About Modern Technical Careers
When I visited London with my ninth-grade students on our end-of-year trip, one of the places they wanted to see was the Science Museum. I’ve already written several articles about it, but this time I’d like to share what impressed me most about their presentation of modern technical careers. Through interactive exhibits, young people can explore a wide range of industries, discover careers in science and technology, and learn about the many different roles that experts from various scientific fields can have.
How Do We Introduce Careers to Young People?
When I think about the careers that were presented to me as a child, and later as a teenager, and then compare them to the careers that are still presented to students today, I can’t ignore how little we know about the variety of jobs that exist in science and technology (and, to be fair, in the humanities as well). We still tend to introduce the same ten traditional professions that have been around for the past thirty years: teacher, lawyer, doctor, nurse, chef, mechanic, driver, shop assistant, carpenter, and police officer. If we’re lucky, “scientist” is added to the list, although we rarely explain how many different careers exist within science.
How the Science Museum London Presents Modern Technical Careers
That’s exactly why I was so impressed by this exhibition at the Science Museum in London. It presented the work of many different technical careers that, I suspect, would all be placed under the same broad label of “expert” back home—a title that says very little about what they actually do.
Most of the activities were interactive. I tried preparing an IV drip, getting a blood sample ready for further testing, and working on the post-production of a film scene, where I added a futuristic background and placed a realistic-looking hologram into the main character’s hands.
Young visitors could also try lighting a film set, repairing a wind turbine, operating a prosthetic leg, and much more. Together, these activities offered a glimpse into engineering careers, healthcare, film production, and many other technical professions.
One Hundred Technical Careers to Explore
Another part of the exhibition introduced one hundred technical careers from a wide range of industries. Each career included a short description of the field, interviews with people working in it, what they enjoy most about their job, and a description of what a typical working day looks like.
Visitors could also take a quiz that suggested five technical career paths based on their hobbies and interests, making career exploration both engaging and practical.
Maybe We’re Asking Young People the Wrong Question
I often think about how much I would have loved to have access to something like this as a child or teenager. And I wish we could show young people here, in our own schools, the incredible diversity hidden behind the word scientist (or engineer or technologist). I wish we could introduce them to modern technical careers and the wide variety of work these professions involve. To show them that perhaps the more important question isn’t What do you want to become? but What kinds of problems do you want to solve?
Although I don’t expect this to appear in our curricula (and, as a result, in our textbooks) anytime soon, we can still show young people this diversity ourselves. On this website, you’ll find all one hundred technical careers presented across many different industries.
I hope we can help young people discover the many challenges they could one day work on—and even get paid to solve.
Authorship and use of AI
This article is based on my own research, thinking, and editorial work. I used artificial intelligence as a support tool during the writing process, mainly for structuring the text, improving clarity, and, where relevant, translating it into English.
All key decisions, interpretations, and the final version of the text are my own.
FURTHER READING:
– Technicians: We make the difference