- The world googled "how to be a pilot" more than any other job between Oct. 2021 and Oct. 2022, data shows.
- In China, dietitian is the dream job for most citizens, according to the study.
- Other top dream jobs include writer, dancer, entrepreneur, and YouTuber.
A global map based on search engine data depicts the most popular jobs in the world, and some surprising positions cracked the top 20.
Financial services company Remitly published data based on global Google searches made between October 2021 and October 2022 with the query "how to be a..." with a desired job filling in the blank. The findings were ranked and broken down by the top dream job in each country.
Of the 20 most desired jobs in the world, pilot, writer, dancer, YouTuber, and entrepreneur took the top five spots. Countries that searched "how to be a pilot" the most include Canada, the US, the UK, and Australia. The median salary for commercial pilots in the US was just under $100,000 in 2021, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.
According to the data, most Chinese citizens are dreaming of being dietitians, while Lebanese people are wondering how they can become comedians.
In India, New Zealand, and South Africa, writing is the top dream job with more than 800,000 global Google searches, but analysts at Remitly said there are risks that come with a writing career.
"There are big rewards if you reach the very top and yet, it also promises to be a grueling career for many filled with rejection, self-doubt and financial concerns," the report reads.
But the data shows that people in 75 countries still choose being a writer as their top job. It's one of the broader professions on the list as writing professionally can mean becoming a journalist, novelist, or scriptwriter.
Despite Remitly's report, some professionals have sounded off about doing away with the term "dream job," Insider's Shana Lebowitz reported. Instead, more people are prioritizing their personal identities over their careers.
"We all need to work to survive, but that doesn't mean we should dream about work," a recruiter wrote in a LinkedIn post.
However, there's still a desire among young professionals to do work that is meaningful and impactful while also earning enough to support themselves.
"The soul crushing nature of spending a majority of your waking hours in pursuit of the resources you need to take care of your family is somewhat softened when you're working somewhere that aligns with what you're passionate about," a public-relations professional wrote, according to the report.