Lauren Cole

Simon Workman

English 1201

April 26th, 2020

How Can Students Start Their Career in High School?

Throughout the world, many people and students are wondering how they can get a head

start on their future careers, even if it is just the smallest step forward. There are many things that

people can do to get a jump start, such as go to a special school or get a job or internship related

to the career one would want. Although these are all good options, some people have no clue

about where to start or know what they want to do in their future careers, a student could do

many before or after school activities to begin to know what they like doing. While by starting

your career in high school could take away from the "high school experience", students should

explore their interests by doing activities or going to a career technical school, because this can

help them get a jump start on their career, students can be more knowledgeable in the workforce,

and it could help students make money quicker.

There have been many videos, books, articles, and various other sources of information

based on how students can get a head start on their careers while still in high school. Many of

these articles say that it is good to have an open mindset, a drive for success, and good use of a

pathway. I do believe, however, that it is very essential to have a good pace throughout one's

journey from high school to either; career, college, or other aspects that people may choose in

their life. Another key concept of how to get a head start is to truly know what type of

personality one has. For example, if someone was a very social and outgoing person, that person
might prefer to work with people opposed to working at a desk, by themselves. Another example

of this includes if someone is hands-on and likes to touch things, then that person might like to

build stores or be a manufacturer. It is beneficial to have the chance to explore career options.

The more likely a student is to investigate the path that he or she would like to take, the more

prepared they could be for the job. The article “Career Planning for High Schoolers” by Elka

Torpey, an economist working in the Office of Occupational Statistics and Employment

Projections, suggests that, “By joining groups that involve community service and leadership

opportunities, such as student government or honor societies, you can hone work-related skills or

interests”(Torpey). This means that even if you want to start on career planning, you can do other

in-school actives that could lead to a spark in an interest. This is an overall great thing to do

because if someone has no clue about what they want to continue their education with, this could

help reach what someone would want to do later in life.

Someone can be impacted by outside ideas, which might lead to different paths. In the

article called, 5 Ways to Find Career Ideas, from the website, “College Board: Big Future” They

say that “Start by considering your options. You can take many paths, and you may discover new

talents and passions in the process of exploring.” Meaning that just by starting small, it can lead

to other bigger things in life. They say that by beginning to think about what you love is the first

step to ignite the flame for your future. The next step is that it is important to “Identify Defining

Experiences”. This means that by knowing what experiences in the person's life is worth thinking

about and using for a stepping stone for the future. Another step is to “Create a Self-Portrait"

which is when someone would write down their personality traits and think about the career

choices that this person could have based on what they like to do. For example, if someone was

creative and loved art, then this person might be more interested in an art or design career. This
next step is probably the biggest step that one could take to have a spark in their career pathways,

being that it is evaluating a person's strengths and weaknesses. This is extremely important to

consider if someone were to look down a certain career path. Go back to the example with the

creative person who liked art. Maybe this person wants to own their art gallery, but business and

math is not a strong suit of theirs, this could be viewed as a weakness. I am not saying that this

person couldn’t learn the necessities that are needed to run a business because they could. One of

the last, final steps is that it is okay to explore careers. If a person likes half of the career they are

looking at, but not the other half, then in the future, this could end up burning them out. This is

the chance to find out what each job does and the type of people that the jobs are looking for.

Each person has their calling in the world for a certain job, but where they start their interest at is

the important question (College Board: Big Future)

Another thing that could help lead to more career interest is for a student or teenager to

get a job over the summer. By doing so, this can help more teenagers make money and get career

interest. The chart in “Career Planning for High Schoolers” has the types of summer jobs that

employed students had ranging from 15-year-olds to 24-year-olds.

Fig.1 Graph of Teens employed and what job they have. (U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics)

By analyzing the chart, leisure and hospitality services have the majority of the numbers,

while retail trade is the second biggest portion of the chart. The leisure and hospitality services

include lifeguarding, fast food places, and many other jobs that teenagers could work. Some of

the retail trade jobs include anything relating to re-selling parts or other objects. These are the

most common jobs that need no experience. That’s why most teenagers and students get those

jobs.
 While many students and teenagers don’t know what they want to do in their later life

and future careers, other people, and students have some type of idea as to what they would like

to do as a future career, but they wonder how do they get there? Many larger schools offer career

technical programs like, for example, healthcare or machine classes. Students can take these to

help get job experience for the real world. Though if one was at a smaller school with fewer

options, which is most schools where I live, there are limited options as to what students can

take. Most smaller region schools have fewer kids then the larger schools, so this meaning that

their funding is less, which leads to fewer options for the students. What more of the schools

have been doing is offering in-school CCP classes. For people who don’t know what this is, it is

