Speaker and audience at a RealSkills career event

A project about real professions

Professions without the gloss.

RealSkills helps teenagers move beyond a once-and-for-all choice and quickly understand a profession: what feels exciting, what is difficult, where to study and how to try it.

Explore the catalogue →Explore career profiles →

15 professions in the cataloguechoose by what fits youcareer profiles7-day challenges

Professions

Explore professions

Clear and human: what the work is, whom it suits, what to learn, where to start and what can be hard about it.

PracticalPressure

Cook

Turns ingredients, timing and teamwork into a service people rely on.

Try it: cook one dish three times, track the time and ask for honest feedback.

PeopleResponsibility

Doctor

Works with bodies, fear, trust and decisions that have consequences.

Try it: explain one body system to a younger friend without jargon.

CityAttention

Metro driver

Keeps a city moving on schedule and carries responsibility for passenger safety.

Try it: follow a precise daily timetable and note every deviation.

MediaAI risk

Social media specialist

Works with attention through content, data, meaning and audience reactions.

Try it: make five short videos on one topic and compare retention.

CreativeTaste + logic

Designer

Makes information easier to see, understand and use.

Try it: redesign a poor poster and explain five decisions.

TechnologyPrecision

Engineer

Turns ideas into systems that must work in the real world.

Try it: build a simple prototype and record what failed in testing.

SystemsText

Lawyer

Works with rules, risk, negotiation and the consequences of decisions.

Try it: read a simple agreement and find five possible risks.

PeopleBoundaries

Psychologist

Helps people understand themselves, choices, crises and relationships.

Try it: keep an emotion diary and practise active listening.

CityRisk

Rescuer

Works where others need to move to safety.

Try it: complete a basic first-aid course and practise an emergency algorithm.

BusinessUncertainty

Entrepreneur

Finds a problem, builds a solution, sells it and takes responsibility for money.

Try it: talk to ten people with one problem and test a simple solution.

MediaChaos

Producer

Brings together an idea, people, budget and deadlines to make something real.

Try it: produce a small video with a two-person team.

MediaQuestions

Journalist

Finds facts, asks difficult questions and explains complex things clearly.

Try it: investigate one local issue using three sources.

TechnologyReaction

Esports player

Trains play as sport: mechanics, strategy, teamwork, routine and resilience.

Try it: practise one skill daily and analyse three mistakes after each session.

SecurityResponsibility

Intelligence analyst

Works with information, risk, discipline and decisions that are not entertainment.

Try it: map facts from five reliable public sources without speculation.

TechnologyFocus

Drone operator

Operates aerial technology while working with navigation, video and team communication.

Try it: learn safety rules, maps and responsible planning before flying.

TechnologyTroubleshooting

Robotics engineer

Designs, builds and programs machines that sense their environment and perform tasks.

Try it: Build or simulate a simple sensor-based mechanism and document three improvements.

SecurityVigilance

Cybersecurity specialist

Protects data, accounts and systems, finds vulnerabilities and helps teams respond to attacks.

Try it: Set up a password manager and two-factor authentication, then make a family security checklist.

CreativeBalance

Game designer

Designs rules, levels, goals and the player experience, then tests whether the game really works.

Try it: Create a one-mechanic paper game, run three playtests and revise the rules each time.

CreativeDetail

3D artist

Creates digital objects, characters and spaces for games, film, advertising, architecture and learning.

Try it: Model one object from your room, light it and make three clear views.

MediaListening

Sound engineer

Records, cleans and mixes sound so voices, music and space work together.

Try it: Make a one-minute audio story using voice, ambient sound and properly licensed music.

CityConstraints

Architect

Designs spaces where people live, learn and work, balancing ideas with standards and construction reality.

Try it: Draw an accurate plan of your room and build a scale model of one improvement.

CityTrade-offs

Urban planner

Studies how cities work and plans changes to transport, public space, housing and services.

Try it: Map a safe route to school, record the problems and verify them with three people.

ScienceFieldwork

Environmental scientist

Measures environmental conditions, analyses human impact and supports evidence-based decisions.

Try it: Study litter or greenery along one route, chart the data and propose one practical change.

PeopleResponsibility

Veterinarian

Diagnoses and treats animals, prevents disease and communicates closely with their owners.

Try it: Keep an ethical observation diary for a pet and prepare informed questions for a veterinarian.

SciencePrecision

Biotechnologist

Uses cells, microorganisms and biological processes to develop medicines, materials, food and technology.

Try it: Run a safe school yeast experiment and chart your observations carefully.

PeopleFast decisions

Paramedic

Provides urgent care before hospital, assesses patients and works in a team under pressure.

Try it: Complete a trusted first-aid introduction and make a family emergency-call plan.

SecurityEvidence

Forensic scientist

Examines traces and materials, documents them and helps establish facts through scientific methods.

Try it: Create a safe fictional scene, document it and separate observations from assumptions.

TechnologyScale

Renewable energy engineer

Designs systems that turn sun, wind and other renewable sources into reliable energy.

Try it: Measure sunlight at one location over a week and chart its simple solar potential.

CityConcentration

Air traffic controller

Coordinates aircraft, maintains safe separation and gives crews precise instructions.

Try it: Use a safe simulator or tabletop exercise to coordinate routes and log every decision.

SystemsContext

Data analyst

Turns tables and events into clear findings that help people make decisions.

Try it: Analyse your own time or an open city dataset and explain one honest finding.

Five reasons to try

Five small reasons not to postpone exploration

Small practical steps can help you understand your interests before making a career choice.

01Try it with your hands

A small task beats an hour of abstract conversation.

02See the pace

A profession becomes clear when you see the rhythm of the day.

03Understand the start

What to learn, where to go and how long until first work.

04Hear the downside

An honest downside can save years spent on an idealised career.

05Take a challenge

Seven days of small actions to test your interest safely.

What we have done

RealSkills’ first event: two days of conversation and practical work

In 2026, RealSkills held its first two-day career-guidance event at the Ukrainian-Danish Youth House in Kyiv. On the first day, approximately 80 teenagers met five speakers: a developer, producer, chef, investigative journalist and civic activist.

On the second day, participants worked on practical assignments in a workshop. Their work was reviewed by an expert jury that included representatives of the Kyiv School of Economics, KPI and a secondary school.

5speakers

~80teenagers

2days • 2 locations

Kyiv2026

These are the confirmed results of RealSkills’ first career-guidance event. The photographs below are from both days.

Events