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Student News

Your career could be affected by how many siblings you have

A new study suggests that the order you're born in could have an affect on which career you choose later in life!
Frozen sistersIf you don’t end up in the job of your dreams after graduation, you apparently have two options: either take it out on your siblings, or place the blame on the folks.

According to new research from Disney (we know - weird, right?), your career later in life could be affected by the order you were born in.

Disney are continuing to celebrate the massive success of Frozen (read: absolutely milking it) by releasing this research to mark National Siblings Day. In case you've been living under a rock, the film tells the tale of a rocky but close relationship between two sisters, Anna and Elsa.

So maybe the research isn't that weird after all... we guess?

Looking for some career inspo? Here's 9 absolutely awesome jobs we're pretty sure you've never even heard of.

What does my birth order say about my career?

Now there's a Buzzfeed quiz you haven't come across yet (watch this space!).

So, let’s take a look at what life has in store for you, if we consider where you're placed in your family...

careers graph

First-borns

The eldest are more likely to have their sights firmly set on the skies, with astronauts being 29% more likely to be the oldest child.

First-borns are also more likely to lean towards science and engineering careers. Don’t believe us? Stephen Hawking and Tim Berners-Lee - some of the brainiest people alive - are among the eldest in their families.

Not only this, but the study found that scientists and engineers tend to come from bigger families of an average of 4.6 children rather than the average of 2.4.

The middle child

These children were found to be 30% more likely than their siblings to become big-shot CEOs and entrepreneurs (like Richard Branson, for example).

If you’re a middle child reading this, you could end up representing Team GB at the Olympics one day, because those athletes are 41% more likely to be middle-born.

Last-borns

The baby of the family could actually end up following in the footsteps of some of the biggest names in classical music, like Bach or Mozart, as the results showed the youngest child is 50% more likely to fall into a role that involves composing music.

It doesn’t end there, though: youngest siblings are also more likely to become the explorer of tomorrow. If being the youngest means becoming the next Bear Grylls or David Attenborough, this sounds the most appealing to us!

Only children

Usually seen as an entirely different species altogether (we joke), only children tend to be real perfectionists. They're also generally very mature compared to all of the above, and are more likely to choose creative careers as artists - a staggering 181% higher than expected.

Worried that your degree might be setting you up for the wrong career? These high-flying jobs don't care what subject you studied at uni.

Katie Paterson

WRITTEN BY Katie Paterson

Katie Paterson is an accomplished writer from Glasgow. She studied English Literature at the University of Strathclyde, then went on to do a Research Masters in Literature at the University of Amsterdam. As Lead Editor for Save the Student, Katie has covered topics from career tips to ways to make money go further as a student.
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