What Are You Going to Do After You Graduate From High School

What Are You Going To Do After You Graduate From High School? 

STEP ONE—FIND OUT WHO YOU ARE

             That question causes stress for many teenagers.  As a result, some hope that a particular test or person will answer that question for them.  Actually, the best way for individuals to find careers that fit is to spend time considering what makes them eager to learn more.  Consider the following:

Interests

             What interests you the most in the activities you do already?  Is there a pattern?  Does your interest tend to focus on Things, People, Data, or Ideas?  For some students, the following interest inventories help detect patterns.

Ø BRIDGES software – Computer career program. See Internet Resources on page 4 of this booklet.

Ø PLAN Test  for sophomores (results show where you fall on World of Work map).

Ø ACT Test for juniors and seniors (results show where you fall on the World of Work map).

Ø ASVAB for  juniors  through adults (giving by the military)  Free of Charge. Has variety information on career planning. Will be given to interested students in December.

Ø Internet resources – many self inventories, quizzes, and other information to help you identify career interests. See the back of this booklet for list.

Ø   Do What You Are— from Bridges website. Helps identify personality type and discover strengths, weaknesses, preferences, and  potential career paths.

Abilities

What comes easily to you?  What’s difficult or impossible?  What are the physical, social and mental requirements of a job and do you show signs of being able to meet those?  Some careers require 4 to 9 years of difficult college studies – does your performance and attitude in high school indicate that you can do this?  Some careers require strong people skills or physical strength/ coordination.  Can you do this or learn to do this?

Values

What do you value most in life?  It’s helpful to choose a career that supports those values.  If not, your career may become a source of daily frustration.  How important are the following values to you in the job you seek?

Creativity Being outdoors

Independence Prestige/ respect

Money Security/ stability

Power/ responsibility Routine vs. variety

Helping others Leading vs. following

Making a difference Time off for family and leisure

Job Outlook (Availability)

Is this career going to exist in the future?  Is technology phasing it out?  Will there be a high demand or low demand for people in this career field in the next 10 years?  Would this career allow you to live in a large city or particular region?  If you want to live in or near Steamboat Springs, would this career path allow you to do so?  What would it take?

STEP TWO – INVESTIGATE YOUR CAREER CHOICES

Once you’ve identified a career area you’re interested in, take the time to learn as much as you can about the careers in that field. You can learn about a career field by:  1) reading about it, 2) talking to people, and 3) experiencing it firsthand.

Read about the careers you’re investigating.

Numerous resources are available to help you investigate your career choices. You can look at the Occupational Outlook Handbook. This book provides up-to-date information on 260 of the most popular careers. For each career it gives a description of the work, the educational requirements, advancement opportunities, wages and salaries, working conditions, future outlook, advantages and disadvantages, required skills and related careers. This information is also available on line at www.bls.gov/ocol. The Choices software program from the high school includes similar information. The Career/College Center also has other books and resources about a wide variety of careers.

Talk to people.

In addition to reading about various careers, you also need to talk to people who are knowledgeable about the career (s) you are interested in. Talk to anyone you meet about what they like and dislike about their career. Ask adults to help you locate people who are involved in the careers you are considering. Ask the following questions:

· What do you do on a typical day?

· How did you prepare for this career?

· What do you like best about your job/career?

· What do you dislike about it?

· Is this a career field that is growing?

· Are there opportunities for advancement in this career?

· What is the average starting pay?

· What qualifications and personal characteristics does someone need in order to be successful in this career?

· Would you go into this career field again?

· What subjects should I take in high school to help me prepare for this career?

· What advice do you have for someone considering a career in this field?

If you can’t find anyone to interview, see the Career/College Center for ideas or to see if there is a video or website that will give you information.

Experience the career firsthand.

The best way to learn about a career is to get some firsthand experience. One of the best ways to do this is to be involved in Workstudy, or Internship class. These classes will allow you to do work-study or a project in a career  area you are interested in. You will also have a mentor who is knowledgeable about the area you are interested in. Due to limitations in experience you may not get to work directly in the career you are interested in (medicine and law for example). However, by being in proximity to these career fields you can get a pretty good idea of what the profession is like. 

A summer job or internship may also give you this firsthand experience. Many students have come away from these activities with the statement “Well there is something I never want to do!” That is considered a success, because eliminating what you don’t want to do, is almost as important as finding out what you do want to do.  There are many summer programs available designed to give students first-hand experience in a variety of interest areas.

These experiences may give your application the WOW factor that is discussed later in this book—that thing that makes your application stand out.  It  may also help you decide what you DON’T want to do.