Half of children dream of science career Some 47 per cent of eight to 18-year-olds said they would prefer a career in subjects like IT, medicine, engineering or research science, but just 11 per cent chose showbusiness. A career in the media was the goal for 12 per cent of respondents to the YouGov poll, while four per cent opted for banking and six per cent said they would like to become politicians or civil servants. More than a quarter of the 700 children, who were from a variety of different backgrounds, said they hoped to read a science or maths-based subject at university and a further 10 per cent would like to study medicine, dentistry, pharmacy or nursing. In contrast just 18 per cent said they would prefer to read arts subjects, six per cent chose humanities and four per cent said they would rather do a course in business studies. Most of those who chose science subjects did so because they felt it would make them happy, while only a quarter of all respondents said their career choice would be based on how much they could earn. The results of the survey, which also revealed that just four per cent of girls were interested in studying technology, engineering or physics at university compared with 26 per cent of boys, were discussed at the The Astellas Innovation Debate at the Royal Society last night. Prof Brian Cox, one of the panellists, said: "Nobody can claim any longer that there is a shortage of scientists and engineers because young people aren't interested in taking up science. If the Government really does want to make Britain the best place in the world to do science, then we need to open up the doors of our universities to the many thousands of kids who want to study STEM subjects. Not only will this make them happy, it will give them the wherewithal to contribute to the future of our economy.