How can i help my child choose a career

Helping Your Child Choose a Career Path

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The questions and topics to start the conversation

Author: Hannah Henry
Work Readiness
Published: Thursday, 08 Apr 2021

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Future Career Considerations

Don't wait until the last minute to start these types of discussions with your young adult. Starting their sophomore year, your student should start having a better understanding of what their interests are. Here are some questions to guide your conversation:

Help them narrow down what aspects matter most

Encourage "strength spotting"; this is where your teen will outline their strengths and explore their skills. Whether your child wants to make a difference through nonprofit work or be the next NASA engineer, every person chooses their path for their skillset. Check out JA My Way™ for tools and tips to help your student discover possible careers.

Determine what specific goals they want to accomplish in a career (income, making a difference, thrill of a challenge, etc.).

With the skills that your child has found in the previous step, dig deeper into what "fuels" them. Do they feel rewarded by helping others? Making a lot of money? Using their creativity to create something? There is no right or wrong answer.

Begin looking at what is out there

Does your teen feel like they know what they want to do but aren't sure about the position title? Instead of having your teen list specific careers, have them look through the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Outlook Handbook. This will provide details and descriptions of jobs within specific career categories.

Mentorship

If you know someone in the field your teen wants to explore, offer to connect them! Most professionals are happy to grab a coffee and sit down to discuss their industry. Don’t know anyone in the industry your student is interested in? Check out JA’s Career Speaker Videos here.

Once Your Child Has Determined a Career Path

Congratulations! Your child has determined a career (or a few) that they feel they will flourish in, but where do they go now? While this next topic may seem a bit more intense, as your student looking ahead at their future, they must start to narrow in on a work environment best suited for them to flourish.

According to Indeed, between the ages of 18 to 24, a person will change their job on an average of nearly 6 times. In the age range of 25 to 34, the average is 2.4 times, and from there, the average declines to 2.9 between 35-44. To get to the heart of directing your child to the right career path, it's essential to understand why the averages seem so high when it comes to career changes. An Indeed study conducted in 2019 found, of those surveyed, nearly half of the full-time U.S. workers made a dramatic career shift as in changed entirely different industries. Of the participants who reported not switching careers, 65% said they were thinking about it or had previously considered it. The top 5 reasons the participants reported changing careers were:

Unhappy in previous job/sector (81%)
Wanted more flexibility (79%)
Desired more money/income (79%)
Did not feel challenged or satisfied (78%)
Wanted more opportunities for advancement (77%)

Nearly all of these factors are determined by location and company/ workplace culture. While your child is preparing for the workforce, it is crucial to have them start looking at companies that are leaders in the industry or who are up-and-coming. To start, have your child consider:

Where are they located? What are the pros and cons of moving to this area?
What values are important to me that a company should share?
What is the average income of someone starting out in my profession? What earning potential would I have with this company I'm looking into (Glassdoor is a great resource).
Where do I see myself 5, 10, 15 years after starting with a company? Does the company have a high turnover rate?

While these questions are a great starting point, try to think back to how you felt as you began your career exploration. It's important to start these types of conversations early with your young adult. Not only will it provide context for their future, but it will enable them to examine their true interests and talents and start working towards a future that encompasses these aspects.

7 Ways to Help Your Child Choose a Career

Recently, a stranger told me his grandson was about to graduate from high school. He said, “I told him he needs to go to college and he should definitely be an engineer. Being an engineer is a great profession. Don’t you think he should be an engineer?”

“I’ve never met your grandson, and without knowing who he is, what his strengths are, and what he’s passionate about, I can’t say what career he would enjoy. I think it’s great when people choose a career where their strengths and passions combine,” I said.

He cocked his head sideways at me. “Hmmmph,” he scoffed. “Passion. Nobody’s passionate about their job. A job is a job,” he ranted.

I smiled at him, and politely disagreed, telling him that it is possible to do work you absolutely love.

When it comes to choosing a career, people are given all kinds of awful advice, including:

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“Choose the prestigious career.”

“Choose the career that will give you the most money.”

“Choose the safe path.”

“A job is just a job. Work isn’t meant to be fulfilling.”

“So-and-so likes her job, so you should do that too.” Or, the opposite: “So-and-so hates his job, so you should never do that.”

