The following post is by MPFJ staff writer, Marie. You can read more of Marie’s articles over at her own blog, Family Money Values. Enjoy! 
In days past, finding your occupation could mean just following in your father’s footsteps. Often, the son would follow the father in whatever occupation he had. Hence many of our current day surnames actually derive from occupations – Smith (as in Blacksmith or any type of learned trade in fact), Taylor (as in clothing tailor), Potter (as in making pottery), and Carpenter (as in working with wood) are just a few examples. If there wasn’t room in the family occupation for all the sons, some of them would be apprenticed out to local area businessmen.
Benjamin Franklin was apprenticed by his father into his elder brother’s printing business.
In other words, there wasn’t a whole lot of choice about what you ended up doing for a living (practically none for women in fact).
Although in recent history, we have more freedom to choose our own path, it is sometimes difficult for a young person to figure out what that path should be. We tend to limit our choices to what we see around us – those things to which we are exposed in life.
Assuming you want your child to find one (or many) enjoyable and profitable career opportunities, how can you widen their view of what is available? How can you as a parent (or grandparent) give the child a broad base of experience AND knowledge about current or potential future career choices?
In my book, Choose Wealth – Be a Millionaire by Midlife, I theorize that we need to be exposed to a wide variety of experiences to even begin to understand what it is we want out of life – to learn how to “dream big” and find a way to provide ourselves and our dependents with the monetary and psychological wealth needed for a happy and productive life.
There are numerous ways to help your child develop a broad base to soak up and consider the opportunities available in the world of work around them.
Here are a few of those ideas.
Activities
We all learn best by doing. From their early years on up, encourage your child to try out different activities. Help them find ways to learn how to draw, play a musical instrument, pitch a baseball game, dance, act, use math, organize events, see different things and experience different ways of living. Without trying out some of these things, how will your child ever know if he or she has a knack for them or enjoys them?
Observations
Train them (and yourself!) to be aware of the world around them. As you go through your every day life, point out how people are making their livings. Talk to them about what the grocery clerk does, and about who owns the grocery store and what they do. Let them know that there are behind the scenes people doing jobs to support any number of visible jobs – the engineers behind the design of the space craft, the architect behind the construction of a building, etc.
Chores
Lots of experience can be gained in your own home, by letting your child handle age appropriate household tasks such as mowing the lawn, fixing a broken lamp, doing the laundry, helping to plan an event such as a family vacation, fixing the family dinner or figuring out how much paint you need to buy to re-paint the living room. Hands on experience with many of these will not only prepare your child to be self sufficient but will also allow them to decide if they enjoy that activity and want to pursue it.
Books
Books are the time honored way of getting outside your own world. Encourage your child to read about other people and what they have done. Biographies are great for this. Take them to the library and let them pick out one at their reading level – any one that spikes their interest.
Movies
Movies are a great way to entertain your child and let them see other possibilities. Documentaries can also feature various careers – Planet Earth for example, showcases not only photographers but also other occupations. The One Week Job documentary follows a Canadian college graduate as he ‘tries out’ multiple jobs over a year – working each for one week.
Seeing features such as Mary Poppins or The Sound of Music can spur discussions on child care occupations. Watching Apollo 13 with your older child can give insight into the many supporting professions behind our space program. Watching short videos such as Curious Kids or some of the Biz Kid$ episodes can shed light on opportunities as well.
Movies are about life. In life we have to support ourselves. Almost any movie can be a starting point for a discussion of career opportunities.
Family and friends
As in days gone by, our nearest career examples may be with family or a friend. Use this. Make sure your child knows what you do for a living and why. Let them talk with and interview family members about their careers. I asked members of our family to make a short video about what they do – for my grandkids to watch in my annual Grandma Rie’s Money Camp.
In my family alone, we have CFO’s, accountants, auditors, web developers, software engineers, government workers, self employed business people, farmers, chefs, lawyers, dietitians, nurses and more. Yours is probably the same. Use it.
School clubs & activities
Most schools at every level have clubs and activities students can join. These can be an excellent way for kids to try out aspects of different careers. The school newspaper (in middle or high school) can be a springboard to reporting, photography, editing, publishing, marketing and more. The speech club can let a student decide if they like public speaking. Math and science clubs give kids a taste of the usefulness of each. Drama clubs and school plays and musicals help kids experience theater, back stage, directing, acting and more.
School counselor
In late middle school and high school your child’s counselor can be helpful in locating opportunities outside the school.
