How we can guide & support students with making career choices

Because choosing a career and preparing for it is one of the most important choices that older students have to make, it is an area of support that can't go by unnoticed and unprepared for.

Careers

Remember the days when we ourselves had to make those decisions?

It was hard for most of us. You want to be a Rocket Scientist but you didn't really qualify for Rocket Science University, so you ended up choosing Option B or even C, which was and still is bothering you.
Or you were the one who qualified for Rocket Science University, but you didn't have the funds or resources to even think about it, so you also ended up with other options.

It's a continuous process throughout life, this career-choosing-business.

It doesn't happen only once. People change and gain new skills all the time and it's important for educators to include this knowledge during the developmental process.

You don't only want them to make decisions about what they want NOW, what you want for them, or what their parents want for them. They have to develop an identity first and somehow know what they want from life beforehand.

To do this, they require some sort of maturity to help them cope with these demands. Maturity is not always a very common quality among adolescents either. I've said it before but I'll say it again, choosing a career is not a simple task and we need to help them - the right way!

Help them to recognize what their talents are - be truthful without being critical. One is always a little bit happier with ones career if it's something that one is good at.
With that being said, it's no use in helping or motivating a student to become a singer if you know that he/she cannot sing, but you don't want to tell them that. Singing might be a passion and that's a good thing, but keeping that as the focus when it can't work will only bring more damage than good.

Encourage them to do some research, a project even, about the availabilities within certain careers. Find out where there is a demand and try to find a corresponding aspect or two between the student's skills, talents, passions, interests and of course, experience.

Keep it realistic and don't make any decisions on the student's behalf. Involve parents too. Together, you should provide guidance and support and always keep in mind what is best for the student and his/future.