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We spend many hours each week, decade after decade, doing work. Doing work you love makes life much more fulfilling. Therefore, it’s imperative we do a good job of guiding and encouraging our children in their quest to find and do work they love.

According to this article, 80 percent of college students in the United States change their major at least once. The National Center for Education Statistics reports that college students change their major at least three times on average during their college career. Choosing a major, and changing it multiple times, can be a stressful time for students.

When students are in college, they frequently don’t have the life experiences or self-knowledge yet to choose a career path that will best fit them.

Thankfully, there are some things you can do to help your child navigate these decisions.

Here are some tips to help your child choose a career.

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1.

Resist treating your child as an extension of you

Your child is a unique individual. They are not you. The things that might drive you absolutely crazy about a certain job might be the things they absolutely love doing. Resist the urge to tell your child to avoid a certain path just because it’s something that doesn’t interest you. Your child might not be interested in attending your alma mater or doing the work you do.

2. Help your child discover their strengths and passions

Encourage your child to visit with a career counselor to take aptitude tests. The Myers-Briggs test, Strong Inventory, and Holland Code were three of the tests I found beneficial when redesigning my career path. While I don’t recommend basing huge decisions off of one test, I do believe it’s very beneficial to take a variety of assessments and look for patterns among the results. If your child is interested in a career that doesn’t appear to line up with their natural strengths, that doesn’t mean you need to immediately rule out that option as a career. Instead, brainstorm how your child could bring their innate strengths to that field. Their uncommon perspective and strengths in that field could allow them to make a very unique, valuable contribution.

Have them take the strengths assessment in the book Strengths Finder 2.0 by Tom Rath. Pay attention to what comes easily to them that others seem to struggle with. Having a great understanding of their innate strengths will enable you to help them maximize these strengths. Also, help them figure out what lights them up. This is a free workbook to help people discover their passions. I encourage you to print it out and have each member of your family complete it.

3. Help find a mentor for your child

Seek a positive, encouraging role model for your child. If your child shows strong interest in a certain career path, help your child find an inspiring mentor in that field. Having a great mentor can fuel your child’s career aspirations.

4. Expose your child to a variety of activities to see what piques their interest

Give your child opportunities to try new activities. Expose them to nature, the arts, science, museums, animals, travel, people…there are so many opportunities to enjoy together. Pay attention to what piques their interest. If there is a subject they are curious about or they shows excitement toward, encourage them to learn more about that topic. Oftentimes, the decision to choose a certain line of work comes gradually, as people continue to explore their interests more deeply.

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5. Find your tribe, and encourage your child to find theirs

As Jim Rohn said, “You are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with.” As a parent, have you built a wonderful tribe of people around you? And, are you encouraging your child to find their tribe? Challenge your child to get out of their comfort zone and get involved. Whether it’s sports, a service organization, a business club, or any of the many other possibilities, encourage your child to spend time with inspiring peers. Who your child chooses to hang out with can greatly affect how big they dream, what they believe is possible, and the opportunities they seek. Having an amazing tribe of people in their life will help them grow into their full potential and can affect many decisions they make.

6. Set a great example

Your child watches your every move, so work on being a great example of doing work you enjoy. When your child sees you building a career you really love, they will know that it’s possible for them to also find and do work they love. You’re never too old to spend more time doing what you love, so seek what lights you up and do more of what you love and less of the unimportant junk.

7. Be patient and encouraging

Remind your child that the quest to do work they loves is often a long process of self-discovery and experimenting. They may change course as they navigate their career path. Be patient with your child during these difficult decisions, and encourage them to keep learning more about themselves so they can keep growing into the amazing person they are meant to be.

Featured photo credit: Southern Arkansas University/https://flickr.com via flickr.com

tips on how to choose a profession for a child, tests

1. Explore the range of interests

Sit down with your child and remember everything that was good for him or is given, as well as what you once wanted to be realized in. Someone will be able to outline at least approximate areas of potential professional activity, but often teenagers have no idea what their soul lies in, and this makes it difficult to choose a future profession. Then move on to the next item.

2. Try everything

The task of a parent is to give maximum information about existing professions. Tell what you know yourself and take your child to master classes, seminars, workshops and open days at enterprises.

