Most Americans spend a major portion of their lives at work, but as per a survey conducted in 2014, only 52.3% of Americans are actually satisfied with their jobs. This highlights the importance of choosing an appropriate career option for yourself.
Once a student crosses certain important milestones in education, such as secondary school, higher secondary school and post-graduation, they often face this question “what next?”. With limited exposure to vast career options, they often end up making wrong career choices which can have major consequences in the long run.
A career counselor or vocational guidance can help students and youth in choosing the right career path. It identifies the real potential of the students and helps them choose their career goals based on their individual caliber. Career Counseling aims to help students make more informed and better educational and career choices. It helps them decide the stream and subject combinations and choose the right graduation and post-graduation career options.
Career Counseling at the School Level
It is advisable that career Counseling should be done at the school level itself as it is in this phase that students choose a particular stream as their specialization. Proper guidance at this stage will help them decide the stream they should opt for.
In the absence of proper guidance at this stage, students often choose a stream and tend to get dissatisfied with it after some time. Changing stream at a later point, not only puts an extra burden on the students, but also forces them to learn more things in a shorter span of time.
Why is career Counseling so important?
Career counselor provides parents and teachers with information that they can use to support their child’s / students' career option. It can be very fruitful in situations when you face a dilemma or crossroads like choosing the right school, university, field of study, subjects, career or employment opportunity. Career Counseling shows the path to the youth and once the students know where they are headed, they can become motivated to work hard to realize their goals.With a good career Counseling, students and American youth would be able to understand
their aptitude and interest in a particular field
Their strengths and weaknesses pertaining to a particular interest
Based the parameters on which they can choose their career stream after secondary or higher secondary school.
Various career options that they can pursue based on their interest and academic choice
Academic curriculum and high school programs
College application and admission process
Future job prospects based on their career choice
Alternate career options if they decide to switch their stream in future
Moreover, career Counseling helps a student know the pros and cons of the different streams, courses, educational options and career path. It helps them make more informed choices when it comes to their career path. It will not only boost the confidence in youth, but also give them a new direction which will be beneficial for them as well as the whole society.
How does career Counseling work?
Career Counseling involves scientifically developing personality tests, aptitude tests and other psychometric tests to analyze the interests of the students. Apart from that, these tests help in figuring out student’s capabilities towards each of their interests.
As humans, we are capable of doing infinite tasks which can never be measured or judged. All of us have unique characteristics, strengths and weaknesses. The key is to identify these unique qualities and that is what a career Counseling does.
In a typical career Counseling session, the counselor helps the student or youth to explore his skills and strengths based on his/her education levels. Based on the student’s skill set, he advises them career options.
The Bottom Line
It is vital for students to know the importance of career coaching and right guidance before they choose an academic stream. At this stage, the right career Counseling can help them set career goals and plan a bright future ahead.
Recognizing the importance of career guidance and counseling, many Counseling centers are offering Counseling services to American youth, but it is prudent to find the right counselor who can guide you and be your mentor. Living In Wellbeing is a renowned Counseling center in India and offers online Counseling services across the globe. By far, it has helped millions of students and youth find the right career path and you too can take advantage of their services. The counselors at Living In Wellbeing use scientifically developed personality tests and aptitude tests to identify your true potential and advise you various career options based on your strengths.
So, next time when you are stuck with the question “what next?”, simply call the experts at Living In Wellbeing and be assured you are in safe hands.
