9 Ways Teens Can Find Their Career Path in High School

Mark Twain once said “My schooling doesn’t have to get in my way of education.” Learning and using your resources isn’t something specific to the classroom. Schools claim to prepare us for the future but they sometimes fail to fulfill that promise. It is important for students to take initiative to educate and prepare themselves for the real world.

Jobs will become automated and the ones who succeed will have to be innovative, curious, creative, and adapt to rising changes. Employers will value how you use your intellect and skill sets opposed to how much facts and data you have stored in your head.

Acquisitions of soft skills will become extremely important. Soft skills cannot be replaced by automation. Machines can’t compete with emotional intelligence, creativity, and curiosity. Students need to bring these skills to the forefront and understand how to apply them.

Here are 9 tips for students to aid them in finding their career path:

1. Pursue Creativity

People will be hired not because of what they know but because of what they can do with what they know. In other words, the knowledge one has is not as important as the impact one is making with the knowledge. In essence, having more degrees than a thermometer doesn’t depict success. Creativity goes beyond drawing the dots. It has to do with connecting the dots to make a line.

2. Embrace Collaboration.

In a report by Salesforce, 86% of employees and executives cite a lack of collaboration or ineffective communication for workplace failures. Small businesses lose tens of thousands of income when there’s no collaboration. An African proverb says “if there’s no enemy within then the enemy outside can do us no harm.” This simply means when team members deal with internal issues, external economies will be of no threat. With the increasing pace and pressure of today’s workplace, collaborating with others is an indispensable skill. New workers need to possess this skill before getting the job and continue to develop it even after obtaining the position.

3. Develop Good Time Management Skills.

Schools should equip students with time management skills that are not just useful on the test day but for life. Students manage time wisely when it comes to bubbling in multiple-choice questions but fail woefully at the test of time in the real world. Time waits for no man, not even the wealthiest in the world. Striking a balance between the increasing workload and the constant number of hours portrays good time management skills.

4. Give Room For Flexibility.

An important skill necessary to thrive in future jobs is flexibility. Flexibility means the ability to adapt to changes and the potential to manage those changes. Otherwise termed adaptability, flexibility revolves round most soft skills. As changes in everyday life occur, responding and adjusting to such changes might be difficult but it’s way more important than we think.

5. Have a Vision For Yourself:

The beginning of a powerful transformation starts with developing a mental blueprint of how you want your life to look. Sometimes people without visions will end up in a state of confusion. Having a vision helps you to develop your mindset and to explore the realm of unlimited possibilities. What kind of life do you want to live? What kind of people do you want to keep in your circle? Where do you see yourself?

6. Seek and Engage in valuable extracurricular activities.

Experience is an important criterion often considered in workplaces. Someone who has gained traction by volunteering and engaging in a pleather. Identify your passion and participate in extracurricular activities corresponding to your passion. High school is a great time and place to start exploring and engaging in activities related to your passions. Remember that it is better to be prepared for the possible future opportunity than to be unprepared and lack experience.

7. Read About Your Role Models.

It is often said that nothing new is under the sun. Identify major personages in your field and try to find a way to reach them. Should there be difficulty in reaching them, read about them. Stories often inspire one to aspire beyond the owner of the story. An error does not become a mistake until you refuse to correct it. Make attempts to identify the errors of leading people in your field and work your way to avoid those errors.

8. Consult a mentor.

In order to make a great decision in your career, it is important that you have someone like a mentor who can help you dig deep and discover about yourself and what you truly want.This person could be your teacher, your community leader, or even your religious leader. Don’t overlook any of them. They can provide guidance, resources and support.

9. Be an Iconoclast!

Don't do something just because everyone is doing it. In the future, workplaces will reward distinct qualities, not routine dispositions. Make it a norm to challenge conventional beliefs even though it might make you uncomfortable at first.

Don’t yearn for something because that’s what everyone in your family is expecting of you. Don’t aspire to be something because that's what everyone in your community does. Your future is about you!

Life is not a bed of roses. In life, disasters, tragedies, and crises are everywhere. The tragedy of life doesn’t occur when you aren’t at par with your dreams. Real tragedy occurs when you have no dreams to accomplish. Crises don't befall you when you aren’t securing the bag. A real crisis occurs when you have no desire to secure the bag.

Always bear in mind that getting a payroll of 40k USD on a job you love will do better than getting a 50k USD pay on a job you hate. Go for what you love. Nurture your multiple intellectual interests and make them align with your passion.

Name Abdulrasaq Amolegbe

Editor: Nathalia Ramkissoon

Photographer: India Jones