Believe it or not, now is the best time to start thinking about your career. You’re probably thinking, “But I’m only in high school!”. And that’s what it makes it perfect! It may sound scary and overwhelming, but even having just a general idea of what you want to do in the future puts you at an advantage in life. Here are some other benefits of planning your future career:
- More Time to Explore Options
When planning your future and don’t know where to start, you’ll find it easier to rule out the things that don’t capture your interest. You might find later down the line that you want to pursue a career you ruled out, but for now just forget about it. Once you’ve done that and honed down on a couple career paths, the fun part comes along. Do your research and learn about them as much as you can. Watch YouTube videos, Google interviews, learn what a typical day is for that career, and get in touch with people in that field. This process might be a bit tedious, but fun because you’re learning about potential careers that actually interest you. You can see all of the cool things you might be able to do throughout the research process. If along the line you find that you’re not interested, no worries! Simply move on to the next one.
After you’ve found your top two or three choices, try to score an internship or part time job in that career. It’s best to intern in high school because you still have time to change your mind if you end up disliking the job. But, if you enjoy that career choice, then you already have a headstart in terms of job experience and exposure to that field of work. Time is the most important currency of all, utilizing it to learn early about your future career is a very powerful investment.
- Utilize Resources
One of the best resources that you can use for advice about potential career paths are your guidance counselors. They usually have information regarding your career interests or can point you in the right direction. Teachers can also be an excellent source. Networking with a teacher who has experience in your potential career field is going to put you at a huge advantage because you have some valuable insight available. They can serve as a mentor to you and help you break into that career field and become successful. As mentioned before, Google is your best friend! A quick search should give you more than enough information to answer your questions.
- Minimize Switching Your Major
It’s very common for students to switch their majors more than once in college. While changing your major isn’t bad in any regard, it can bring some hassles. You might’ve taken some classes that you don’t need because it doesn’t pertain to your future career. Some time might be wasted, but it’s always worth it when you’re pursuing something you know you love.
While this is the case for some people in college, you can prevent this from happening to you. When you explore, do you research, and gain experience in potential career fields early on in high school, this minimizes the chance of you changing your major later on in college. That means less of a hassle, no wasted time, and being on the path to graduate into your career faster.