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[...................]

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Edited July 29, 2019 by Calming Tea

[Nicholas_mom]

Isn't one of the new job market is being a communications person on a company website?  They write posts for the company's facebook, twitter, etc account?

[katilac]

Here's a pretty recent list of outdoor jobs and their pay:

 https://money.usnews.com/careers/best-jobs/articles/2018-08-08/outdoor-jobs-careers-that-take-you-beyond-the-cubicle

Low-stress and outdoors doesn't tend to pay that well, lol. But there are different kinds of stress, and she will figure out what she can handle as she gets older. 

It's great to be exploring options, but she's very young to be worried about narrowing it down too much. Tell her she doesn't have to figure it all out now! 

Spend some time reading about what is actually involved in various careers. Some people want to get into digital design because they have the talent and want to work alone on the computer, but most of the good jobs involve quite a bit of client interaction, giving presentations, and so on. So you want to know what your day will look like and not just what you need to study to get there. 

My dh is in sales and he is out and about quite often. He actually spent today 'working' at a golf tournament, lol. Outside sales can pay extremely well. 

I used to work in non-profit; special events, volunteer recruitment and training, educational programs. Lots of variety and you aren't stuck in an office all day. 

[Storygirl]

I was an English major, but I didn't want to teach or do journalism, so I understand the dilemma. I still didn't have a plan when I graduated from college, so of course I just went on to graduate school. ?

Before I became a SAHM, I worked in magazine publishing as an editor, bookstores (manager, but still not much money), and in libraries as a library assistant (same job as the librarian but without the MLS and with less pay). My niece who likes writing landed a job in marketing for a magazine and loves it. So it's possible to find a path, but generally these tend to be lower paying positions.

My kids worked with an intervention teacher at their old school (they switched schools this year). Ms. T. has dyslexia and chose to become a special education teacher, specializing in reading. She is trained in OG, as well. She got to work with individual children  and small groups and so did not have to deal with much classroom management. If your daughter's dyslexia is remediated such that she could actually learn to tutor other dyslexics, I can tell you that we really appreciated having an intervention teacher who could personally understand what DD's struggles were.

Being a teacher does mean being inside for much of the day, but they generally get off of work early, so there may be time for outside things later in the day. And the summers.

Edited October 18, 2018 by Storygirl

[...................]

ok you know what Librarian....we had ruled it out many moons ago as being less likely to find a job, but she is still dreaming about it.  We did some research and she's going to contact her favorite library and see if they'll let her do some extra special volunteering work.  She can get an undergrad in English and Literature just about anywhere and then apply for her Master's in library science.  Assuming she wants to come back home, our state university 20 mintues from our house (easy ride on public transportation), has a great Library Science master's degree.  

She has dreamed of working in a library her whole life so I think, she will make it happen.  

 

[Storygirl]

Also, I know you didn't ask for opinions about this, but I would just be cautious about choosing a literature degree with dyslexia. It's such a heavy load of reading and writing. Is she sure she wants to major in something that will be that taxing for her? My literature degree required hours of reading per day. On top of extensive note-taking, as almost all of the classes were lecture style.

[...................]

Just now, Storygirl said:

Also, I know you didn't ask for opinions about this, but I would just be cautious about choosing a literature degree with dyslexia. It's such a heavy load of reading and writing. Is she sure she wants to major in something that will be that taxing for her? My literature degree required hours of reading per day. On top of extensive note-taking, as almost all of the classes were lecture style.

 

Thanks, this is a good thought. She can take notes very fast, they're just spelled wrong.  She actually speed reads, even with deep comprehension.  She almost looks at half a page, and then the next half and has read the whole page.  

It really just manifests in spelling and not being able to properly sound out new words sometimes.

[Storygirl]

1 minute ago, Calming Tea said:

ok you know what Librarian....we had ruled it out many moons ago as being less likely to find a job, but she is still dreaming about it.  We did some research and she's going to contact her favorite library and see if they'll let her do some extra special volunteering work.  She can get an undergrad in English and Literature just about anywhere and then apply for her Master's in library science.  Assuming she wants to come back home, our state university 20 mintues from our house (easy ride on public transportation), has a great Library Science master's degree.  

She has dreamed of working in a library her whole life so I think, she will make it happen.  

 

If I could go back in time and advise myself, I would tell myself to get a master's in library science. I was sure I didn't want to work in a library. But the library job that I ended up having was probably my favorite.

