Do teenagers really know what they want to do in life? In short, some of them do and some of them definitely don’t. When I’m guiding my college-bound high school students, it doesn’t matter if they know what they want to be when they grow up. I encourage career exploration for students to happen in the summer.
Case Study 1: “I want to be a medical doctor.”
Becoming a medical doctor is more than just majoring in biology. There are different types of doctors. There are many summer options where high school students can learn more about the medical field:
- Do research at a university
- Participate in clinical rounds through a shadowing program
- Volunteer in a hospital, or
- Travel on a cultural exchange that supports healthworkers.
Each summer when my students spend time in one of these activities, it always changes their perspective on the health field . . . either confirming their interest, finding a new sub-specialty interest, meeting a new mentor or deciding that they have a totally different interest.
Case Study 2: “I don’t know what I want to do in college or after.”
The most popular major for incoming college freshmen is “Undecided.” That may work well for a campus that offers the flexibility for students to explore different majors and still graduate in four years. If a college doesn’t offer that flexibility, then students can waste a lot of time and money “figuring out” what they want to do. I encourage my high school students to participate in an activity of interest during the summer. In the summers after 9th, 10th, and 11th grade, students can
- Participate in an academic program on any topic, from history to psychology to physics
- Volunteer in local community
- Be creative through the fine or performing arts
- Get a job or any other purposeful pursuit.
Either way, there is no reason that any college-bound teen should say . . .”I just hung out for the summer” especially if you’re “undecided”.
Case Study 3: “I want to be an engineer.”
This is probably the second most common interest I hear from high school students. I hate to say it but I don’t think that most high school students really know what an engineer does. There are countless summer engineering programs for high school students, especially for girls. Students can learn about the specific fields of engineering as well as meet engineers. Some programs even incorporate a hands-on problem for students to solve. These programs go a long way in helping students to not only learn about the various fields but determine if they like it enough to pursue as a major in college. (The engineering majors are one of the more intensive and time-demanding majors to pursue.) The cool thing about the summer engineering programs is that you can even find programs that are free to attend.
Case Study 4: “I think I want to do business.”
Business is a popular field of interest, yet very broad. When I ask my students which area of business interests them, they often say “management” or “general”. Still . . . very broad. That response tells me that a student has several options for the summer:
- Attend a summer business program across topics
- Collaborate on a business project
- Participate in a job shadowing/internship, or
- Get a job.
There has been a lot of interest lately in starting a business. For my students interested in entrepreneurship, I encourage them to
- Check out summer entrepreneurship programs
- Attend local, small business resource events, or
- Write a business plan.
Again, with all the different options for high school students interested in any area of business, every teen can find out if this area interests them or not, before going to college.
In our upcoming blog posts, we will highlight specific summer programs for high school students to explore career interests.
