Exploring Career Options

You may be wondering, “Why the focus on planning my career while I’m still in high school? Can’t I make the decision later? The colleges I’m considering don’t make you decide upon a major until the sophomore year in college.”

•  Choose the best college for the career(s) that interest you.
  
  
•  Avoid having to extend your time in school. When students switch to a new major later in their college career, it often requires taking additional courses and extending the time, and often the money, you must spend in college.
  
  
•  Make sure you enjoy the career you choose. Imagine spending four years studying for a particular career only to find once you start working that you hate it!
  
  
•  Make contacts that could help you later on with internships, jobs and recommendations.
  
  
•  Open possibilities for career-based scholarships, such as those promoting science and technology.
  
  
•  Improve your Impression on Colleges & Scholarship Committees.
  
  
•  Be happier. Being well-matched in the right school and major makes the whole college experience more enjoyable.

You can always make a final career decision later. But it’s important to at least begin to explore your interests, abilities, and values and to weed to out the careers that you are not interested in or that may not be suitable.

Nearly all colleges specialize in specific areas of study. For example, one school may have a world-renowned engineering program, but have very little to offer in the areas of languages or performing art. Therefore, it is important to have an idea of what areas are of interest to you before starting your college search.

If you make the decision to major in a particular field after you are already in school, you may be forced to change schools in order to accommodate the educational requirements of your newly chosen major and/or career path. Chances are high that not all of your class credits will transfer, and you will end up having to take additional courses. Not to mention the hassle of physically moving to a new location and getting used to a new school. This would cost you and your family a lot of valuable time and money. Depending on the situation, it could add as much as year or two to the time it takes to graduate!

If you choose to stay at your current school and just make due with the resources available, you may be sacrificing the quality of your education as well as losing out on numerous opportunities in internships, jobs and other experiences.

Try to get a job or internship in a field you may be interested in. A job or internship gives you an opportunity to “try on” a career and investigate an industry. It also gives you marketable skills and experience – making you more attractive to both employers and colleges. You might have to work for free at first, but it may be worth it.

Utilize career profiles to help you identify your strengths and opportunities. Our CFS Smart Track™ Program includes unlimited use of our profiling software to help you evaluate your strengths, interests, and career options.

Interview people with interesting jobs. You’ll learn a lot about various career options, and you’ll make contacts that may help you with a job or internship later.

Develop your hobbies and talents. Try new things. Explore what you love to do, and go out and do it! Not only will life be more enjoyable, but you just may find a career that you love. Also, you’ll be improving your attractiveness to colleges and scholarship organizations.

Research the trends of various fields – economic, demographic, and geographic. Which would you choose?

A) A growing field with many new opportunities opening up, great income potential, in your favorite location, working with people you enjoy

B) A declining field where your choices and opportunities will be limited and there would be a great chance of facing unemployment and having to go back to school to be trained in a new career.

You would choose A, of course! Our CFS Smart Track™ Program includes unlimited use of software to research various career trends, including salary levels and growth potential.

Attend career fairs. It’s a good way to build new contacts and explore career options. Check with your guidance counselor and in the job section of your newspaper for a schedule of upcoming events.