 

[...................]

Wow that's good confirmation for us.  My dd had a favorite librarian, and she wanted to call her or drive up to her old favorite library, but I looked up the staff and it showed on LinkedIn that she moved to a new library.  But she was part of my dd's inspiration back then.  Even though she issn't there My dd would like to go work at that library.  That particular library is run by a wealthy local city and is just the best library we ever had.  So much time and love went into choosing the children's books and even the layout of the library was cozy and friendly, even thought it was a big one.  THe librarians worked REALLY hard not to cull the old classics like the Pemberwicks and All in the Family and Betsy Tacey.  My dd would be the best librarian ever.  

Edited October 18, 2018 by Calming Tea

[8filltheheart]

My college sophomore whohas always loved languages and lit went off to college planning on a business major with language minors. Then she changed to accounting with language minors. But, guess what? She has decided to go with her love. She is now a Russian and French major with business administration and information systems minors with a goal towards something like a special collections librarian. She has been meeting with all sorts of professionals on campus as she investigates this as an option. There are apparently many different fields within the library science field. She has been told that the degree she has basically designed combined with some linguistics classes she is taking will be very marketable in the field. 

I have no idea. I know nothing about it, but she has spent the entire semester researching it.

[Lori D.]

3 hours ago, Calming Tea said:

She likes books, writing, literature, mythology, legends....being outdoors, horseback riding, gardening, 
... She is empathetic and kind, but gets very stressed out about other people's problems...
... I think a medium town life, being a high school English teacher and having property for all her animals sounds like a good option.  BUT I was wondering if we are missing anything.

 

3 hours ago, Calming Tea said:

 

Just my opinion, and meaning this gently and respectfully, but yes, I think you are missing a TON of possibilities, for a variety of reasons:

- she is very young (14yo in your signature) to be making such specific long-range decisions before she has had a chance to experience a variety of things and mature in her interests, and esp when she is only "so-so" about your suggestion of teaching

- students change so much between 14 and 18, that areas she's not terribly interested in now, may become much more interesting by the end of high school, or in college

- the majority of college students change majors from one field to a radically different degree program partway through their years at college -- so trying to plan for such a specific future this far in advance is very likely futile, and may inadvertently shut doors now, or give you both "tunnel vision" now so that you fail to see new options later on as they pop up

- people dealing with dyslexia often overcome or find very solid work-arounds by the late teens/early 20s so that it is no longer a limiting hurdle

- a 4-year university degree is not the best career path for everyone or best for all jobs -- there are lots of jobs that pay decently and have benefits with good future outlook that come through working your way up into the company or with an Associate degree or vocational-tech training

Just me, but I'd strongly recommend setting aside worrying about picking a college major right now, and instead let DD continue to enjoy her passions, encourage her to try out new interests and do some volunteering, work a part time job, and get involved in some more activities/groups so she can explore and get some networking going. As long as you continue to work towards a college prep set of credits, she will be able to apply to quite a few different colleges when the time comes -- and not necessarily in CA, which opens up even more future options for DD.

It may not be until she's in college that she finds what she'd like to do -- and it may have nothing to do with literature/myths, horses, and gardening -- which would all be super things to continue to have in her life as fulfilling hobbies and interests, but it doesn't mean her career/training has to involve any of those things. Even if you DO decide to limit yourselves to just those areas of current interest -- literature; writing; gardening/outdoors; horses -- there all kinds of occupations to explore. Just a few quick ideas:

writing
- author (magazine articles or web content -- and bonus if it's a magazine/website of special interest, such as horses, gardening, etc)
- copywriter (for ad agency, social media, greeting card company, instructional/educational material, company newsletter, etc)
- public relations / marketing (esp. for a company or organization she loves)
- travel writer (for guidebook, travel magazine, website, blog, etc)
- publishing company position

reading
- archivist
- librarian
- literary agent
- book scout / book reader
- book reviewer
- audiobook narrator
- book sales

gardening / outdoors
- florist -- growing flowers for florists, or floral arranging, or both
- horticulturalist
- nursery worker
- hydroponics gardening
- aquaponics gardening
- arborist
- vineyard manager/operator
- organic or small farm manager/operator
- landscape architect
- landscape maintenance
- forest service
- forestry
- surveyor
- outdoor guide
- wilderness educator

horses
- riding instructor
- trail guide
- horse farm worker/manager
- farrier
- horse show judge

I agree with katilac -- do some career exploration that helps DD see what jobs really ARE about, and what a typical day would look like. For example, she may find that the reality of the "Science" in some jobs is far more interesting than (and nothing like) the high school textbook courses in Science that she's taken and hated, lol. I recommend spending some time on the CA Career Zone website. Take the interest profiler to come up with her 3-letter "Holland Code" (top 3 interest areas), and then input those 3 areas in various orders of 1-2-3 in the Quick Assessment tool to come up with lists of different occupations to explore -- or just browse the videos and info on different jobs in the different industries.

