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Keep in mind that I define career planning broadly in terms of planning
your life path, so that includes your college education, jobs,
activities and more. High school career planning is where your
decisions and actions (rather than those of your parents) really start
to count. What you do right now influences the number of choices
available to you after graduation.
More and more students wander aimlessly through life, letting one
misguided decision lead them to another until they find themselves
underpaid, underutilized, disappointed and living with their parents
after an expensive college education. Others find themselves getting
nowhere fast because they weren’t prepared to get further education or
didn’t make good decisions about post-graduation, so they just started
working wherever they could find work at the time. In both cases the
old saying by Lewis Carroll
If you don’t know where you are going, stop and get some direction.
Take some time to find your career path rather than continuing to spin
your wheels and spend your money — sooner rather than later. Education
is a huge investment of time and money and many students don’t get it
right the first time, primarily because they failed to engage in college planning
and they didn't take the time to find a college or university that was
a good fit for them. Where you go to college will have a big influence
on your future and your career. It will also impact many of your future
relationships and connections. This decision is a vital part of career
planning.
If you have the opportunity to continue your education, don’t squander
it. Make sure you are ready by choosing your school for the right
reasons. Follow this link for more information on the college selection process.
Don’t go to college if you are not ready, healthy, and prepared to
succeed. Many students start a college education only to leave
prematurely because the college was a bad fit, they were not ready to
succeed at that level, they didn’t have adequate funding, or they did
not maintain their mental or physical health.
____________________________________________________________________ If
you are career planning in high school and intend to go to college,
follow this link for information on what you should be doing during
each year of high school to prepare for college and the application
process.
Whether you go to college or choose to go directly into the world of
work take advantage of your high school years, as they will form the
foundation of your future career path. For all students, the following
are important aspects of the high school career planning process:
Explore – Expose yourself to new people, experiences,
activities, places, classes, books, museums, music, etc. You never know
where you are going to find your passions. If you limit your exposure
to new opportunities your future career options will be proportionally
limited.Self-development –Gain new skills and take responsibility for your learning and growth.Research
– Pay attention to the world of work; observe what people do on the
job. Seek opportunities to talk to people about their work. Research a
variety of careers and professions.Experience – Use the summers and weekends to gain real life experiences through work, volunteering, study abroad.Self-assessment
– Assess yourself, so you know what you are looking for. What do you do
well? What do you like to do? What do you care about? What type of
lifestyle do you want? What do you want to accomplish? This is at the
core of the career planning process.Plan – Use your self-assessment to plan your career. If things aren’t clear, plan your next steps.Support
– Utilize the support available to you through your high school
teachers and counselors, Internet, books and career counselors. | ||
When you do graduate from high school, there are a lot of potential
forks in the road, like the old board game - Life. Will you get a
college education? If so, where will you go? Will you take some time
away from school? If so, what will you do? Since the real game of life
doesn’t let you choose your career from a deck of cards, the important
question becomes—on what basis will you make these decisions?
