by Elizabeth Hartley
It's true that America is the land of opportunity and that you can rise from any background and become anything you want. Therein lies the challenge, though. With so many choices, how is the average 16-18 year old to know what they want to do?
Occasionally, like today, I meet with a student who is already fully aware of their life's goals and how he/she wants to get there. In this case the student wants to go into a specialized field of special education. That's refreshing but rare. The typical student I meet knows the general subjects he/she enjoys most but has no idea how they want to apply them later in life.
On the other hand, sometimes I meet with students who have a real love of art, music, acting, etc. and want to pursue that for a career. Something I encourage kids to ask themselves is, "I love this so much and it gives me so much satisfaction but do I want to make it responsible for paying my mortgage? Would that take the joy out of it for me?" It's an important question that bears consideration. There's no right or wrong answer. It's just something worth evaluating. Some things should be what you do to make a living and some things are better kept for your own personal gratification.
I think it's wise for a student to consider a number of factors before committing to a direction. It's important to weigh all of these factors and due sound research in order to make a thoughtful and informed decision. Let's take a look at the dilemma faced by a sample 11th grader named Nate.
Step 1- Do the research - Nate thinks he's interested in engineering but doesn't know what field of engineering to pick. On the other hand, he's always enjoyed and appreciated the outdoors and has been active in conservation efforts in his town. He doesn't know if he should look at environmental science instead. Poor Nate.
At this point I would steer Nate to a great site by the Dept of Labor that can help him do the research he needs to pick a direction. It provides information on job details, income and expected growth by 2018 for just about every career field. It's not intended for high school students but I like it anyway. It can help students find career ideas that bear further scrutiny.
So, Nate goes to this site, www.online.onetcenter.org and clicks on the link that says "Find Occupations". He then picks a Career Cluster titled "Science, Technology, Engineering and Math". It takes him to a list of a wide variety of engineering careers. He looks down the list and sees Electrical Engineers as an option so he clicks on it. The resulting page gives a lengthy description of what an Electrical Engineer does, the tools used, training needed, etc.
When he goes all the way to the bottom of the page, he sees that the average income in the US in this job is $83,110. He thinks that's pretty decent. However, when he looks a few lines down, he sees that the expected growth in this field is -2% to 2%. This is a red flag, he realizes, and may make him continue exploring options.
He goes back to the career listing and investigates other fields of engineering. He sees that:
Energy Engineers - $89,000 average income with average growth of 7%-13%
Civil Engineers - $76,590 average income but with much faster than avg. growth of over 20%
Chemical Engineers - $88,280 average income but with negative growth of -2%.
But then he remembers that there is such a thing as Environmental Engineering. That could let him combine his interests, perhaps. For some reason, he can't find it in this list so he goes to the top of the page and types in" Environmental Engineer" in the Quick search field. He finds out that on average the income in this field is $77,040 (less than Electrical or Chemical Engineers, he notices) but it has an expected growth rate that is much faster than average, 20% or higher.
Step 2 - Follow up - In the end, Nate decides to explore Environmental Engineering further, because of its growth potential and his environmental interests. So, he gets to work-
• He networks through his parents to find someone in that field and asks to job shadow him for a day or so.
• He researches the best colleges for Environmental Engineering and/or Environmental Sciences and visits those schools during his junior year. He even signs up for an Environmental Sciences camp hosted by one of the colleges. Even though it costs him $1500 to attend the camp, he is guaranteed a $20,000 scholarship if he ends up attending that school. (That offer extends to any of the camp participants.)
• To demonstrate to potential colleges that he is genuine in his interests, he increases his volunteer efforts with a few groups dedicated to conservation and environmental interests.
Nate found his nitch. Yea! Notice that he didn't go for the field that had the highest salary. He did, however, pick a field that would give him a decent income while also showing promising growth and allowing him to focus on a subject he genuinely liked.
This website is just one tool that a student can use to explore careers. Students should also consider what kind of setting they would prefer. For example, someone who is happiest when they are outside or in a constantly changing environment may want to be cautious about becoming a corporate accountant, no matter how good they are in math.
In general, I think it's a great idea for students to explore a breadth of careers, talk to people in those fields, get involved in volunteer efforts that could expose them to that field and do due diligence before committing to a major. The average college student takes 6 years to graduate these days. One reason for that is that they change majors and have to take extra classes to catch up. With thorough planning and exploration, a student can find the right fit for them right from the start....just like Nate.
Elizabeth Hartley is a college admissions and scholarship consultant. Visit her website @ www.CollegeScholarshipPlan.com for a comprehensive and current list of valuable internet resources.
As part of the site’s commitment to serving all high school students, a tremendous amount of resources are provided for free. Premium subscription gives deeper insight and more in-depth coaching. Utilize coupon code 606-0000 to receive an additional discount off your already affordable CSP Subscription.
For additional information on: Seminars and Workshops, Group Subscriptions, Fundraising Opportunities, as well as Corporate Benefit and Corporate Discount Programs, contact mmatthews@CollegeScholarshipPlan.com.
for a comprehensive and current list of valuable internet resources.