BEST of luck in exploring! Warmest regards, Lori D.

Edited October 18, 2018 by Lori D.

[...................]

This is all true but unfortunately many smaller colleges do require you to apply to a specific major so at least having an idea is good.

im also trying to decide whether to spend the 4K to get an official diagnosis of the dyslexia. 

I mean, I hear you. Many students change majors but having some idea where we are headed would be good and she only has two years of high school left. 

I will keep it in mind though. 

[8filltheheart]

But your Dd doesn't need anything now but a solid high school experience. She doesn't need to "major" in high school. Some kids have a clear vision in their future. Some have no clue. There is no right answer. Even adults change career paths.  No need for a crystal ball.  

Based on your other posts, your Dd is struggling with just being a high school student right now. The additional stress of thinking about college now when it is unnecessary might end up being completely counterproductive.

 

[Lori D.]

1 hour ago, Calming Tea said:

This is all true but unfortunately many smaller colleges do require you to apply to a specific major so at least having an idea is good...Many students change majors but having some idea where we are headed would be good and she only has two years of high school left...

But... she's NOT starting college NOW. She has 2 more years before she has to make a decision. And a 3rd year, if she does a gap year first. And she may NOT even end up going to a college that *does* require declaring a major. JMO, but I think you're jumping right past what would be a *great* thing to spend your time and energy on this year (career exploration and exploring interests and maturing), in favor of something that does not need to happen for 2 years.

 

ETA -- I just now cross-posted with 8FillTheHeart -- 100% agree with her post just above this post of mine. ?

Edited October 18, 2018 by Lori D.

[Storygirl]

I think it is worth it to have an official diagnosis. We've had three out of four of our kids evaluated privately, and two of them have IEPs and one has a 504. One of them has dyslexia.

I would keep in mind that the demands of college are likely to be higher than the demands of high school. A good evaluation will not only give her a paper trail for accommodations from the disability office at college but will also possibly enable her to have accommodations on pre-college testing, such as the SAT and ACT.

The most important aspect of the evaluations may be the suggestions for accommodations, because you are likely to learn more about how to support and help her through the remaining years of high school. And for her to learn how to advocate for her own needs and use the tools that she is permitted. Many students enter college and refuse to use the accommodations that would help them, so having a lot of practice with those tools and having her come to her own understanding about how they help her can improve the chances of success at college.

Experiencing trouble at college would be more costly than the evaluations.

Also, I tend to be a lurker and read many threads that I don't comment on, unless I feel I have something to add. So I have read your other recent threads about struggles with curriculum this year. I thought your daughter had dyslexia but didn't make comments on those threads referring to such, because you had not referenced her LD. But I admit that I wondered whether some of her struggle has been related to her learning disability and needing extra scaffolding and support beyond what you recognize. I don't want that to come across as a criticism of you -- it's hard to know what help is needed if you haven't had professional evaluations --  but as something for you to ponder. Getting more information about the things that are causing the struggles, and learning how to use accommodations might be very helpful for her.

[Ravin]

14 hours ago, Calming Tea said:

Here's the catch- it has to be a marketable career with benefits and decent job outlook.  OUr current idea is to get an English/Literature major and then a Teaching Credential (which here in California is like half a master's) and maybe a Master's.  Which would allow her to teach Middle and High School English.

Problem is, she really isn't sure she wants to be a teacher, she really doesn't love the idea too much.  I mean, she kind of likes kids, but she doesn't like classroom management and she's not into being inside all day.  

Journalism, Editing, and all kinds of proofreading are out. Journalism is too high stress and she has dyslexia.... She hates Science so anything with animals is out, and she's allergic to cats and dogs so running an animal shelter is out too 

She likes books, writing, literature, mythology, legends....being outdoors, horseback riding, gardening, 

She is empathetic and kind, but gets very stressed out about other people's problems, so counseling and all that is out.  

