Questions for high schoolers planning a career

Few high school students give serious thought to their future careers. There are those rare souls who know from age 8 what they will do for their rest of their lives, but for most of us, the years after high school are a bit scattered in terms of career option. Many high school students choose common professions. Those going to college want to become lawyers or teachers. Others want a generic military career without any idea of what they will do once enlisted. High school students who aren’t college-bound may intend to get a secretarial or factory job, again without any concern for career pathing.

If you’re a high school student, take steps now to make sure you’re not one of the ones floundering in your early 20s. Do some soul-searching. Ask yourself these questions. Begin planning for your future career now.

• What would I do if there were no obstacles (money included)?
• Perhaps sitting around on the beach sounds fun. Or maybe you’re more into playing baseball. What is it that ignites your passion?
• What are your strengths? You may know you write well or that you have an aptitude for putting things together. Really think about compliments you receive and what they suggest about your skills.
• How much are you willing to put into education and job training? Being a pilot requires a lot of time and pretty intense training. While you may love to fly, you may not be willing to put in that time. That doesn’t mean you have to give up on flying; it just means you know that being a pilot isn’t the career for you.
• What are some things you would never want to do? Filing daily may be something that would make you run for the hills. It could be that any job involving outside work isn’t for you. Knowing what you don’t want is as important to your career happiness as knowing what you do want.

Finding the right career path takes time and energy – and often times trial and error. Most research suggests the average adult changes career paths seven times. While there’s nothing wrong with changing careers based on life circumstances, doing so because you just never figured out what you wanted to do means missing out on earning potential and joy. So take some time out from your daily social calendar and think about where you want your life to head after high school.

Topics: career , students