There may, for example, be programs in the community to help high school students learn about careers for such as these two I found in the US Midwest: Northland Career Center and Northland CAPS. Some of these provide off school site programs regarding specific types of careers using area industry workers as teachers and potentially providing internships for students at area companies during the summer months.
Area college programs for high school students might also be identified by your counselor (or by you through library or internet searches). One such program at St. Louis University has a myriad of summer workshops high schoolers can attend, such as their Adventures in Medicine and Science program workshops.
School counselors may also recommend interest or personality testing tools that can help a person figure out what they are interested in and what careers might currently be available that utilize those interests.
Summer camps
The sky is the limit on what kinds of involvement and learning can be had at summer camps for kids and teens. Everything from STEM to sports to equestrian skills to drama and more are available. Most camps are for profit and can be expensive. My grandkids for example, have attended a Junior Achievement camp called Biz Town, to learn about jobs and businesses, music camp to practice viola, horse camp to learn to care for and ride horses, as well as more rounded activity camps which provide multiple types of experiences.
Civil Air Patrol
If you think your child might be interested in flight or military options, take a look at the Civil Air Patrol. They have a youth program for kids 12 – 19 years old that (according to their site):
“The CAP Cadet Program is a year-round program where Cadets fly, learn to lead, hike, camp, get in shape, and push themselves to new limits. If you’re dreaming about a career in aviation, space, or the military, CAP’s Cadet Program is for you.”
One of my grand kid’s cousins is a youth member and has had the opportunity to fly and learn a bit about piloting.
Volunteer projects
Even kids can volunteer on projects that help them gain strengths in several areas. Kids even start their own charities – fostering organizational skills, communication abilities, persistence and etc. Here are 10 examples.
When your kids are young, you will probably want to volunteer alongside them – for their safety and so they can observe you in action.
Find opportunities through any number of websites including:
There is even a site especially for the young – Generation One
One of my nephews volunteered internationally through his church. He had to raise his own air fare and cover his own expenses. In return, the church sent an adult to supervise the volunteers and my nephew experienced a whole new (and more primitive) way of life while directly helping a village. He now is aiming at a medical career in Public Hospital Administration.
Student Exchanges
Exposing your child to another culture can be accomplished by participating in your school’s student exchange program. Most programs bring a foreign student into your home and then that student’s family reciprocates by bringing your child to their country and home.
Not only will your high school-er get in depth language practice but will see a whole new way of living and thinking – at each home.
Take your kid to work day
If your work place allows, do take your child to work on the designated day (and on other days as applicable). Show AND TELL them what you are doing and why when they come to work with you. Better still, if possible, let them help. Watching you sit at a computer terminal and type isn’t all that instructive without the tell part.
When my boys were high school and college age, I arranged for several of my colleagues to do a pretend job interview with them. I paid for lunch and my boys got to interact with professionals in my field in an interview situation – without any interference from me (or even knowledge of how it went).
Job shadowing
Your child’s school counselor (or you via your own contacts or through searches) may be able to arrange for your kid to shadow other people in different career areas. Following a doctor or school teacher or another worker around for a day or so can give your child some idea of what that career is like. PrepScholar does a decent job of describing this.
Summer jobs
Of course, actual work experience can be the best way for your kid to know what they like and don’t. But encourage your student to select a job, not just on how easy it is to get or what it pays or the hours but also on what they might experience while working there.
One summer I worked for a large chemical company – as a mail clerk. But I got to deliver mail all over the executive offices and see what went on there – as well as learn about mail rooms.
Some students work throughout the year at part time jobs either before or after school or on the weekends. It is my opinion, that unless absolutely necessary, this can be more detrimental than beneficial to a young person.
Internships
Summer internships can be had, even in high school. If your student is willing to work for free – rewarded by the network he or she is building and the learning taking place, they are easier to land.
Advice from others
Check out the Career Planning for High Schoolers guide at the US Bureau of Labor Statistics and Wikipedia’s list of organizations providing career and technical training for more information.
Although my own grandchildren are only 12 and 9, this summer in my Grandma Rie’s Money Camp, we will be focusing on starting to explore the World of Work – using some of the above resources. We will watch some of the movies and videos, go on field trips to observe and interview folks doing different jobs, make a movie about an interesting career and they will also have to come up with and perform a skit with a focus on careers.
How about you all? How do you help your child explore the world of work?
Share your experiences by commenting below!
****Photo courtesy https://www.flickr.com/photos/usacehq/14146897913/