College Credit Plus, which is college-level classes at the high school. Whether if someone would

take them online or in-person, these classes are paid for by the school. Usually, these are taught

by the teachers that have a higher degree in teaching than the other. I know that next year, my

school is offering CCP algebra, geology, anatomy, English, and great books, but since I plan on

going to CTC, a Career technical school, for Dental, I have the advantage of taking more career-

based classes, which is beneficial for me and can lead to many college credit hours, which is less

many that I have to spend when I go to an actual college.

 Fig.2. a busy college campus. (Washington State)

The most popular jump-start jobs include Cosmetology, Healthcare, and Automotive

Mechanics. The article for the U.S News, Get a Jump-Start on 3 Careers in High School by

Alexandra Pannoni, speaks about how these are the most popular careers to get a head-start for

the teenagers to have. Cosmetology has a wide range of jobs outside of school, like hairdresser,

nail tech, make-up artist, and many more jobs for the students who like to use their creative

mindset and is more of a hands-on person. The Healthcare field is also a very wide range of jobs

that students could specialize in. Jobs including a nurse, dental assistant, and many other

healthcare professions. Since the health field is always growing, the jobs are very much in

demand. Automotive Technologies have a high demand for students with a growing interest in

cars or car technology. These three career pathways are popular because these are the most
offered classes. By taking these classes, one can build a foundation for the future career that they

dream to have one day (Pannoni).

There are many ways to get a head-start on a future career, but the reasons why could be

more important and lead to many other things. When looking forward, one must consider what

the job opportunities are looking for, are they looking for a young, smart person that is good at

math or more of an experienced person who has years of knowledge behind them. These are all

important to consider when looking at career paths. In the article written by Miriam Salpeter, a

social media expert, author, motivational speaker, and a job search consultant, says in her article,

“Why it's Important to Think About Your Career in High School” that there was a recent study

from social scientists, Dan Schawbel, founder of Millennial Branding and Robin Richards, CEO

of Internships.com, the largest internship marketplace in the world, that talk about the main

reasons as to why young people in high school go to career technological schools, or CCP/ AP

classes is not only to get a jump on their future careers, but they say that by having someone do

those things, they can; be more competitive for colleges, learn more, having more experience,

grow your network quicker than others who don’t take their first step ahead, and could have

possible job offers sooner than others. By student having their network grown quicker, the

students can help create and grow a professional network. “Schawbel notes: “By going to school-

sponsored events, local meetups and connecting with your teachers, you can grow a powerful

network that will support you in college admissions and beyond. Very few high school students

take the time to meet professional contacts, leverage them to create opportunities and then keep

in touch with them when they graduate.”’(Salpeter). This meaning that it is good to have

personal connections that may help in the future with college or careers. The reason why students

who have opened themselves to have taken the extra classes that could furthermore help them for
their career be more competitive for colleges and jobs is that, “... many students apply to college

after high school without having completed an internship, your experience over the summer can

help you stand out from the crowd of students," Richards explains. "The admissions committee

will be able to see that you are motivated, inquisitive and serious about success from the fact that

you used your break to work and gain professional experience.”’(Salpeter) From this piece in the

article, one can conclude that by being driven for success, colleges and jobs are looking at those

little things, like taking the extra step to continue one's education. These are all good things to

think about when debating whether college education or career education matters. Like earlier in

the essay, by figuring out what to do while still in college, can help narrow down some of the

majors or minors one could take to get a degree. ‘“The sooner you understand what you do and

don't want to do for a career, the easier it will be to make the right career decisions," Schawbel

says. "In high school, there's no pressure to pick a major or career so it's the best time to

experiment.”’(Salpeter) This quote from the experiment says that by having an overall idea of

what to do in the future, it can be less stressful. The last thing that the two scientists say about

why it's important to start your career in high school, is someone learns a lot from the little job

experiences, classes, or different schools. “Richards explains: “Going through the internship

application process and completing a summer internships program offers valuable decision-

making lessons which can come in handy when applying to colleges and future summer

internships.” She adds: “In addition to learning important skills that will make you a very

valuable employee, a summer job or internship in high school can help you gain confidence and

a better understanding of ‘the real world.'" In this quote, Richards explains that by learning lots

of the information now, it can help significantly in the future, by having more knowledge than
your competitors. In hindsight, by knowing these and doing these facts, a student can help him or

herself in the future.

