A career coach and counselor, Lynn Berger says it is never too early to start planning for your education and career. Although Lynn works with people of all ages, she has also had the opportunity to work with high school students to help them start planning for their future careers in a way that is fun and sustainable throughout their lives.
According to Lynn, “Parents, professionals and teachers need to support young people today so they explore their interests early on. The most effective way for young people to start planning their education and careers is to find their niches early on, embrace them and learn how to be recognized and valued in today's job market.”
Lynn Berger emphasizes that if you are a young person, you do not need to jump into any endeavor with both feet and no parachute. She suggests that students can experiment and try different roles by volunteering. She always recommends to young people that they try out different things and undergo a trial experience before making a commitment to a field or course of study. For example, if you want to major in Psychology, volunteer in that type of setting to see if it is a fit for you. Or if you
think you want to teach, volunteer at a local school as a mentor or tutor. There are many ways you can try out different situations and settings. Be creative. Read all you can about a field. Subscribe to several magazines and articles. Ask for informational interviews! Most important of all, Lynn suggests that students talk to at least three people working in the field to get a realistic perspective. Aside from getting great information, when you meet people
in the field, they can be your mentors or even your employers
in the future!
It is never too early to encourage young people to begin to identify their talents by getting focused earlier on a couple of paths. Some pursuits might turn out to be vocational and others a hobby. What matters most is that young people are given the opportunity to live more satisfied and enriched lives and enter their professional lives with a greater sense of focus and direction, skill and talent. The earlier you start exploring, the sooner everything can fall into place!
For the complete article, follow this link.
Lynn Berger is a National Certified Counselor, Licensed Mental Health Counselor, Master Career Counselor and Professional Certified Coach. She received her M.A. in Organizational Psychology and her Ed.M. in Psychological Counseling from Columbia University, New York. In addition to Lynn Berger’s many services, she offers highly valuable and reliable testing assessments (e.g., the Strong Interest Profile) to high school students so they can learn potential career paths at an early age.