Career Pathways When Future Planning

Things weren't always like this, however. It wasn't until the start of the Cold War that going to college was considered a prerequisite for advancing one's career or fulfilling one's professional goals, as stated in Higher Education in the United States. At that time, the government elevated fields of study such as mathematics and science, along with almost any other occupation that contributed to the economic growth of the United States. Fast forward to the present day, when society in the United States recognizes the value of "secondary education as a way to legitimacy, literacy, and respectability."

If we genuinely care about our kids, we need to stop perpetuating the stigma that is attached to vocational programs and other career paths that get less attention. Instead, we should encourage future generations to follow their interests and pursue careers that allow them to do so.

We collaborated with Abby Flaherty, an intervention specialist from Cincinnati, Ohio, who has experience working in both traditional and vocational settings, so that she could walk us through the process of assisting students in determining their path and feeling confident in moving forward. Abby has experience working in both traditional and vocational settings.

Where Do I Even Begin? What Exactly Are Career Pathways?

It is necessary for students, before they can decide on their Career Pathway, to first investigate professions in their entirety.

Explaining this is going to be difficult, therefore I truly appreciate this illustration!

Different Career Directions

Every job may be placed into one of these six distinct Career Paths:

Communication and the Arts

Business Management & Technology

Technology in Industrial and Engineering Fields

Providers of Health Care

Services to the People

Natural Resources Agriculture

Clusters of Professions

Career Clusters are large clusters of vocations and industries that may be found within these different career pathways. The Department of Education of the United States has categorized various professions into the 16 main categories:

Agriculture, Food & Natural Resources

Construction and Architectural Design

the creative industries, audio-visual technology, and communications

Business, Management & Administration

Education and Skill Acquisition

Finance

Administration and Governance of the Public Domain

The Science of Health

The Hospitality and Tourism Industry

Services to the People

Technology based on information

Law and Order, Corrections, and Homeland Defense and Security

Manufacturing

Promotion, Retailing, and Customer Service

STEM encapsulates the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

Logistics, Distribution, and Other Forms of Transportation

Pathways to a Profession

The aforementioned Career Clusters are then further subdivided into around 80 Career Pathways. These educational tracks consist of a sequence of classes designed to get students ready for work in a certain industry.

Taking all of that into consideration, how does this manifest itself in the actual world? The following are two typical methods that may be used to predict career pathways:

Path -> Cluster -> Pathway: Because a student is interested in working with her hands, the Industrial & Engineering Technology Career Path is the one that she ultimately decides to pursue. She decides to pursue that route since the Transportation, Distribution, and Logistics cluster seems to be the most promising one among the options available. After reaching that point, she choose one of the seven possible routes to go next.

A student is interested in Environmental Management, but they are unsure of what other careers would be a suitable match for them. They are interested in the Pathway that leads to the Cluster. He examines the Career Cluster to find employment that are associated with it, and he discovers additional Career Paths that also involve managerial roles.

Students are able to limit down their options by considering their interests, making use of future programming tools, and taking exams, despite the fact that the alternatives may seem to be overwhelming. Sadhvi Mathur, a writer for College Vine, suggests that families have frequent conversations with their children about their own objectives and aspirations in order to get them thinking about their own futures. She recommends that these six questions be asked in order to aid adolescents in discovering their interests and to lead parents through discussion points and subsequent actions.

Flaherty proposes that school districts begin future planning in elementary school since it not only gives children the opportunity to investigate a number of pathways, but it also helps lessen the stigma associated with particular pathways at an early age. She makes the following assertion: "The earlier we start talking about all of the routes, the sooner people will start to become more receptive."

Recognizing that There Is No One-Size-Fits-All Approach to Career Pathways

It is common practice in many communities to presume and even anticipate that a person would pursue a bachelor's degree at a four-year institution. Nevertheless, the evidence suggests that not everyone should choose this route:

Only 41% of students who begin their studies with the intention of earning a degree will do so within four years.

The typical debt load for a graduate is above $30,000 at the time of graduation.

just 27% of graduates are employed in the field in which they received their degree.

Alternately, students who graduate from a trade school after just two years incur an average debt of $10,000 and enter the profession immediately after graduation to begin earning an income. Classes in Career and Technical Education (CTE) and community colleges are therefore a good option for students who want to avoid the expense and commitment of attending a four-year university, for students who are undecided about what they want to study in college, and for students who are in their senior year of high school.

Flaherty has seen nothing but positive results for kids who make the decision to enroll at career campuses: "Once they arrive and discover something they enjoy doing, the 'trade school stigma' that both students and parents have seems to vanish." A lot of individuals go to college, but they end up dissatisfied with their experience, or they have trouble finding something that makes them happy. If working as an electrician is something that brings you joy, I encourage my students to get experience in the field as soon as possible so that they will have the opportunity to advance in their careers if they so want.

