor, also fall into the category of professions that are both poorly respected socially and not very popular among parents. Miner, on the other hand, is also not a particularly desired profession for children, despite ranking high in terms of social recognition.
The list of least desired professions is also interesting. It is largely made up of occupations associated with physical work, lower stability, less autonomy or limited social prestige. This shows that parents not only choose professions for their children that offer opportunities for advancement and security, but also clearly reject career paths they perceive as less developmental, more burdensome or less well paid, adds Piotr Zimolzak.
What professions do mothers and fathers dream of for their children?
Women’s and men’s choices regarding dream professions for their children are similar, although they sometimes differ in the percentage of indications. In the case of sons, mothers more often indicated the profession of doctor than fathers did — 26% compared with 21%. Similar differences apply to IT specialist/programmer and entrepreneur/owner of a large company, at 13% and 8% respectively. Slightly more fathers, however, would like to see their sons become passenger aircraft pilots — 13% compared with 9% — or border guards — 6% compared with 3% — a profession that ranks much lower on the overall list of preferred jobs.
When it comes to daughters, the differences between parents’ choices are noticeably less pronounced. The largest difference concerns psychotherapist, at 4 percentage points: 10% of women and 6% of men indicated this profession as desirable for a daughter. The difference is slightly smaller in the case of entrepreneur or owner of a large company. Mothers are also slightly more likely to see their daughters in professions such as paramedic, IT specialist/programmer, HR specialist or flight attendant. Among the professions preferred by men for daughters were almost all political positions, including minister, municipal councillor and Member of the Polish Sejm.
Methodological note
The study was conducted on 21–23 April 2026 using the CAWI method by the SW Research institute on a representative sample of 1,006 Poles aged 16–80.
Source: CEO.com.pl
