Career first priority for teen women

Young women today will not let their careers take a back seat to their husbands' jobs, a new survey by Seventeen magazine says. The magazine's "1980 Teen Trends Survey" is conducted every two years to measure the thoughts, opinions, attitudes, and activities of young women.

Eight out of 10 teens surveyed said that before they consider marrying, they will make certain the men support their career plans. What's more, 88 percent plan to work after they are married, and 6 out of 10 girls will continue working even after they have a child. A meaningful career is so important to teens today that more than 40 percent said they would pursue a field in which the sense of achievement is high, even if the salary is not.

It is not surprising that this new career-oriented teen is very concerned about issues pertaining to women. The survey showed that 94 percent are interested in equal education and training; 93 percent of the girls are concerned about meaningful work and adequate compensation; and nearly 2 out of 3 teens are interested in the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment. In addition, nearly 2 out of 5 teens approve of single mothers raising children.

Other findings in the teen trends survey include:

* The career choices of teens vary widely, with housewife-mother, lawyer, and medicine named most frequently.

* Ninety-four percent of all teen girls plan to attend college. About 1 in 5 of these girls intend to major in liberal arts, making it the most popular future field of study. The health field was the second most popular prospective major, followed by business.

* Half of all teen girls in this country are working (90 percent hold part-time jobs, and 10 percent work full time. The most prevalent part-time job for teens is waitress, foodservice helper. The most common full-time job among working teens is offi ce clerk.