Can My Teen Decide on a Career Path?

I get this question literally every day.

Can my kid make a big decision like deciding on a career, at 17 years old?

The reality is, teenagers are already making big decisions at this age, like, what colleges should I consider, what should I declare as a major, and is college even the right next step for me. How can they possibly make these decisions without having some direction regarding a career path?

Gone are the days when you could kick the tires in college without breaking the bank. The cost of college prohibits most families from having this luxury any longer.

Here is a way to reframe the concern that deciding on a career path at 17 is out of the realm of possibility.

First, your kiddo is not deciding on a career path yet. You are starting a conversation about all the different careers that are out there, which ones sound interesting and which ones don’t.

Whew, that feels better, doesn’t it!

Now let’s debunk this thought that teens are making ‘one big decision’.

Your young adult will not make one big decision, they will make a lot of smaller decisions over time. Now the process feels more doable.

You can start by discussing all the things your teen knows they don’t want to do.

For instance:

·       Mom:                  What are some careers you know you don’t want to do?

·       Ashton:              I don’t want to be a doctor.

·       Mom:                  Why not a doctor?

·       Ashton:               I don’t want to go to school for 8 – 10 years.

·       Mom:                 Oh, so you don’t want to be in school another 8-10 years, that is why you don’t want to be a doctor?

·       Ashton:               Yeah, and I don’t want to touch body parts either.

You now have two pieces of the puzzle! Length of time in school and well, no touching body parts.

Continue this process and rule out all the things your teen knows they don’t want to do. Keep a list and if there is a contradiction, you can dig in further.

Ahhhh, this is not only progress, but you also got your teen talking which is 70% of the battle!

The second step is to start a conversation about the careers that ARE interesting to your young adult.

Now, how do you do that when most teens have no idea what careers exist, and most don’t even know what YOU do in your work?

Have your teen take an online career assessment for the sole purpose of getting them to talk about different careers. When an idea piques your kids’ interest, you have a place to start and can ask more questions.

Let me give you an example:

Ashton, my 19-year-old client told me he wanted to get into real estate.

Of course, my first question was, ‘Why does real estate interest you?

He said: “I just love walking into houses and looking at the architecture, the layout, and if it’s functional.”

When he said this, Ashton sat up straighter, his voice went up an octave and his face just lit up.

This is a tell-tale sign there is interest and you should dig deeper. But don’t stop there!

Ashton was also interested in possibly owning his own high-end car service center.

Both these career ideas are very different, but that’s ok. Now we can compare each career path to better understand which parts light him up.

I started to see a pattern, both careers involve Ashton owning his own business. We are squarely in what I call the ‘Pie Shape’. We have ruled out a lot of careers and found a general area of interest, being a business owner.

Now he and his parents have facts and data to decide if college is best for Ashton or if he should go down a different education path. Ashton’s parents decided college was the best next move. Can you guess what major he decided to focus on?

Ashton’s first choice was to get a business degree. Unfortunately, he was not accepted into the business school at his college.

Oooh, a new snag! But he could get into a finance major which also fits into both career ideas and felt right for Ashton. His college also offered a real estate minor so he could try out some classes there as well.

Notice, once you decide on possible careers, a major is easy to decide.

(A little insight that I must point out. Ashton was a sophomore in college when I started working with him and he did not want to be in college. He did not see the point and his parents were not bending on this issue. But now, Ashton is excited because he has a goal, and he has a purpose.)

As Ashton plans his classes and joins clubs at college, he can focus his attention on the ones that get him closer to figuring out which career idea is the best fit.

He does not have to decide exactly which path is right until he has more information but can adjust as he goes. His pie shape is getting narrower.

Ashton can take on internships at a real estate firm one semester and with a car service center at another time. His pie shape is getting narrower.

Now Ashton’s decisions in college are intentional, but he can also make minor adjustments as he moves through college and closer to a final career path.

See, it’s not one big decision, it’s a bunch of little ones.

So yes, your 17-year-old can make career decisions once they are broken down into smaller ones. Decisions that will make them happy now, and in the long run.

Want a few conversation starters to get them to make those series of small decisions? Let me know, I’m happy to send them to you.