When my son Brandon was 5, he said he wanted to be a policeman and a preacher. I thought that bivocational combination was borderline brilliant. That way, he could arrest people and then have a captive audience as he told them about Jesus. But the very next year he changed his mind and said he wanted to play in the NBA, and since trivocational ministry isn't very pragmatic, the policeman/preacher idea fell by the wayside.
By the time his freshman year in high school rolled around, I knew the NBA wasn't in his realistic future, but I wasn't worried that he needed to find a new plan. When the school counselor said he was supposed to identify a career path, I thought it was pretty funny. Unless you're really going to be a fireman, professional athlete, ballet dancer, or a veterinarian, your ideas about what you want to do with your life are probably going to change somewhere between four and 17 times by the time you graduate from college. And possibly even another three times after that.
So now that we're hitting mid-stream in his first semester of college, I shouldn't be surprised about the pressure he feels to nail it down right this minute. Two weeks ago, I got a text that said, "Hey mom, do you think I would make a good transportation engineer? I mean, I'm at Texas A&M, so I should at least consider engineering, right?" Three days later, this text came: "What about an anesthesiologist?" That idea had a shorter shelf life. The very next day, he texted: "I could get into social media marketing. I mean, I'm pretty good at Twitter."
I know the time is coming when he will need to choose a direction of some sort, but these questions are hard to answer. How is an 18-year-old supposed to know what he wants to do for the rest of his life? It seems like it would be so much easier in agrarian societies. If your great-grandpa Honus was an okra farmer, your grandpa Honus, Jr. was an okra farmer, your dad, Honus III, is an okra farmer, then you, also, will be an okra farmer. The only thing you get different is a new first name, because no one goes by Honus anymore.
But things don't work that way these days. There are thousands of career choices out there, and the competition for jobs is tough. A young college student might make an excellent teacher, but is that the right path to take when there are 300 applicants for three openings in that elementary school with the good reputation? With growing economic concerns, should you push your college student toward a career that will give him or her the greatest chance at financial stability? There are no easy answers.
Choosing a career is a major life decision, but knowing what I know about God, I have to think He never intended for it to be a major life worry. So what's the best way you can help your recent high school graduate relax and make a well-informed decision about a future career?
1. Help him know that God's will isn't a big mystery.
Certainly God calls some of us to specific jobs for specific purposes, but His will for each of us is basically the same. It is a welcome relief for a young adult to know that, if his desire is to serve God in any capacity made available to him, then he's on the right track. Finding God's will is wrapped up in things like love, obedience, and sharing the gospel more than it is in a particular major or career.
2. Give suggestions, but don't convey expectations.
The former is helpful; the latter adds pressure. Parental expectations often increase the stress young adults feel. It's not your career path being chosen, so don't make the mistake of trying to live vicariously through your child by pushing him or her in a direction you feel strongly about. Offer suggestions instead, and pray for him to feel strongly about whatever career he decides to pursue.
3. Help her see her strengths, personality bent, and interests.
Many times, confusion over career choice is really a question of, "What am I good at?" Anyone who has chased the world for any length of time knows this is a more important question than, "How can I make the most money?"
4. Encourage her to take advantage of any career assessment programs her college offers.
Research it for her, and then give her the information she needs to get started. It may be best to wait until the spring semester or even next summer. Now is the time to focus on adjusting to a whole new life; not for solving and planning the rest of it.
5. Assure him that he does, in fact, have time.
They say a Bachelor's degree is the new high school diploma. Chances are strong to very strong that your college student is going to continue his education past these next four years in a more specialized way. So encourage him to pick an undergraduate degree that offers a broad range of possibilities, and then keep learning and listening.
This article is courtesy of Parenting Teens.