What is your dream job? Do you think you are currently working in your dream role? Are you even in your dream sector to begin with? Have you given up on the idea of your dream job?

If you are having a hard time admitting the true answers to the questions above, seek solace in the fact that a majority of job-seekers are sailing in the same boat.

A recent survey conducted by TimesJobs.com brings to light several interesting trends and characteristics of the potential Indian employee. The notion of what a ‘dream job’ is, and what it means to different individuals was thoroughly examined in this survey of 1,100 Indian job-seekers. The following are the bigger and more interesting highlights of the survey:

• 30% of the male respondents expressed their dream of becoming an engineer, whereas 30% of the female respondents wanted to be a doctor or medical professional. 
• The male respondents preferred the following professions: Engineer (30%), Doctor/Medical Professional (25%), IT (20%), Chartered Accountant (15%), and Lawyers (10%).
• The female job-seekers responded to the same question as follows: Doctor/Medical Professional (30%), Chartered Accountant (25%), IT (20%), Engineers (15%) and HR (10%). 
• Unsurprisingly, the IT sector continues to be the most attractive, as was considered the ‘dream sector’ by almost 35% of the respondents, followed by healthcare and manufacturing (30% each). 
• Here is how the rest of the sectors fared: Telecom and Automobile sectors (tied at 25% each), Banking and Financial Services Industry (20%), Logistics (16%), Retail (15%), BPO/ITes (15%) and Fast Moving Consumer Goods – FMCG (10%).
• Nearly 60% prefer to work in India, than go abroad to pursue their dream job.
• In a sign that those currently working are not really happy with their jobs, 55% of the respondents said that they are not currently working in their dream profile. This holds true for 65% of the male and 75% of the female job-seekers. 
  

  However, a majority (70%) of the respondents believe that they are definitely in their ‘dream sector’ at the moment. 

• Nearly 70% of the respondents admitted that they haven’t been able to get a job in their ‘dream company’.
• Every one in four – 25% – of respondents also declared that they have given up on the very idea of their dream job. 

A few things that immediately catch the eye are the facts that the number of women that aspire to be an engineer is half that of men, and despite a majority of the respondents feeling they are not working their dream job – many feel that they are in the dream sector – given them a chance to transition or move up the ladder. Probably the most contentious finding of the survey is that a fourth of the respondents have already given up on their dream job. But intense competition, unsuccessful interviews, fear of risk-taking, complacency and time; together they have an undeniable ability to force an individual to ‘adjust’ their expectations and make them think that what they have going is good enough. With such surprises, come the expected as well: the dominance of engineering as the most preferred profession for men, and the IT sector having the biggest pull. 

Nonetheless, the survey provides a unique glimpse into the mind if the quintessential Indian job-seeker and reveals just how they think. While the term ‘dream job’ is tossed around more casually than we may realise – the survey seeks to define it, assess it and quantify it.