Flaherty's personal account is backed up by the evidence here. A research conducted by SRI International over the course of nine years found that students who participated in high-quality, recognized pathways:

Were 2.1 percent less likely to drop out of school and 3.1 percent more likely to graduate than other students

Enhanced capabilities in informational literacy, communication, and cooperation

At the conclusion of their senior year in high school, they had 8.9 more credits than their counterparts.

Earned grade point averages that were comparable to one another and had comparable chances of meeting the standards for California's public four-year colleges.

Conducting Research and Evaluating Available Certification Paths

How often do schools recommend that pupils do college search? And how often do parents expect their children to do the same with alternative certificates and non-traditional educational paths?

Flaherty proposes that students, in the same way that they are conditioned to investigate various institutions, should also be encouraged to investigate various trade schools. CTE programs, four-year universities, community colleges, and technical colleges are the types of educational institutions that the National Center for College & Career Transitions (NC3T) suggests investigating in order to broaden the available route choices and phases. NC3T has the same goal as Flaherty, which is to provide high school students the ability to investigate several colleges and "actually think about the programs themselves."

Students may take part in tours at Flaherty's place of work to assist them in determining whether or not their chosen course of study is the very best option for them. "Once kids arrive, see the resources, and understand how powerful it can be for children — physically, intellectually, emotionally, and educationally — they tend to become more receptive of the many educational career choices that are available to them,"

It is crucial for prospective students to learn about the academic requirements and possibilities at each location, just as it is necessary to do so while touring a university. The following are some questions that are recommended to be asked by the website Career Key, which is a resource for career guidance:

Which classes are included in the road toward the career?

Which educational paths provide the greatest preparation for you to enter the professions that are most aligned with your interests?

Does enrolling in a concentration or track make it more difficult to get a bachelor's degree at a later date? To make progress in your professional life? (For instance, if a student does not take advanced math and science courses while they are pursuing one road, it may hold them behind later if they decide to move to a different track that demands them.)

Take Advantage of Wrap-Around Services as Well as Opportunities for Work Experience

Students who choose the CTE path may feel as if they are wandering aimlessly or are being led in the wrong direction since most high schools place more emphasis on the more conventional educational tracks. It is crucial to link these students with a support network that is focused on their academic and future success. Additionally, it is important to assist them access programs and gain skills that will enable them to find employment.

Counseling for Professions and Personal Development

Students and their families who are contemplating pursuing a certain profession or qualification might benefit from the guidance of school counselors. Help could come in the form of these things:

Organizing class times so that they correspond with certain objectives

Taking a look at the requirements for the many possible routes

Lists of potential tutors will be provided.

Assisting with the application process for the FAFSA and scholarships

Organizing application deadlines

Various educational activities throughout the summer should be recommended.

Discovering Additional Resources for Exploring Career Options

Suggesting job or volunteer possibilities

Supports for Academic Pursuits

Students who have physical or learning disabilities shouldn't rule out alternative pathways; many work study programs and apprenticeships at trade schools pride themselves in empowering all students to succeed. Students who have disabilities in other areas, such as speech or hearing, should consult with their teachers. CTE high school programs have the same supports, if not more, to provide guidance and meet student accommodations; these services can take the form of school counselors, intervention specialists, English Language Learner teachers, peer tutors, and certified instructors and specialists. CTE high school programs are designed to prepare students for careers in the technical, scientific, and medical fields.

In point of fact, it has been Flaherty's experience that a significant number of her high school students actually feel more supported and welcomed in pathway classes: "One of the things I love about working at a vocational school is seeing how happy students are when they finally feel like they belong—in their classes, with their friends, and in a field they enjoy." Many of my pupils are thriving because they have the sense that they have finally found their purpose in life and that they are engaged in something that is uplifting.

Opportunities for Personal Development via Engagement with Others

The success of students in their post-secondary pursuits is not the product of the work of a single teacher. In point of fact, the efforts of a wide variety of stakeholders are required in order to assist students in the development of interests, the selection of courses, the determination of relevant paths, and ultimately the discovery of vocations in the real world.

The National Center for Career and Technical Education (NC3T) advises students to increase their employability by attending career exploration classes, obtaining a part-time job, and participating in job shadowing and workplace visits. Students will be exposed to other points of view, uncover new interests, and find more possibilities for personal development if they widen the scope of their conversational bubble.

Conclusions and Reflections on Different Career Directions

Seniors in high school who are focused on pursuing a field of work that needs postsecondary education should take advantage of the plethora of checklists that are readily accessible online in order to guarantee that they do enough study and adhere to the many planning-related deadlines.

However, an increasing number of students are making plans to pursue alternative career tracks, and it may be difficult to obtain community support or advice when one does not adhere to the status quo. A growing number of students are making plans to follow other career pathways. "Even though'self-care' became one of the most used phrases this past year, we unfortunately still live in a world where achievement is more essential than happiness," Flaherty comments on some of the stigmas that are still prevalent in today's society.

It is time for society to let go of the widely held belief that achieving success requires completing a degree that requires four years of study. Let's update the definition of success such that it indicates that pupils are graduating from high school with skill sets that prepare them to be successful in whatever career path they choose.