Life is a roller coaster ride for everyone. As teens we enjoy the thrills of the roller coaster ride but as adults we begin to feel the nausea of the ride going haywire. As adults we want to get of the roller coaster and get on a ride that has inbuilt amenities on it. As adults we would have wished for a genie that offers infinite wishes or a robot that can possibly do every chore at simple instructions.
Adulting isn’t easy either. I think, the more the world advances, the more problems it attracts!! The world with its dimensions swarming in every direction, doesn’t make choosing very easy task for the average twenty year old.
I remember just being given a directive on what career would suit me best and I was expected to follow it blindly. I come from an era when either becoming an engineer, doctor, teacher, accountant or a mathematician were the only available options. Career options into interiors or hotel management were considered alien. No one could ever think then that becoming a you tuber, blogger or a content writer could be as lucrative as being in a corporate job. The only similarity between these careers now is that it involves the same amount of time and effort and may be even more!!
As a parent who has a growing up toddler, I wonder how far he would pursue his inclination towards football and I also look for ways in which I can help him pursue it. For a child or a teen to choose a career choice it involves equal hard work and determination from both the parents and kids!!
Here are a few ways in which as parents or adults, you can help soon to be adults choose their career paths –
Identify your talent – As parents we seldom end up comparing our kids’ talent to other kids. We must stop that instantly. Help your teen asses themselves. Help them identify their talent and what they are best at. When you are identifying your talent, do not any societal or emotional barriers clog up your thoughts? Evaluate yourself and your interests completely.
Make a list – Our minds are often wanderers in search of something beautiful. So while you are sure of what your interests are, it can be very easy for you to loose forget. So write it down. Make a checklist of all your interests.
Shortlist – The way we often shortlist our clothes and shoes when we go shopping, the same way we should be shortlisting our options. The clothes will go out of trend soon however what you choose for yourself will soon turn into a career choice. This is the time to look and relook at your options.
Asses your options and what’s on offer – Once you have shortlisted your choices, it is time to assess them. You need to then dig into the options that you can pursue related to your choice. For example, if you like music, then becoming a musician is not the only options. You can add technology to it and look at audio engineering as an option. You can think about becoming a music composer or a lyricist.
Research about the education – Skill is often complemented with education. So if you have a skill, you need to work towards honing that skill. Learn and update yourself about it. There are many educational courses that are available now that can help you enhance your knowledge about what you choose.For example, if you are interested in travelling the world, there are courses that vary right from tourism to travel to airfare and hospitality. Hence you need to work on getting a small degree or diploma in your field of interest.
Discover your emotional quotient and your personality type – The kind of person you are also impacts the work you want to take on. This may not always affect your job quality however knowing your personality type will help you narrow down the work environment for yourself.
Internships and Career Test – There are a lot of institutes and online platforms that help you choose your field of interest based on a series on questions. You should definitely try one of them. Working as intern in an organization will help you understand the dynamics of the field you are choosing. As an intern you will be able to gauge the many opportunities and verticals of work that are available.
Take Advice – There is nothing that can compete against talking to someone who is experienced. Talk to your family and experienced people. Nowadays, you have mentors available online who are willing to guide you on the choices you intend to make. While narrowing down your options, you must utilize the digital resources available to you.
While there are a lot of options and guidance available to the millennial and gen z era, one must not get confused or carried away with their environment. Take your time and educate yourself well on the choices you are set to make. I hope the list of advices above, makes, choosing a career an easy task for today’s teens!
