Administrator’s Corner by John Double

 

It’s that time of the year when families, students, and schools begin talking about courses for the upcoming school years and seniors start preparing for what is next after high school. These conversations are crucial to planning accordingly for a students’ future.

A key part of those conversations is recalling the pathway we took to our career. Many pathways involve changes or course corrections and we need to also prepare our students for those inevitabilities.

In March 2013, an article by broderzine.com (citing the National Center for Education statistics) stated approximately 80% of students change their major during college and, on average, college students change their majors at least three times over the course of their college careers.

In August 2019, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released information showing that, on average, individuals held 12.3 jobs from the age of 18 until the age of 52. They also reported almost half of those jobs were before the age of 25.

Reviewing these statistics alone, the average student will face a significant amount of change between the ages of 18 and 25 affecting their career/employment pathways.

How are the conversations we are having with our students assisting them to prepare for those future changes while guiding them on a path to success? Here are a few ideas of things to consider while planning for these conversations with your students:

• Are we inquiring why they like the career or career field? Is it that they enjoy working with people, like being outdoors, like working with the hands or like discovering new solutions to environmental challenges? Remembering why you like a career can lead to students finding similar possibilities.

• Are we encouraging them to pursue a broader career field (such as health sciences) or a specific career (such as a surgical nurse)? Asking them to think a little broader may help minimize the significance of their changes later on in their pathway. It is much easier to make a course correction than to start over from the beginning.

• Are we encouraging employment choices leading them to a career they will find interesting and rewarding? Finding a job that helps lead them to a career they will enjoy will help prepare them better for the future (utilizing purposeful change rather than just change).

• What can they glean from every opportunity along their pathway that will assist them in their futures? Every opportunity, whether education-based or employment-based, can provide skills and knowledge that can be useful as they move toward their career. Focus on what can be learned to guide them along their pathways.

John Double is an administrator on special assignment for Albert Lea Area Schools.