Enter Stage Left: Acting Overtakes Pilot as the World's Dream Job, New Report says

By The COAST Reporter

Email, thecoastnewspaper@gmail.com

A new global study from Remitly has revealed how the world’s dream careers have shifted since 2024 with acting taking the top spot for the first time in job preferences.

Searches for ‘how to be a pilot’ have decreased 50 per cent knocking it from the world’s number one dream career into second place.

YouTuber is the top career choice of 28 countries globally – more countries than any other career in the study.

Artificial intelligence(AI) jobs make their debut as their own dream-career category in 2026 led by Prompt Engineer and AI Specialist.

An international report from Remitly, which provides digital financial services for those who move abroad for work, has revealed how the world’s most coveted dream careers have shifted since 2024.

The research, now in its third edition, analysed Google searches for “how to be a…” and “how to become a…” across 145 countries (with corresponding language) and 424 different careers.

For the first time since the study began in 2022, pilot has been knocked off the top spot. Acting now leads the global rankings, with 222,080 annual searches for “how to be an actor” (up 12% from 2024).

The role takes the number one dream job spot in countries including Malaysia, the Bahamas, Tonga, the Czech Republic and Denmark, as global appetite for a creative life on stage or screen continues to grow.

Slipping into second place is the long-standing favourite, pilot, with 221,060 searches, though notably, search interest in a career in aviation has fallen 49% since the previous study.

Despite the drop, becoming a pilot remains the top dream job in 11 countries, including India, Indonesia, the Netherlands, Norway, Qatar, Singapore, Sweden, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Latvia and Antigua and Barbuda.

In third place, the noble profession of firefighter has climbed 13 places, with 171,330 annual searches, and now takes the top dream job spot in France and Lithuania.

The most dramatic mover of all, however, is lawyer, which has climbed an extraordinary 55 places into fourth, with searches increasing 273% year on year.

Whether the boost is being driven by high-profile real-life cases, the popularity of legal dramas on streaming platforms, or the rise of legal-tech careers, global interest in entering the profession is at an all-time high.

Rounding out the top five, YouTuber continues to capture global imaginations with 148,430 searches. While the absolute numbers have dipped slightly since 2024, the role still takes the number one dream-job slot in 28 countries, more countries than any other career in the study, the majority across Latin America and the Caribbean.

Entrepreneur ranks second by number of countries claiming it as their top dream job, with pilot third.

A standout shift in this year’s analysis is the emergence of AI as a dream-career category in its own right.

Searches for “how to be a Prompt Engineer” (5,590) “how to be an AI Specialist” (3,430) and “how to be a Machine Learning Engineer” (2,550) all appear in global search data for the first time, capturing how rapidly the AI economy is reshaping what people consider a ‘real’ career path.

Ryan Riley, VP of Marketing for EMEA and APAC at Remitly, commented:

“While careers like actor and pilot continue to rank among the world’s most aspirational jobs, it’s notable to see traditionally stable professions such as lawyer and veterinarian climbing the rankings this year.

One trend emerging from the data is that people may be placing greater value on financial security.

At the same time, dream-driven careers like DJ and YouTuber are also gaining popularity, suggesting many are still prioritising passions.

Perhaps the most striking finding is the growing influence of artificial intelligence on career aspirations. Just three years ago, virtually no one was searching for roles like ‘Prompt Engineer.’ Today, AI-related careers are beginning to appear in the data, reflecting how quickly new technologies are reshaping the way people think about work.

As AI continues to evolve, we expect this area of the study to change dramatically from year to year.”