Career Planning For Teens

Perhaps the best advice in career planning for teens and other young people who have started thinking about a college/career path, is this: start in high school and continue in college. One of the myths about careers in general is that choosing a career path is a simple matter, almost as easy as deciding on a college major.

But, this far from the truth. Career planning for teens can be a complex process, a program of many steps that should be carefully considered and carefully taken. A number of companies and universities have developed programs that can help the teenage job seeker narrow choices and find the correct path toward career success. Some universities provide such guides to students as well as to members of the public (usually for a fee). These guides can include questions that will help the young person focus on a career path, as well as descriptions of various careers. Well-developed programs can assist the job seeker in expanding career choices as well as narrowing career choices. Most important, though, may be the help these programs give to young folks who are not sure where their choices may lead.

Experts in career counseling and teenage counseling urge young job seekers and prospective college students to choose a career path based on their individual skills and interests. This means that, during career planning for teens, much of the advice tends to steer the young person away from one of the "best" careers, unless it really fits that individual. There are always lists of the best jobs for college graduates, the industries that are the hottest and have the best pay and benefits. But this does not mean the "best" careers should be an automatic choice for a teenager or other young job seeker. When going through the process of career planning for teens it is best to choose the college program and career path that is best for the individual.

Many young people feel that once they choose a career path they will have to stay with it for the rest of their lives. However, this is a real myth that comes up often in career planning for teens. People change careers quite a bit, actually. Some change several times during their working life. So, making a choice based on a certain college major or training program does not mean that you will have to stay with that program forever. In addition, the choice of a college path does not mean you are forever committed to the career that comes after graduation.