Dr Tony Tan Keng Yam has the best and coolest job in the world, according to Singaporean kids aged between 7 and 14 years old.
In an annual children's career survey by recruiting firm Adecco, 8.3 per cent of the 120 kids surveyed felt that being the President of Singapore was the coolest job, followed by being a pilot, police office and singer.
Parents found this to be amusing and felt the views of these kids reflected the reality in Singapore.
Kateline Teo, a 37-year-old mother of two told Yahoo! Singapore, "It's like taking a swipe at the President. I don't think they voted it as the 'coolest or best job' because it's a respectful job."
"The kids probably get the impression that a President's job is easy money and they get paid forever," Teo added.
Other parents echoed this view. Another parent, Mrs Chua, 33, said that "even kids realise that the President doesn't do much but still gets paid a load of money."
"They think the job of being a president is very glamorous and they don't have a clear idea of public service. If the kids are enlightened about the nature of the job and the sacrifices such figures have to make, the kids might not choose it anymore," said Benjamin Pua, 39, manager.
At last week's ministerial pay review, President Tony Tan took a massive pay cut of 51 per cent from $3.17 million to $1.54 million.
The survey also asked the children if they were to become the Prime Minister of Singapore, what would be the first three things they would do after assuming office.
Some of the responses included:
- “Help to save resources -- such as energy and water”
- “Round up all the sick animals and send them to a vet”
- “Build another Universal Studios”
- “Clean up the beaches for all to enjoy”
- “Ban cockroaches”
On a more serious note, most children (7.4 per cent) said they wanted to be a teacher when they grew up. The youngsters surveyed also expected a monthly salary ranging from $50 to $10,000 for being a teacher.
One of the youngest respondents, a 7-year-old, was happy to earn a monthly income of $5 as a horse-riding instructor.
79 per cent of the children said they would prefer to spend time with their families than making money. This was a drop from last year's 96 per cent. The children surveyed gave reasons such as:
- “Money simply cannot provide happiness”
- “We can't buy time and family”
- “Money is always there but my family may not be”
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President of Singapore has world’s coolest job: kids’ poll
By Fann Sim | Yahoo! Newsroom – Tue, Jan 10, 2012
View PhotoPresident Tony Tan has the coolest job in the world, according to Singaporean children. (Getty Images)
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