I think a medium town life, being a high school English teacher and having property for all her animals sounds like a good option.  BUT I was wondering if we are missing anything.

 

 

She could look at outdoor focused careers. An agro degree, she could go into farm or ranch management? Construction? A/C repair? Veterinary tech?

Literature and mythology can be part of anyone's life on the hobby and leisure side of things. I would pay more attention to the "doesn't want to be inside too much" and "not too high stress" and "not into science." I would dig more into why she isn't into science, and also help her consider what she's willing to push through in her education to get a career she's really passionate about. I mean, I hate contracts and business orgs is a snooze fest and I have little use for Civil Procedure as a Public Defender, but I had to finish law school, so I took the classes, you know? 

Having property for her animals requires more $$ than a teaching degree is going to earn, an if she doesn't have a passion for it, teaching probably isn't the best choice.

I would expose her to a variety of hands-on, outdoor careers and see if anything sparks her interest.

[Woodland Mist Academy]

Researching and exploring can be worthwhile, but I do wonder if putting too much emphasis on it could be counterproductive. Like others have mentioned, there is so much change during the high school years, so much growth happening.  Also, some seniors decide to completely switch career paths during the college application process. (I may or may not have just been witness to that...  The whole application process involves so much introspection, it's not really surprising... )

Being active and engaged, both in learning and in life, may be enough to accomplish the goal of giving direction for the future. 

[Woodland Mist Academy]

It's also good to keep in mind that some of the best jobs for the future may not even exist yet.

[...................]

Ok thanks guys! My dd herself is thinking about this topic a lot lately with big brother going ot college this year and also being introspective.  She started a cool journal that's all about Growth Mindset and she's working through a lot of learning about yourself.  So, it's nice for her to have some ideas that she likes.  SHe never really loved the teaching.  THe idea of having something else she's actually looking forward to it is really helpful for her.  

But I won't focus on it.  She knows she doesn't have to choose a major now, and that most colleges let you change your major.  

Meanwhile, I am going to look into texting for dyslexia.  

 

[GoodGrief]

Having a diagnosis and some coping skills could be useful regardless of future career path. I know that my truck driving son-in-law wishes that he had had the full workup back in high school when it was more feasible to get it done, and I wish I had sprung for the neuropsych exam for my daughter much earlier.

[Nicholas_mom]

Quote

She has dreamed of working in a library her whole life so I think, she will make it happen.

 This.   It's your answer staring you in the face :)  Follow your dream.  It will take you places you could never imagine :)

[Rosie_0801]

Sounds like a trade would suit her better than college, and it'll probably pay better too.

[Guest2]

Perhaps she could persue self employment/ owning her own business.   Could she become a dog trainer and work or put college money toward owning a dog boarding and training place?   In my area, it costs $60 a night to board a dog, and it is hard to get in as they are always full.  On the same page as librarian, but school librarian might suit for the extra time off to work on her own writing without having to work weekends and evenings and in my location-summers.  Has she ever looked into screenwriting?  A day job would probably be necessary, but it can be done.  Some of the art schools and computer gaming schools have dramatic wriitng , and storyboarding, and I think Savannaha School of Art and Design has Dramatic Writing (not sure of the job placement for that major).  I  think this is the time to dream big, and also to think about what might pay the rent while doing the dream thing.  

[SanDiegoMom]

Sorry I missed this before.... Just wanted to chime with my experience --  I got an English major but was really floundering as to what I wanted to do with my life. My future mother-in-law said "Why don't you get a library deree?".  Just like that ? So I did and I am so glad! I love my degree. I am not working currently but I hope to go back once the kids are pushed out of the nest or at least back to high school.  There are different specializations (and things might be different now in the digital age) but I got a reference specialization and it was perfect.  I loved helping people, I loved working on puzzles, looking at old microfiche, finding the perfect resource.  It was always new and interesting. Well, except when I worked at a very sleepy community college library that literally seemed to have no patrons.  Then it was quite boring. 

Depending on where she is, the school librarians in CA seem to no longer be a MLIS job, at least at the elementary level.  But maybe it was just our school.  

If you can swing it, there is an internship program through the library of congress. I did that for four months and it was awesome. So inspiring to work there! But I happened to live near there at the time so it was easier than kids that have to find a place to live, as it is an unpaid internship!

[wintermom]

Have your dd look around websites of colleges and/or universities. Many have career ideas for the various faculties. I was looking through the career fields for English undergrads at our university, and it was really long and varied.

