Getting Your Money's Worth out of your Child's Education
Guiding a young person in their career selection may seem like an almost impossible task to most parents. After all, many parents are struggling to find their own way in the maze of quickly changing career options. No one can predict the future, but who knows a child better than her parents?
In 1993, I conducted a study of 700 young adults who were seeking guidance at a career conference. Overwhelmingly they identified their parents as the number one influence in their career decision-making process. Parents, however, often think that they have little influence and leave it up to the school to guide their child through the options. They don't realize that school counselors do not have enough time to help young people with their career decisions. If assessments are administered, most of the interpretation is done in a group setting, without determining if the child has accurately understood and applied the information. Many never seek out counseling, relying instead on favorite subjects or teachers to be their guide.
College majors tend to be the focus of the application and almost nothing is done to help the student validate a direction in terms of personal fit or job availability. No wonder I see so many twenty-five to thirty-five year olds who are confused and angry that their education has led them no-where! Parents can help their young adult select a career path that will withstand the changing economy, if they take the time to observe and discuss their observations with their child.
It is important to understand that long-term career health is most dependent on how you learn and how you like to interact with your world. Once you know how you prefer to receive new information and your preference for interacting, you can discover the general career fields and the specific job functions that will be most enjoyable to you.
The following questions, suggested by Ralph Mattson in Discovering Your Child's Design, will help you and your teen develop a profile of the best job fit. We are looking for characteristics that have been observable over a long time. The characteristics that are critical to solid career choice have been evident since childhood.
- Is she pulled into the action by people or by conditions, or is she pushed from within?
- What specifically pushes or pulls him? When does he respond to people or conditions or what things are pushing him? Does it take a warning or threat, competition, an opportunity to belong, etc.?
- How does he manage time? Does he like tasks that are completed in one sitting? Does she like long-range goals? Does she think of time as money? Does he resist being hurried? Does he want a complete understanding of the issues? Does he flourish under deadlines?
- To what kind of environment is she drawn? The outdoors; workshops or performing spaces; wild, adventurous, social, educational, athletic, familiar, or meeting places; creative environments, or studios?
- What kind of situations has he consistently liked to encounter? Problems to solve? Bringing order out of chaos? Rules, principles or policies? Meeting someone with original ideas? Information or statistics? Getting feedback, applause or response? Risky situations? Encountering ignorance and supplying information? Situations requiring communication? Entrepreneurial opportunity? Conflict? Equipment or tools?
- What kinds of relationship situations are most stimulating for him? Responsive people? An opponent? Leading others? A potential audience? Like-minded individuals? Potential listeners? Supporters/allies? People with needs?
- Does she deliberately seek out encounters, view encounters as opportunities or view encounters as inevitable?
- Which of the following capabilities does she consistently use? Visual, audio, oral, mechanical, manual or physical, intellectual or mental, and leadership activity.
- What is the most consistent outcome when he interacts with other people? He ends up as a leader or manager; he becomes a mentor; he becomes a pioneer; he makes things happen his way; he proves his expertise or skill; he ends up as one of the group or team.
If you and your teen can back up your observations with actual stories, you will have identified the essentials for a long-standing and fulfilling career.
Observation is subjective and difficult to correlate with career options. This is where an objective career counselor can help. Once you have identified the job criteria, look for an independent career counselor who can can suggest career paths and educational programs that will support these preferences.
The profile you develop will have a lot in common with a personality profile that might come from taking a Myers-Briggs Personality Inventory (MBTI), but I do not recommend using the MBTI or even an interest assessment (such as the Strong or Campbell) until at least the mid twenties. This is because until the late twenties it is difficult for a person to differentiate his own interests and personal preferences from those of his friends and parents.
Instruments that objectively measure aptitude are helpful, but as Mattson points out in the book previously cited, there are many ways to express aptitude. Tests tend to measure only the academic expression. The student should ask the counselor to help them meet people who are employed in the jobs they are suggesting. This is the most overlooked step in choosing a career.
Through informational interviewing and job shadowing, young adults can find mentors, advisors and potential employers that are crucial for long-term success. Experienced professionals can help the young person get a realistic view of the challenges and attractions that the work affords as well as insight as to how the work might be changing due to technology. They can also be key to identifying opportunities and securing summer jobs, internships and the first professional job that will make the education pay off.
