What did you want to be when you grew up? Chances are, like so many adolescents, you had some pretty lofty goals for yourself.

Yes, children and teenagers dream big when it comes to their future careers. And, for the most part, that's a great thing. From ballerinas to astronauts, they have a pretty grandiose idea of what's in store for them in their adult lives.

But, with all of the encouraging, "You can be whatever you want to be!" mantras that adults echo aside, how realistic are these dreams?

Well, new research shows that there's a pretty distinct difference between the career fantasies of those teenage youngsters and the realities and needs of our working world.

No Surprise: Teenagers Don't Want "Boring" Jobs

To examine these differences, digital marketing agency, Digital Third Coast, partnered up with marketing research firm, C+R Research, to survey more than 400 American teenagers (grade levels nine through 12) all over the country.

What they found provides a somewhat rude awakening for the future of our workforce.

Let's look at office workers for example. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics as reported in this study, 15% of Americans have administrative or office jobs -- making it the largest of the 22 different work segments. But, what percentage of teenagers state they'd like to work in one of those jobs one day? A shocking (or, arguably, not so shocking) 0%.

Other common industries paint a similar picture. Sales and other related occupations make up an estimated 10% of the workforce. Yet, only 1% of the teenagers surveyed are looking forward to a career in that field.

Food preparation and serving-related jobs account for 8% of our labor force. But, again, only 1% of the teenage participants mentioned eventually wanting that sort of role.

Teenage Dreams or Workforce Nightmares?

Obviously, there's a real disparity between the jobs that teenagers want and the ones that make up a good chunk of our workforce.

But, that begs the question: What exactly do these teenagers want to be? What careers are they aiming for?

As you might suspect, those inevitable teenage dreams play a big role in their ambitious career goals. A whopping 20% of teens reported wanting to work in arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media occupations -- a segment that makes up only 2% of the workforce.

Another 15% of teenagers have the admirable goal of eventually becoming healthcare practitioners (such as doctors, nurses, dentists, pharmacists, and veterinarians). However, this segment only accounts for 6% of the workforce.

It can only be assumed that the hefty education involved with these sorts of roles eventually inspires these medical professional hopefuls to change course.

But, both of these examples show that the majority of teenagers are aiming for careers that are selective, prestigious, and plain old difficult to secure.

Moving Forward

The fact that the career ambitions of today's teenagers are far less than realistic probably isn't surprising. But, it is somewhat concerning.

Of course, their objectives can (and likely will!) changes as they mature, explore their options, and get those often brutal doses of reality we've all had to swallow from time to time. Hey, even I wanted to be everything from a bird to a Broadway star throughout my younger years.

But, it will be interesting to see if even more programs or initiatives (like Girls Who Code, to provide just one example) will crop up to steer the younger generations toward more promising (not to mention necessary and growing!) career paths.