This step-by-step guide can help you and your student explore available careers and decide on possible choices that suit his or her interests.
Discuss Possible Careers
Your student may understand what you and other adults in life do for a living, and they are likely aware of many other popular career choices like doctor, lawyer, educator and accountant. But they may not understand the wide variety of jobs currently available or possible in the near future. Here are some ways you can help your student discover more possibilities:
- Point out less well-known professions as you observe them in daily life.
- Mention the jobs held by relatives and associates. Be specific about job duties instead of using general descriptors like "She works with computers," or "He works in an office."
- Ask acquaintances more about their careers within your child's hearing.
- Encourage your student to research job titles and related duties. Classified ads and job websites can indicate the most popular jobs today.
Determine Interests
Help your student connect his or her own growing interests with possible careers. One way to do this is through career interest assessments. Some to try include:
Finding a fulfilling career is also important, considering how much time people spend at work or thinking about work. People tend to be much happier when they work at jobs:
- They truly enjoy.
- At which they excel.
- Where they feel they contribute to an organization's success.
- They feel called or meant to do.
As you discuss careers with your student, remind him or her that choosing a career now isn't necessarily a lifetime commitment. Even if he or she pursues and obtains a job that turns out to be not suited to changing interests and circumstances, each position builds skills for future jobs.
Understand Related Careers
Once your student better understands his or her current interests and associated jobs, it's time to look at other related careers. These can be careers within the same field or they may simply share similar characteristics or duties. The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Outlook Handbook may be a good place to start. For each career, it provides:
- Starting and median pay
- Required education, training and work experience
- Current number of jobs
- Job outlook
- Job duties or activities
- Work environment
- State and area data
- Similar occupations
Experience Actual Jobs
To help your student understand whether a particular career would be appealing eight hours a day and five days a week, encourage him or her to work with current employees in that field. Adult professionals are often willing to share information with students who express interest in their jobs. Encourage your student to explore careers through:
- Job shadowing with friends, relatives or members of professional organizations like the Rotary Club
- Volunteering
- Internships
- Informational interviews
- Club activities
- Online research
Connect Skills to Duties
As your student narrows down possible careers, he or she should think about the skills that can be developed now to prepare for those careers. Some skills are industry-specific and can be obtained through academic classes or club activities, while others are transferable to many different fields. Some skills highly prized by employers are:
- Teamwork
- Time management
- Leadership
- Self-motivation
- Decision-making
- Communication
- Interpersonal
Make a Plan
Help your student come up with a flexible and ongoing plan to achieve career goals, including the education or training needed and reasonable amounts to pay for that education. The plan can be revisited as your child's interests develop and other circumstances change. Some concepts to include in the plan are:
- Job outlooks
- Geographical influences
- Entry level and mid-career salaries for related careers
- Cost of the education required to obtain a specific career
- Academic and technical preparation