Engage your circle of acquaintances in a variety of specialties. Ask your friends to tell your child what and how they do at work to help him choose an activity he likes.

Another way is to invite the child to try himself as a volunteer at career guidance events. This will allow you to immerse yourself in different branches of professions and look at the kitchen from the inside, as well as listen to the speeches of successful professionals. nine0005

Allow your child to try new circles, sections, clubs. The more he tries, the more meaningful the choice of profession will be.

How to find your dream profession: a navigator from the Foxford Home School curators →

3. Don't run after money

A common adult mistake is to push a child to a profession that is considered the most promising at the moment. For example, a Chinese language specialist (after all, China is the future!) or a programmer (what money is in IT). nine0005

But a career of convenience, and not of love, will not bring proper pleasure to a teenager. Teach your child not to look at what the masses are doing, but to find their own way. A good specialist will be in demand in any field. The main thing is to do what makes the fire in the eyes, and not turn money into an end in itself.

4. Offer a career guidance test

Career guidance is a whole system of measures designed to help you choose a profession. A tests is one of the most convenient diagnostic methods. They are aimed at identifying various psychological characteristics of a student: temperament, thinking characteristics, communication skills, inclinations and professional interests.

At Foxford Online Home School you can get a diagnostic developed by Skillfolio especially for our students. It aims to identify the abilities, skills and professional roles of the child. Among the interesting and useful skills that Skillfolio analyzes are communication, network literacy, the ability to think systematically, and the level of critical thinking. nine0015

5. Do not press

The child must choose a profession on his own. You can advise, give recommendations and express an opinion. But do not insist on your choice - let the child decide for himself what to do.

It is also not recommended to force a child to enter a university for the sake of a crust: if possible, it is better to spend a couple of years on self-determination, and then find the ideal profession by entering the university consciously. But in the case of boys, the prospect, alas, is complicated by the army. nine0005

Be a supportive and understanding parent. Remember that the life of a son or daughter does not belong to you, you cannot control absolutely everything. Let the children make their own choices.

Resume

If you are concerned about how to help your child choose a future profession, follow our recommendations. Decide on the interests of your son or daughter, introduce your child to different specialties, teach them not to follow the crowd and take a career guidance test and sign up for a consultation with a tutor. This will help to identify the type of personality and tell you which area of development to choose. Leave the final opinion to the teenager - let him decide for himself. nine0005

8 tips for parents on how to help their child choose a profession

February 27, 2017 Education

Not all students are able to read the compulsory literature curriculum, and we want them to choose a career for life. Parents need to tell the graduate where to go to study, while not ruining his future.

Free higher education in Russia is given only once. Entrusting the choice of a profession to schoolchildren, when many graduates are not even 18 years old, is a dangerous decision. According to Rosstat, only about 40% of the population work in our specialty. The numbers are not just hinting, they scream that more than half of the graduates have wasted several years on unnecessary study. nine0005

It is normal for parents to help their child make a choice. The only question is how to do it.

1. Cultivate independence in a child

Unfortunately, it is too late to do this a year or two before graduation, an independent child had to be raised from birth, but it is better to start at least sometime. The main rule in career guidance is simple:

The child must choose a profession himself.

Only the person himself knows what he needs. And only in this way the child will not blame the parents if something goes wrong, or think that he missed his chance. nine0005

I wanted to study acting. But dad said that all the actors remain in the regional theater, earn little and drink too much. An engineer is another matter. I was obedient and entered the radio department. It was fun at the Polytechnic University, for 6 years I participated in the student spring, but there is zero knowledge in my head, as well as the desire to work as an engineer, even though I have a master's degree. Because of this, all my life I have been haunted by a feeling of unfulfillment and the thought that everything could have turned out somehow differently. Although I understand that dad is right and the work of the actors is bestial. I don’t blame my parents, I blame myself for not doing what I dreamed of. nine0005

Maria

editor

2. Find out what professions are in demand

Only they are really in demand, not “prestigious”. To understand this, you do not need to read the selections and ratings. It is necessary to open the sites of employment centers and sites that help in finding a job, and carefully look at the vacancies.

