Nearly half of all college students are now considering careers in health or science
Michelle Cheng
June 4, 2021
Big events can impact what students choose to do with their lives. After 9/11, universities saw increased interest in the study of the Middle East, Arabic, and homeland security.
The Covid-19 crisis had put the spotlight on medicine. Now, 56% of college students are reconsidering their career path as a result of the pandemic, with 45% considering a career in healthcare or science, according to a new global survey from Pearson, a UK-based education publishing company.
The survey, conducted between April 28 to May 12, 2021, sampled 4,000 parents with children between the ages of 11 and 17, and 2,000 college students in Brazil, China, the UK, and the US.
Meanwhile, applications to medical school are at an all-time high. In the past two decades, the average yearly increase for total applications to medical school was 2.5% but in 2021 applications surged 18%, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges.
Last October, in a different survey, Pearson found 24% of teens say they are “now considering a career in healthcare” as a result of Covid-19, while 32% are reconsidering careers overall.
