As an experienced career practitioner who has partnered with many young to older adults to help them identify satisfying career goals, one complaint I often hear from clients is “Why can’t I be like most people, who know early on what they want to be when they grow up?” My response is “Actually, you’re not in the minority, in terms of career decision making. While some people do follow a career pathway they determined at a very early age, (say by junior-high), they’re not typical career decision-makers, and they’re far from the majority. In my experience, many more people don’t know what they want to do career-wise, particularly at early ages, than those who do.” These responses are often followed by a big sigh of relief, and then a comment indicating how good it is to know that their situation isn’t so odd after all.



Knowing that some individuals show early signs or characteristics that - when given more time and training to further develop - lead them to certain career pathways, isn’t it then possible that similar traits, could surface in many other individuals as well?



Assuming that’s the case, just imagine how beneficial this information could be to the young as they mature into teens and then adulthood. Recently, the news media has been calling much attention to big increases in the cost of higher education, making it clear that many young people may not be able to afford and enjoy a post-secondary education. But, if we could just manage to use those early developed clues/characteristics to help zero in much sooner on exactly what occupation we want to pursue, the length of preparation might be decreased. Considerable cost savings could result, and college or various types of vocational training might become accessible to more people.



So, if parents, teachers, and other concerned individuals want to make the best use of these early exhibited traits - which can be definite clues to one’s future career - what can they do to further encourage their growth?



First, we can ask ourselves: With regard to children displaying possible career clues or characteristics, are we spending enough time identifying these things - especially the more obvious ones? For example, have you noticed that your 5 -year old son, when spotting something electrically or mechanically operated (such as outdoor sprinklers or electric fans), often stops to notice, examine, and be completely fascinated by what is going on to make such movement exist? How aware are you of this occurrence, or of similar activities he does? This sort of thing might not be significant, but we don’t really know that yet, so it’s worth paying attention to and noting. As another example, what about an 11-year old girl who, at family holiday dinners, always volunteers to make very artistic individually themed place cards for attendees, and perhaps goes on to take great pride in making her female relatives customized beaded necklaces? Do we have the beginnings of a future budding artist here? Maybe or maybe not, but the real question at this point is, are we taking serious notice of these interests - and of the possible talent that’s being exhibited as well? If not, we should definitely spend more time recognizing these signs of interest and sharing our observations with them, as any of them may just lead to a future career pathway.



Also, after becoming aware of these clues/signs, are we then helping children take advantage of them? For example, are we devoting enough time and energy to seeing how else we might best expand upon or nurture these early signs and clues? Perhaps, beyond just acknowledging and, (when appropriate) praising such characteristics, we could make a concerted effort to expose children to other similar or related activities to see if a particular skill/interest pattern is emerging.



In many cases - particularly as they get further along into elementary school - parents/guardians tend to direct most of their attention to how well their child is doing academically. As a result, they give very little thought to how their kids are doing socially or with activities unrelated to academic studies. In fact, many well-meaning, responsible parents, insist that the bulk of a child’s out of school time be spent on working towards the goal of getting all A’s or the best grades possible. Consequently, participation in other activities, can be severely limited, as grades become the main focus and little time is left to do all else. Though being a top student grade-wise is certainly an important and commendable goal, if doing so means ignoring or giving very little emphasis to all other traits/talents about a child, it could limit their growth considerably in other developmental aspects of their life.



Another question to ask ourselves: When children grow just about old enough to acquire a paid job in the workplace, are we then making the effort to suggest, encourage, and assist with the pursuit of volunteer positions or co-op educational/work experiences? If not, we’re doing a great disservice to our young ones, as they could easily be missing out on the wonderful learning experiences that these kinds of opportunities can provide. They offer a chance to gain considerable exposure to the various tasks, physical settings, types of people, and workplace culture that can simulate many possible careers. And the more volunteer experiences people can engage in, the more information they can collect about a possible field of interest, and about themselves and their reactions to specific experiences. In fact, this exact kind of experimentation has aided individuals of all ages in choosing rewarding careers, as it helps them to see just how they’d adapt to various potential occupations.



Whenever a teen does becomes old enough to join the workforce, be it on a part-time or temporary basis, it’s a good idea for them to, if possible, select positions that are more closely aligned and compatible with what they now know are their particular preferences and needs. This type of added experience will hopefully help to even further clarify and/or reinforce current thoughts about a possible career goal. At the same time, it will also serve to provide the practical experience required in many cases to declare a major in certain academic programs. Any of these hands-on experiences can be a valuable addition to a resume.




Another point to consider is, are we, as caring adults, devoting any or enough of our time to discussing details of our own particular work/career related experiences, or of careers we know well enough to discuss with comfort and some expertise? Providing this kind of input, would allow younger people, in turn, to benefit from the knowledge we’ve gained and the opportunities we’ve had throughout our years of work. Also, consider taking this a step further and make an effort to put them in touch with friends, associates, or other helpful contacts that you know could provide useful career related information. Keep in mind the importance of this contribution to children, as they would not only be gaining valuable knowledge about the nature of various careers, but also some personal perspective on possible positives and negatives of different occupational choices.



In summary, since we know that some children exhibit traits that could be early predictors of a career choice they will make in later life, it is clear that we should be expanding our efforts to help even more of our young people jumpstart their identification of career goals. By taking these kinds of steps, we can hopefully better enable more students to complete their schooling/training with a satisfying career goal in mind. And, in so doing, we can also eventually decrease the number of people who reach adulthood - or are well into it - still unaware of a career that can be meaningful and fulfilling to them.