claire up north Posted February 10, 2013 Share Posted February 10, 2013 We come from a family of medical people, so they've got a good understanding of what that entails. They see and hear it daily. Bt my 14yo recently told me he might like to run a chain of hotels be because he would like to pick out the sofas. Now, before you tell me that perhaps I should have him consider a career in design or the visual arts, let me assure you that picking sofas is not the point. The point is that that's what he thought people who run hotels do all day. The only job he has ever said he might like is designing video games, but after an informal survey of other teen boys, I think they all think they should do that. I realize that he doesn't really know what a non'medical career really looks like. I am going to have him do some internships next year, but I was wondering if you all had some ideas or resources to check out now. Thanks so much!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wildcat Posted February 10, 2013 Share Posted February 10, 2013 I would start with the Occupational Outllok handbook ( here is a link, but most libraries have a hard copy in their reference section http://www.bls.gov/ooh/ ). The book explains in general terms the basics of an occupation, then lists the education needed to achieve that goal. Also included are projections on job growth and salary range. It also lists jobs closely related, but that may not have been known. That is a neat way to branch off into other interests. Once a potential job is discovered, you can delve into forums and other websites with more detailed tidbits and 'real stories', etc, by doing a simple Google/Yahoo/whatever search for terms like "hotel management information". Things like that. For instance, I typed in "Hotel Management" into the search bar on the OOH page and found links to Lodging Mgrs, Food Service Mgrs, Meeting/Convention/Event Mgrs, and Gaming Service Mgrs (running poker games and the like, from the looks of it). From there, the research/reading is endless. The page with those jobs, then goes on to list management opportunities in other areas like Human Resources, Finance, Medical and Health Managers, etc. It's a fascinating website! Just a side note: This self-proclaimed lover of turning paper pages actually prefers the online version for the simple fact that I can open many tabs at a time and venture into other websites with information which makes multiple jobs and research simpler/faster. YMMV. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barbara H Posted February 10, 2013 Share Posted February 10, 2013 Great that you are discussing this. I know a high school senior who will be majoring in computer science in college. He was suprised at age 13 to learn that people could get paid for working on computers. Sure, he knew he learned computer languages for fun, but he thought it was only a hobby not nothing peopel could do as a job. Huh? In other words... a lot of kids are totally clueless, so it is best not to assume they really understand the range of careers available and how to go about preparing for them. My two top suggestions are What Color is Your Parachute for Teens and the O*net O*net is easy to use and explore - similar information to Occupational Outlook Handbook, which is also a great resource. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
claire up north Posted February 10, 2013 Author Share Posted February 10, 2013 Thank you both so much for your responses! I spent some time messing around today with O*Net, and I think that will prove very useful. I sense a little research project on our future! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KarenNC Posted February 13, 2013 Share Posted February 13, 2013 I'm planning to have my daughter work through the free career prep module at the Virtual Homeschool Group site. www.virtualhomeschoolgroup.com I believe you have to set up a free account to explore the course options. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted February 13, 2013 Share Posted February 13, 2013 Another topic I'm trying to keep in our career-type discussions is what industries are rising and which are collapsing. We're still in the fields of study discussions, not quite to actual career yet. I remember the first computer course was offered in our high school the year I graduated (1985). I laughed thinking I would never use a computer. Now I get twitchy if the Internet is off for a day. So, I'm trying to keep a forward focused mindset and remind ds that he may hold a job in the future that doesn't even exist yet. At this point his interests fall in the technology part, so it's a real possibility for him. I don't have any good resources for that, except to keep up on how the world is changing, and it's more theoretical than concrete. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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