4 Ways To Help Your Teen Choose a Career Path

According to the National Centre for Education Statistics, over 3 million students graduate high school each academic year in the United States. Often, the next step is to choose a university program that lays the blueprint for their career path. That's where the problem arises. According to Statista, the U.S. has a 40 percent college dropout rate among the 28 OECD countries. Several factors contribute to this staggering rate, one of which is students losing interest and regretting their career decision after a short stint in school. Coaching your teen through their career choices can never be a miss as a parent, and here are four ways to help your teen choose a career path.

1. Associate them with high achievers.

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As the saying goes, you're the circle you keep. Allowing teens to associate with high achievers helps them to better understand what it takes to have a long-standing commitment to a particular career. Parents can expose their teens to such environments in many ways, including seminars with high-achieving students and high school seniors and conferences with great leaders.

Student-focused groups like a national honors society can also be beneficial. With a national honors society scholarship, students learn from experienced colleagues. The success of each student can help manage the college journey, and the society will give students exclusive access to senior members making strides professionally and further scholarship opportunities for higher education. 

The honor society can also be beneficial to students beyond academics, and your teen can develop a passion for leadership positions from seasoned experts in their preferred path.

2. Assess future trends.

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted several industries, from education to health care. Yet, the future holds significant promise for students seeking to leverage today's endless opportunities. Assessing future trends can afford you the insights to understand the prospects of career paths. Take machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence, for instance.

The world is in an IoT era where tech companies implement machine learning and complex algorithms to make daily life easy. And as technology advances, the world's reliance on big data and robots also grows. Many modern businesses continue to adopt ML algorithm solutions in gaining a competitive advantage in their respective industries.

Today, an online grocery store can leverage machine-learning software for better product recommendations, and clinicians can also predict diseases faster and offer medical solutions based on cataloged symptoms from multiple patients. Parents can inform their teens of such prospects and how it can benefit their careers in the long haul, but it all boils down to interest.

3. Sign them up for an internship.

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Internships are a less exploited area in building careers. Often, students go through school without touching base with the experiential and practical side of things. Interning can be the best decision to take for your career path as a beginner. Unfortunately, many students regard an internship as punishment or a prerequisite they need to cross off the list at all costs. 

Some parents may even discourage students from interning, especially if the opportunity doesn't come with allowances. It's a good thing to be earning some money as an intern, but that's not all there is. Internships are learning opportunities. Students get to ask questions and get real-world answers in return, and many schools mandate students to engage in internships during vacations.

4. Attend college fairs.

Opening yourself up to new experiences can increase your awareness of several career routes. As a parent, you can consider taking your child to career fairs to ramp up their interest in making the best career choices.

All in all, there are many things parents and teachers can do to help teens choose their paths. However, there's no denying that it's easier to put your child on a new path if they're already passionate and interested in those areas. Nevertheless, the above tips will certainly help them make a faster decision.

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