Some high school students come out of high school still not knowing what they want to

do with their life, so instead, they take a gap year to find themselves, or more specifically, find

out what they like and dislike to do and how they can turn this into some sort of career for

themselves. This could end up being more beneficial to oneself because the older you get the

better sense one would have as to what they can do or what they are good at. The article titled,

After High School; Different Ways to Thrive, written by Victoria Scanlan Stefanakos, who is a

writer and editor, says that “Many students spend their gap year exploring interests through

internships, volunteer experiences, a job or travel.” This is saying that by having the gap year,

one can gain more experience or find out what the person wants to do in their life. The same

article states a lot of other pathways that students can take whether they just taking that extra

year for themselves, or a four-year college or university. For example, they could go to a two-

year college, these offer students with help, if they still don’t know what they want to do and

they also help guide the student to a four-year college, if they are not ready for that yet, the next

option being that people could go to a trade or vocational school. This is a school where the

classes are a very direct path to a certain job, so for example, if the student wanted to become a

carpenter, then that student would take more carpentry-based classes. These can also offer

internships that can lead to bigger job opportunities. The military is also a good option to keep

open while deciding on what to do if they don’t want to go to a school right away. Many colleges

are having where you work in the military for however long and they will pay for your tuition or

some other expenses. “This can be a good option for students who thrive on structure and

physical activity. The training involves a lot of practice and repetition. Service in the armed
forces can lead to a job or college-level education.” (Stefanakos). This meaning that if someone

decides to join the military, then it can eventually lead to other jobs. The last option that students

could debate on when they get out of high school is going straight from school directly to work.

If the student already has a good job that they like doing, and they could see themselves doing

that for the rest of their life, then this could be a good option for this student to take if they don’t

feel very motivated to go to a college and get a higher degree. Whatever someone decides to do

as their career, it is always good to remember that to get anywhere in life, one must be self-

driven to do so.

While by starting your career in high school could take away from the "high school

experience", students should explore their interests by doing activities or going to a career

technical school, because this can help them get a jump start on their career, students can be

more knowledgeable in the workforce, and it could help students make money quicker. There are

many possible career pathways that students can investigate, some being college, work, or other

options to choose from. Knowing where to start in one's career pathway is a key element in

starting a future. By doing the simplest things in high school, like joining clubs or taking extra

classes, students can get a spark of career interests, but the steps after figuring out what path

people want to take is a good element to have. The key to having a start on a career in high

school is taking the extra step with education.

 Works Cited

“Career Planning for High Schooler.” U.S. Bureau of Statistics, January 2015,

https://www.bls.gov/careeroutlook/2015/article/career-planning-for-high-schoolers.htm,

12 April 2020.

“Get a Jump-Start on 3 Careers in High School.” U.S. News & World Report, U.S. News &

World Report, www.usnews.com/education/blogs/high-school-notes/2015/04/27/get-a-

jump-start-on-3-careers-in-high-school.

“Job and Career Outlook.” 5 Ways to Find Career Ideas, bigfuture.collegeboard.org/get-

started/know-yourself/5-ways-to-find-career-ideas.

Salpeter, Miriam. “Why It's Important to Think About Your Career in High School.” U.S. News

& World Report, U.S. News & World Report, 11 Feb. 2014, 10:15 a.m.,

money.usnews.com/money/blogs/outside-voices-careers/2014/02/11/why-its-important-to-

think-about-your-career-in-high-school.

Stefanakos, Victoria Scanlan. “After High School: Different Ways to Thrive.” After High

School: Different Paths to Success | Learning Disabilities, Understood, 18 Oct. 2019,

www.understood.org/en/school-learning/choosing-starting-school/leaving-high-

school/after-high-school-different-paths-to-success.

Torpey, Elka. “Career Planning for High Schoolers : Career Outlook.” U.S. Bureau of Labor

Statistics, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2015,

www.bls.gov/careeroutlook/2015/article/career-planning-for-high-schoolers.htm.
“Washington State’s Big Bet on “Free” College.” The Conversation, 18 July 2019,

https://theconversation.com/washington-states-big-bet-on-free-college-119073, 12 April

2020.