It's true that America is the land of opportunity and that you can rise from any background and become anything you want. Therein lies the challenge, though. With so many choices, how is the average 16-18 year old to know what they want to do?
Occasionally, like today, I meet with a student who is already fully aware of their life's goals and how he/she wants to get there. In this case the student wants to go into a specialized field of special education. That's refreshing but rare. The typical student I meet knows the general subjects he/she enjoys most but has no idea how they want to apply them later in life.
On the other hand, sometimes I meet with students who have a real love of art, music, acting, etc. and want to pursue that for a career. Something I encourage kids to ask themselves is, "I love this so much and it gives me so much satisfaction but do I want to make it responsible for paying my mortgage? Would that take the joy out of it for me?" It's an important question that bears consideration. There's no right or wrong answer. It's just something worth evaluating. Some things should be what you do to make a living and some things are better kept for your own personal gratification.
I think it's wise for a student to consider a number of factors before committing to a direction. It's important to weigh all of these factors and due sound research in order to make a thoughtful and informed decision. Let's take a look at the dilemma faced by a sample 11th grader named Nate.
Step 1- Do the research - Nate thinks he's interested in engineering but doesn't know what field of engineering to pick. On the other hand, he's always enjoyed and appreciated the outdoors and has been active in conservation efforts in his town. He doesn't know if he should look at environmental science instead. Poor Nate.
At this point I would steer Nate to a great site by the Dept of Labor that can help him do the research he needs to pick a direction. It provides information on job details, income and expected growth by 2018 for just about every career field. It's not intended for high school students but I like it anyway. It can help students find career ideas that bear further scrutiny.
So, Nate goes to this site, www.online.onetcenter.org and clicks on the link that says "Find Occupations". He then picks a Career Cluster titled "Science, Technology, Engineering and Math". It takes him to a list of a wide variety of engineering careers. He looks down the list and sees Electrical Engineers as an option so he clicks on it. The resulting page gives a lengthy description of what an Electrical Engineer does, the tools used, training needed, etc.
When he goes all the way to the bottom of the page, he sees that the average income in the US in this job is $83,110. He thinks that's pretty decent. However, when he looks a few lines down, he sees that the expected growth in this field is -2% to 2%. This is a red flag, he realizes, and may make him continue exploring options.
He goes back to the career listing and investigates other fields of engineering. He sees that:
Energy Engineers - $89,000 average income with average growth of 7%-13%
Civil Engineers - $76,590 average income but with much faster than avg. growth of over 20%
Chemical Engineers - $88,280 average income but with negative growth of -2%.
But then he remembers that there is such a thing as Environmental Engineering. That could let him combine his interests, perhaps. For some reason, he can't find it in this list so he goes to the top of the page and types in" Environmental Engineer" in the Quick search field. He finds out that on average the income in this field is $77,040 (less than Electrical or Chemical Engineers, he notices) but it has an expected growth rate that is much faster than average, 20% or higher.
Step 2 - Follow up - In the end, Nate decides to explore Environmental Engineering further, because of its growth potential and his environmental interests. So, he gets to work-
• He networks through his parents to find someone in that field and asks to job shadow him for a day or so.
• He researches the best colleges for Environmental Engineering and/or Environmental Sciences and visits those schools during his junior year. He even signs up for an Environmental Sciences camp hosted by one of the colleges. Even though it costs him $1500 to attend the camp, he is guaranteed a $20,000 scholarship if he ends up attending that school. (That offer extends to any of the camp participants.)
• To demonstrate to potential colleges that he is genuine in his interests, he increases his volunteer efforts with a few groups dedicated to conservation and environmental interests.
Nate found his nitch. Yea! Notice that he didn't go for the field that had the highest salary. He did, however, pick a field that would give him a decent income while also showing promising growth and allowing him to focus on a subject he genuinely liked.
This website is just one tool that a student can use to explore careers. Students should also consider what kind of setting they would prefer. For example, someone who is happiest when they are outside or in a constantly changing environment may want to be cautious about becoming a corporate accountant, no matter how good they are in math.
In general, I think it's a great idea for students to explore a breadth of careers, talk to people in those fields, get involved in volunteer efforts that could expose them to that field and do due diligence before committing to a major. The average college student takes 6 years to graduate these days. One reason for that is that they change majors and have to take extra classes to catch up. With thorough planning and exploration, a student can find the right fit for them right from the start....just like Nate.
Elizabeth Hartley is a college admissions and scholarship consultant. Visit her website @ www.CollegeScholarshipPlan.com for a comprehensive and current list of valuable internet resources.
As part of the site’s commitment to serving all high school students, a tremendous amount of resources are provided for free. Premium subscription gives deeper insight and more in-depth coaching. Utilize coupon code 606-0000 to receive an additional discount off your already affordable CSP Subscription.
For additional information on: Seminars and Workshops, Group Subscriptions, Fundraising Opportunities, as well as Corporate Benefit and Corporate Discount Programs, contact mmatthews@CollegeScholarshipPlan.com.
for a comprehensive and current list of valuable internet resources.
