According to TÁRKI Social Research Institute, on average, bringing up a child costs 1.26 million Forints a year. So by the time our children get their first diploma at the age of 24, we will have spent more than 30 million Forints on each of them.

As the researchers involved in this study have pointed out, the estimates of the costs of bringing up a child differ significantly and are closely connected to the respondents’ level of education and financial situation: those who have higher qualifications and a higher income level estimate the expenses of bringing up a child to be much higher than those with no higher education.

Generali-Providencia Zrt. have conducted their own research and have come to the conclusion that bringing up a child today costs around 15 million Forints. According to their survey, it is primarily the fear of financial insecurity that suppresses the desire of starting a family of one’s own. And this problem affects women much more than men: they do not feel that their jobs are secure, and believe that as mothers with young children, they would be in a disadvantageous position if they were to apply for a job.

Although the majority of those who are thinking of starting a family are well aware of the fact that you need to have financial reserves for this, most young people do not have adequate savings for such a situation. 28% of those surveyed said they wish to guarantee their family’s future from their present salary and from state benefits and allowances (e.g. child care allowance, child benefit and family allowance). The data of GfK Hungária Market Research Organisation are even more pessimistic: according to the market research company, only 17 percent of young married couples have savings of some sort.

“Since the age for having children has changed and people are starting families later, when they are in their early thirties, parents will be around fifty by the time they have to finance their children’s higher education. From the point of view of employment, this is an extremely uncertain age. At a time when financial prospects are worsening, it is only people who start providing for their children's future in time who have the necessary financial background necessary for starting a family," says Erika Schaub, director of Generali’s personal insurance sector.

And what will our child’s “dream job” be twenty years from now? In the future, our children will have to be able to work flexibly, in perhaps ten or twenty different jobs. What’s more, they will be working in professions that don’t even exist at the moment. So parents who are at the moment arguing with their tenth grade children about which profession to choose are in a difficult situation.

One thing is sure, it’s not worth betting on professions that are popular at the moment: There are way too many lawyers, as well as marketing and communication consultants. As for dream jobs, they will probably require qualifications in mathematics or science. At least that's what representatives of Ericsson Hungary, the Hungarian Association of IT Companies (Informatikai Vállalkozások Szövetsége) and Work Force say. Global companies in Hungary are already experiencing a shortage of engineers who speak fluent English and German. Not only are there too few engineers on the market, there aren’t enough graduates with degrees in science, and very few have a sound knowledge of foreign languages.

The 21st century has resulted in the intertwining of completely different areas of science: today, areas of biology, computer science and electronics have combined and resulted in the development of tiny, intravenous medical appliances that can detect viruses in the bloodstream, or in personalised drug dosage. According to experts, those with degrees in engineering will very often become CEO’s and professional leaders of other areas.