Top ten jobs misunderstood by parents

British employees are getting frustrated at trying to explain non-traditional job roles to their parents, LinkedIn has found.
A fashion designer is one of the least understood jobs by parents.A fashion designer is one of the least understood jobs by parents.
A fashion designer is one of the least understood jobs by parents.

With constant innovation in the workplace, jobs are changing and many new roles have been created which weren’t around years ago.

Professional network LinkedIn found that one in three parents do not know what their children do to earn a living and 52 per cent are not familiar with the working exploits of their offspring.

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The most misunderstood job is that of a user interface designer, with more than 80 per cent of parents admitting they are not confident they could accurately define the purpose of the role.

Meanwhile, most parents know the function of teachers, firefighters and architects.

The top ten roles which left parents scratching their heads were:

1. UI Designer - misunderstood by 86 per cent of parents

2. Data scientist - 76 per cent

3. Social media manager - 71 per cent

4. Actuary – 68 per cent

5. Sub editor – 66 per cent

6. Sociologist – 62 per cent

7. Radio producer – 58 per cent

8. PR manager – 57 per cent

9. Investment banker – 55 per cent

10. Fashion designer – 51 per cent

LinkedIn compiled the list to mark its Bring in Your Parents Day concept which calls on professionals to give their parents an insight into their working life.

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The company hopes the initiative will mean there is less of a gap between the new generation of workers and those before them. Businesses backing the concept include Samsung, Mars, Philips and Doro.

Darain Faraz, PR manager at LinkedIn, said: “Parents can be a valuable part of their child’s career, and an important source of advice and guidance. Our research shows that almost half of parents have an opinion on their child’s work situation but often hold back because they don’t fully understand what they do for a living.

“Bring in Your Parents Day was born with one goal in mind – to bring employees and their parents together, arming parents with the knowledge they need to open up those potentially important conversations around the world of work.”

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