High school graduation is upon us and many bright eyed seniors are looking forward to that day when they will officially no longer be in high school. Upon the horizon? College.
Many high school students have it set in their minds what they are planning to major in. That particular topic that one day will provide them a lucrative career.
The key word there is “lucrative.”
With the state of the current economy many high school students are changing their intended majors because they feel that what they originally wanted to pursue won’t earn them enough money or be as secure as another profession.
Susan Posluszny, the founder of OPTIONS for Career & Life Planning posed a number of questions that you should ask your graduating senior in order to see “if this decision was made based on accurate career information and reflection about personal priorities or based on a knee jerk reaction to current economic conditions.”
Below are just a few of the questions that Posluszny suggests you ask your teen.
• What was it that drew you to your original college major choice of political science?
• What kind of work were you thinking of getting into related to political science and did you ever speak with anyone employed in this area of interest?
• How do those who work in political science careers deal with the instability that comes with unpredictable voting outcomes and job market fluctuations?
Posluszny states that if from the answers to these questions you determine that your teen isn’t as informed as they should be steer them to find out if their assumptions about specific careers is accurate. Encourage your teen to “consider scenarios that support exploration of these two interest areas over time.” This may include a major in one interest but taking a few classes from another interest.
If you want to read the rest of the questions that Posluszny suggests you ask check out this article.
