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The college application and decision process can be both incredibly exciting... and immensely stressful. Gazing ahead at countless potential paths, it may be easy for your learner to get lost in the overwhelming number of post-secondary options, from location, to school size to, of course, their course of study. Some universities offer over one hundred different majors. How does a young adult even begin to choose?
Deciding a pathway for post-secondary education can help pave the path toward future careers, one way for young people to narrow down their interests is to try out some of those potential jobs themselves. Career exploration provides a young adult the chance to learn more about and partake in a particular professional role or industry. For example, a learner looking to pursue veterinary medicine may choose to shadow a veterinarian for a day or take on a volunteer or part-time position at a local organization.
If participating in career exploration when enrolled in high school, students can decide which aspects of the work they value, and those they don’t particularly enjoy. Additionally, young people will begin to build a helpful network of professionals who may eventually provide references or open doors to new opportunities.
Of course, it is important to remind your soon-to-be college student that the path they choose is never set in stone. In fact, more than half of all undergraduate college students change their majors at least once. Career exploration is all about discovering new values and pivoting based on learned experiences. The more they can learn about what they are looking for in a career, the easier it will be for them to craft the path of their dreams by choosing the right major.
Here are a couple of resources to help your young adult get started on choosing a major and potential career path:
Is your learner deciding between multiple majors? What Can I Do With This Major is a choose-your-own-adventure website that provides a comprehensive overview of potential career paths for a specific course of study.
The CareerOneStop website features several career exploration resources, but this Interest Assessment is especially helpful for discovering which jobs best suit certain interests. The assessment has participants rank specific activities, then presents a list of careers that fit within their preferences. Clicking on a career yields a ton of information including the future job outlook, typical wages, and the skills and requirements needed for a successful career in this field. With this knowledge, it is easier to tailor exploration towards experiences that will best help in the major decision process.
