What Were Popular Jobs in the 1960s?
Popular jobs in the 1960s were doctor, lawyer and pilot for men, and teacher, nurse and secretary for women. Race car driver, soldier, fashion model and stewardess were popular fantasy careers for young boys and girls.
In the early 1960’s, some women were interested in jobs traditionally held by men, such as doctor and lawyer. Women were allowed to attend college and become doctors or lawyers, but they still had a tough time finding a job. Society had certain ideas about gender roles and challenging those ideas became a major theme of the decade. As the 1960s progressed, more men became interested in jobs traditionally held by women such as teacher, nurse and secretary. Men were not usually held back from obtaining these jobs. Conversely, women who wished to become fire fighters or police officers were held back by gender in almost every case. The subsequent protests throughout the 1960s gave young boys and girls freedom to pursue more diverse occupations. There is a marked difference in popular jobs of the early decade as opposed to which jobs were popular as the 1970s approached. The occupational landscape changed drastically during the 1960s, so by the end of the decade, women and men enjoyed more options than ever before.