“I really want to be something like a paleontologist or an archaeologist, but I just don't think I can handle college, so I need to find something else.”
This was one of the very first statements Joshua made when I first started working with him. The more we discussed his love of paleontology, dinosaurs, and uncovering the past, it became clear this was something he could absolutely be successful at. However, he was convinced that he wouldn’t be able to handle college, so we put that potential career avenue on the shelf for the moment to explore other options.
Over the next several weeks, we worked together to build a solid career plan based on his values, aptitudes, and interests. We dove into career assessments and used the results to explore potential careers. Since college was an avenue Joshua was uncomfortable with, we narrowed our search to careers that didn’t require a degree.
Joshua found several careers he was interested in, but he wasn’t excited about any of them.
“Joshua,” I began, “tell me how you’re feeling about these careers.”
“What do you mean?”
I waited...
“Well, they’re all fine. It’s just that I don’t really love any of them. I’m still stuck on paleontology and becoming a paleontologist, but I don’t think I can do it.”
Right then, I knew he had the answer, but it was his limited mindset that was holding him back, not his ability.
“OK,” I replied. “I get that, but what if we treated the career path to becoming a paleontologist like all these other careers? We could do the same research, then compare them and see how you feel.”
“I guess we could do that…”
Career exploration is often overwhelming. We want our teens to be happy with their post-graduation plans, but we often don’t know how to effectively help them. Traditionally, most of us direct our teens to identify potential colleges first, and then once they’ve chosen a college, to consider majors and potential careers that match that major. While this strategy can lead to positive outcomes, more often than not, it leads to a choice of a location that seems right, but a major that doesn’t fit. When that happens, students change their major, prolonging their time in college and increasing the amount of time and money they’re investing. If they've taken out student loans, this now increases their debt and the time they’ll spend paying it off once they finish college and start their career.
I don’t know about you, but the thought of our teens spending more time and potentially more money than necessary because they aren’t sure what they want to do is troubling. It seems like common sense to consider potential careers first and then let the requirements of those careers dictate post-high school education and training, not the other way around.
I’ve built a process for helping teens develop a solid post-high school plan they’re excited to pursue based on this perspective. Here are the three main focus areas, in order:
Step One: Self-Discovery
Teens don’t fully understand who they are, and yet who they are directly influences their happiness and success in potential careers.
I start by helping my clients identify their passions, skills, and values through assessments, journaling, and conversations about what excites them.
I also assign career assessments like the O*NET Interest Profiler and CareerOneStop Interest Assessment. Once I have a full picture and my client can see themselves more clearly, we move on to step two.
Step Two: Explore Career Options
Often, teens have no idea of potential careers for themselves beyond what they’ve seen or been told. Instead of staying in that narrow scope, we use the results from step one to:
Explore the 16 Career Clusters. We eliminate those my client isn’t interested in and doesn’t match well with (based on assessment results).
Dig deeper into the remaining clusters, discussing potential careers and ranking them based on interest, growth, salary, etc.
Explore specific careers in each cluster, identifying entry-level experience, education, and training requirements. Once that’s complete, we move on to step three.
Step Three: Build a Plan
At this point, I have each client select their top three potential careers to narrow their focus and dig deeper into career-pathway development.
We construct a comparison chart outlining salaries, job growth, education/training requirements, stackable certifications, and career advancement opportunities.
We engage in discussions about each career and how it aligns with their ideal lifestyle and values.
We identify specific education, training, and experience options and set a budget for each one. It’s at this stage that clients often rank their options and choose the one they most want to pursue.
Finally, we build a comprehensive plan that includes experience, coursework, specific education and training, stackable certifications (if applicable), career progression, and networking opportunities. I encourage job shadowing and professional interviews as well.
After Joshua completed his comparison chart, he realized there was only one path forward for him: paleontology. He even picked out a school and program and no longer doubted his ability to complete the education required.
Why?
Because he was certain it was what he wanted to pursue, and certainty is the difference between doubt and confidence.
Today, Joshua is meeting the challenge of his educational journey toward his ideal career. While it’s hard, he is confident he will stick with it.
The right process can uncover the right career for your teen too!
Is your teen struggling to develop their post-high school plan?
Check out these other resources!
The College Is Not Mandatory book (there is a super-helpful guide at the back!)
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