Teen Post: What do YOU Want to Do with Your Life?
Choosing the Best Career Path is Sometimes a Struggle of Uncertainty for Teens
As a teenager, thinking about your future: your hopes, career goals, colleges choices, where you will live, and so much more, can be simply overwhelming. Some kids are just lucky – they are born knowing what they want to do, or have a natural talent that emerges early and shines a bright light upon the educational road. But for many others, the choice is not so clear. And it can even be a bit scary. College, or a professional training course of any sort, does not come cheap in this economy. So you want to have a clear objective before you embark!
According to Teen Ink Magazine, “Students pick occupations for many reasons, not always good ones. Money, prestige, and mystique are a few of the alluring factors that can enter into the equation.” Others feel pressured to enter into a family business because of parental expectations, or just because the road is already paved for them. But the simple fact remains that, if you don’t like the family business, it’s probably not going to be the best choice in the long run.
Teens: Steps to Take When Choosing a Career
- Take a Personality Profile. There are tons of them available online. Of course, stepping back and assessing yourself objectively is just as important as a computer generated test, but these things are helpful in identifying a few things about yourself that you might not have realized.
- Research Future Job Need. And we are talking 10 to 20 years from now, not the demand out there right now. This world is changing more rapidly than it ever has before. Do not underestimate technology and the need to keep up with it academically. For instance, the U.S. News and World Report reports that librarian science is on a sudden upswing – the demand for “digital librarians” will be very high due the exponential growth of digital media.
- Take Hours into Consideration. Certain positions require some odd hours. If you want traditional hours, you can cross off such specialty professions as chefs, doctors, lawyers – all can come with late or odd hours. It is something you must be aware of.
- Think about Specializing. You can get a degree in – let’s say education – but early in the game it is prudent to think about a niche. Special needs children, gifted children or those with exceptional talents, are in need of specialists and therapists. A lot of such specialties require special training or certificates, so it’s great if you can think of ways to boost your income earning potential early on.
- Think Geek, not Greek. In years past, the party image of university life was something many teens were anxious to partake in. But the job industry is quite competitive and our economic climate is shaky, so now – party not so much. You can rejoice when you snag the job over the guy next to you with the hangover and C average. All fields involving engineering, science, and computers are high on the list of best jobs of the future. Some examples are robotics, artificial intelligence, virtual reality, and gene therapy. Tech geeks rule! And it sounds exciting to us!
- Set up Some Field Trips. My guess is, parents would be ecstatic to help you set up some great field trips that will expose you to different industries and potential career opportunities. Have fun with it!
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Remember, if you are a teen, now is the time to explore your options – without pressure. Try to think outside the box and get a feel for industries that you may not have been exposed to before. Thinking about potential careers should ultimately fill you with a sense of excitement and anticipation, and not serve to frighten or stress you in any way. As a homeschooled teen, you are probably quite familiar with the wonderful thought of controlling your own path and your own destiny!
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