A Parent's Guide to Career Planning

A Mini-Course on Career Development

Take Stock in Children's Parent Guide to Careers is a mini-course on career development designed for parents of Take Stock in Children students. Young people need assistance in order to explore career possibilities and make important career decisions, but the world of work is more complex today than ever. They need far more guidance and information than did past generations, primarily because the high-tech, global market economy is growing and changing so rapidly. This course will show you how to direct your child to some great Internet resources that can enable him to identify careers that match his talents, interests, values, and personality. You might wonder why career exploration and research is so important for middle and high school students. Read the following paragraph and you'll find out!

"Mom, Dad, I've Changed My Mind"

Imagine that your child is a junior in college. He is studying to be a pharmacist. He has taken all sorts of tough classes and has done pretty well. As a parent, you are thrilled. Your son is on the verge of entering a profession and getting a good job. But you get a late-night call from him. He tells you that he doesn't really want to be a pharmacist. He has taken an accounting course and really liked it. He now wants to be an accountant!

You are stunned. You put down the phone in disbelief. What about all the chemistry and other courses he took? Of what use are they now? How will he pay for another three or four years of college to achieve his goal of getting an accounting degree? Will he later find he doesn't like accounting too? You don't know whether to be glad that he has found the career that is right for him or sad that he is making the wrong choice.

Career Confusion

Obviously, you don't want this to happen to your child, but if you believe that this is a rare case, you are mistaken. Many, many college students change their majors late in the game. Many more students enter careers that they later learn are not suited to their personalities or abilities. The fact is that far too many students enter college with vague notions or are simply clueless about themselves or the types of careers that match their interests.

* Career dissatisfaction is inevitable if students don't attempt to understand themselves and what they want out of life before making important career decisions.
* With the proper guidance, young people can prepare themselves to make good career decisions, including selecting a college major and a college.
* Career development is a process of preparing children to make good decisions.

How You Can Help

In the other courses, you learned how to help your child do better in school and prepare for college. Now it's time to take another step and talk about your child's career. Your goal here is not just to help prepare your child for a career, but rather for the right career. You might think that you won't be of much help in this area since you are not a career counselor or expert. Don't worry - you can do it. This course will be your guide.

* You don't have to be an expert in career development to help your child prepare for a career.
* Career preparation is a step-by-step process that any parent can learn and follow.
* All you need is the desire to help.

Start with a Dream

Preparing your child for a career is all about transforming your child's dream into a practical career plan that makes the dream possible. This course will show you the steps to take, advise you on the decisions to make, and direct you to the resources to enable your child to move from dreaming to planning. But try not to put the cart before the horse by skipping any of these ten steps or rushing through them. Young people should prepare themselves to make important career decisions. Hasty career decisions can lead to major problems down the line.

Important Choices

We are asking a lot of our children. We expect a high school student to make choices that will affect the rest of his life, based on very little knowledge or experience. Very few teenagers are ready to make important career decisions. These decisions are best made before they attend college! Your job as a parent is to make sure your child has help in making the right decisions at the right times.
Important Benefits

Talking about careers with your child also will have a big impact on his attitude and performance.

* Preparing your child for a career will focus him on education as a career pathway.
* Talking about career dreams will motivate him to work harder in school.
* Having a practical career plan will keep him on track.

Ten Steps

This course describes ten steps you can take to prepare your child to make good career decisions. These steps cover all the phases of career development, from dreaming to concrete planning. To learn more, click here to view the complete course.