Grandfather advised me to choose something related to foreign languages, because it is in demand. I tried it, got carried away, so it was easy to follow his advice. Demand faded into the background, because it became interesting. Now I'm at my favorite job in the IT field. Grandpa will not advise bad! nine0005

Angelina

translator

Viewing vacancies helps to assess the popularity of the profession, possible salary and requirements for applicants. It may turn out that one higher education is not enough for a dream job: in parallel, you need to learn languages and attend some courses.

3. Show professions from the inside

Adults have a large circle of acquaintances with a variety of specialties. Ask your friends to tell your child what and how they do at work. It is important to hear about the most ordinary daily activities. For example, about how you have to write letters, how you work with drawings in real conditions, how you need to come exactly at eight in the morning, how to fill out reports and drink tea with accounting. nine0005

Many companies hold open days. At such events, you need to ask the right questions: not about high performance and a great goal, but about the routine, the arrangement of jobs.

My parents are teachers. They conjured not to go to pedagogy, so I didn’t go.

Lida

advertising specialist

We have a vague idea of many professions. It is better to get to know the work better than to spend several years and face a conflict of expectation and reality. nine0005

It is also important that health should correspond to working conditions. To understand whether a child will pull or not is possible only in combat conditions, or at least during a frank conversation with a representative of the profession.

4. Find study options in other cities and countries

Often we do not even suspect where and with whom we can work, we have no idea what specialties are available in universities even in neighboring cities, not to mention universities on the other side of the country. And completely in vain. nine0005

When it came time to choose who to be, I was only 15 years old. In my city it was impossible to study in the specialty that I dreamed of, and the school had a different profile. In order to enter, it was necessary to transfer to another school, study according to a special program, ride several hundred kilometers to another city and submit documents. I couldn’t do it, and my parents weren’t puzzled, as a result I chose a profession from those that were available nearby. I'm almost 30, I still regret it.

Nastya

copywriter

Of course, moving a child to another city is not a pleasure walk in the park, it is more difficult to keep a student at a distance. But it's worth it if it's a profession for life.

5. Forget about career guidance tests

Especially those that are scattered on the Internet. They are based on banal questions and do not take into account a huge number of professions. Choosing the future based on average testing is a hopelessness when you don’t know what to do at all. nine0005

6. Do not confuse your favorite lesson at school and your profession

Standard logic: if you are good at mathematics, go to study as a “computer engineer”, if you are good at literature, become a philologist, if you don’t like anything, then go to a manager, then take the Unified State Examination in social studies.

This knowledge needs to be adjusted to the goal, and not to choose a job based on knowledge.

It is necessary to choose a profession in which the child will earn money, and not a favorite subject. Maybe the child likes the teacher, a comfortable classroom and beautiful visual materials, but there will be nothing like that in the profession. nine0005

7. Don't force him to go to university

If the child has not yet decided who to be, give him time and the opportunity to think about who to become. Nothing (except for the guys' fear of the army) prevents them from working for a couple of years after school, getting to know real life, devoting time to educational courses and finding oneself. If you can't imagine not studying after high school, try college. There, the exams are simpler, the cost of education is lower, and the finished profession will turn out faster. nine0005

My mother made me go to a technical college (I didn't have the right to vote at 15), which I was not very happy about, so I tried with all my might to get me expelled. Did not work out. After college, I myself have already chosen a university and a specialty. Now I don't regret it. After college, I was sent to practice at AvtoVAZ. At the age of 18, I already had a normal position and salary.

Maria

manager

The craze for higher education does not lead to anything good. Often a diploma is just a piece of paper, behind which there is not a single gram of knowledge and skills. But there are several dead years and spent hundreds of thousands. nine0005

8. Don't force them to complete their studies

In the period from 18 to 23 years old, a person grows up sharply, this is the age of formation. Sometimes the eyes open and the student realizes that he is not doing his job: he finds a more interesting specialty, realizes what his goal is. As a rule, this is already a more conscious choice than the decision of yesterday's schoolboy, such a turn will bring more benefits than a dull graduation, because "once you start, finish it."

After the ninth grade, the class teacher advised my mother to send me to a technical school. My parents didn’t really choose, but sent me to a construction school, because all my mother’s colleagues graduated from it. I was told that the main thing is to get a diploma. I humbly agreed. Was exhausted for four years.