There Are Lots Of Career Options Available, So Finding The Best Fit Is Important
By Tayler Nickerson, Stride Student Advisor
If you asked me one year ago what I wanted my career to be, you would have heard me talk about a half-dozen different options that piqued my interest. At the time, I was so torn about my future career choices that I was worrying about it as a freshman! Since then, I have learned that you shouldn’t stress about your future career, but instead try to apply a very useful strategy that helps you to really test out whether you would like a specific job.
With so many interesting career options out there in the world, it is hard to choose just one, especially if you are like me. Many different things in many categories may interest you, and you then have a difficult time making critical decisions. Thankfully, I stumbled upon a good strategy that has helped me discover what I am truly passionate about and interested in, for the longer-term! The first step in this process is discovering the careers that initially sound interesting and intriguing to you. Whether that’s criminal justice or early childhood education, it is crucial to know what you are naturally interested in, before you apply this strategy.
Once you know what you’re naturally drawn towards, you can effectively use the strategy that I use, which is this… take electives that concern those very same career pathways. This strategy has been highly effective for me, personally. Taking electives related to, or about, the careers and jobs that interest you gives you direct insight into what working in that career field would potentially be like. For example, last year as a freshman, I thought being a veterinarian would be cool, but I also thought criminal justice careers were just as fascinating. In order to see what I truly enjoyed, I took a veterinary science elective for my fall semester and a criminology class as a spring elective. This helped me tremendously in discovering what I was and wasn’t interested in, and it helped me cross a few career ideas off my considerably longer list. I did the same thing for this school year, taking journalism and law for my first semester, and then public speaking and careers in criminal justice for my second semester. I have many interests and have even been looking ahead to what electives I can take next year, like psychology and sociology. Doing this is a great way to give you deeper insight into these types of jobs, and it can give you a heads up as to what you would experience in that specific career sector, too.
Another tremendously helpful strategy is joining Stride Career Prep, where you get first-hand experience working with various industry professionals. This prepares you for any future career you might find yourself in, and it provides you with core skills that are crucial in any job you will have down the road. Within Stride Career Prep, there are great internship opportunities that can beef up your resume and give you excellent practice with many different careers and specialties. For example, I applied for an internship position during the summer and was elated when I was chosen! I am now a student advisor at Stride Career Prep, and it has helped me grow in so many ways. I have learned how to work with my colleagues better and how to put out quality work. This has helped me with growing broader-based skills such as professionalism, which further help me stay professional in any endeavor I may undertake in the future.
These strategies that help narrow down your career interests are very useful in really determining what it is you may want to do for your career. Last year, I discovered after that veterinary science elective class that it was not something I wanted to do for a career. That, in turn, helped me cross an interest off my list, which then helped me focus on a narrower path as I come closer to deciding what it is I really want to do… and what will ultimately be the best fit for me.
To read more about how online schooling helps students grow and develop vital skills for the future, be sure to check out Virtual School Motivates Teen To Become More Responsible.
To learn more about Stride Career Prep's Student Advisory Council, make sure to visit https://www.k12.com/stride-career-prep/about/student-advisory-council.html