[Clemsondana]

Although I wouldn't stress over what to study while still in early high school, if this is something that she's been pondering, i'd suggest having her do a couple of different things.  If she wants something that requires a degree, have her look at the degree program and see what courses are required.  I often hear students say that they'd like to be an engineer, but they don't want to take math, for instance - for many types of engineering, there are many math and math-like classes.  On the other hand, sometimes you'll look at a list of required classes and think Wow-  those look cool!', which is a good sign.  ?  Or, how long does it take to get to the actual job - a long time like in medicine or academia, or a certificate program?  The longer the time investment, the more I'd want to be sure that I was really interested in the resulting job.  

Also, I'd encourage her to try to learn what a typical day is like, and to see if there are 'levels' of the job.  I've seen scientists work hard to become a PI (prof with their own research lab) only to realize that the job is largely writing papers and grant proposals, and what they really like is teaching or doing bench work (or the reverse - the repetitiveness of bench work was not something that I loved, my advisor hated his occasional teaching times, while I loved interacting with students).  Sometimes the idea of the job doesn't match the reality of it.  I used to chat about this some with the pre-nursing students - doctors, nurses, and the various techs (phlebotomists, etc) all work with medicine and people, but the jobs are really different and require different levels of training..  We'd talk about what they actually wanted to do on a daily basis.  Is variety important?  Is a repetitive job a better fit?  I remember once encouraging a student who got squeamish when we did an experiment involving raw liver (from the grocery store) to consider what a day at work would be like - I think they imagined checking blood pressure at the pediatrician's, not staunching bleeding in the ER.  

[easypeasy]

Just chiming in to say that I would pursue the dyslexia testing if you are financially able to do so.

We chose to *not* with my oldest dd. She is super-smart and was always able to work around the issues (she was a very slow reader... excellent comprehension and retention, but s.l.o.w.). She scored tippy-top scores on the ACT, so the dyslexia didn't negatively affect her there. We thought she was free and clear - she'd learned to manage the slow reading, used spell check religiously, and all was great!

College was a whole other story. She took biology I & II, for instance. Both professors had tests with a gazillion biology terms that were essay and/or fill-in-the-blank by hand. Without having a wordbank nearby, she would struggle to spell the words correctly - and the professors counted ANY misspelled terms as wrong. IF she misspelled a term wrong IN her essay response, major points were docked (even when it was crystal-clear what she was attempting to say). When she hit Anatomy... it was all over with. While she struggled through Bio (not on the CONTENT, but on the spelling of the gosh-darn terms!), Anatomy was murder. So many terms so close together... she bombed tests even though if the professor had quizzed her out loud, or had provided a giant word list, she would have aced them.

It was incredibly frustrating, but since we hadn't gone through the dyslexia testing, the professors wouldn't accommodate her in any way. They just told her to "study more." HA!! (and grrrrrr....)

Long story short - she wound up changing majors over this issue! If we could go back and have a "do over," I'd consider the $$$ spent on dyslexia testing to be well spent! NOT doing it has cost my daughter literally hundreds of thousands of dollars (she was planning to continue to med school and now plans to be a teacher... ?).

[lmrich]

My dd has changed majors 4 times in her first 1 1/2 years of college. My son, twice, but I will not surprised if he ends up double majoring now. 

Life is tricky, and our paths are not straight. Let her explore, enjoy, and learn how to roll with the punches more and more. She might take a summer job and discover she loves a whole new field, and, you know what, that is great. Life should be an adventure!

[HSmomof2]

I also always dreamed of working in a library. Then I did for quite a long time, and in 3 different libraries. And I realized that I love the library in theory and for what it used to be but not what it has become (at least the public libraries). I love reading and books, and loved helping people and kids find what they were looking for. But, most of the time it was more a social service type of job that really caused me a lot of stress. I don’t have the right personality or skills/training to deal with people experiencing severe mental health, substance abuse/addiction,  homelessness, or violence issues that were daily occurrences in the libraries where I worked....and these were in nice suburban areas, not large cities. The ability to hang out in the library from open to close, free WiFi, free computer access has completely changed the public libraries in our area. I had to call the police at least weekly. Many families no longer feel safe bringing their kids to the library. Actually working in a library was completely not what I expected. Maybe a university or school library would have been a better fit. If she is truly interested in being a librarian, I would suggest volunteering. Here teens 14 and up can volunteer at the library and is good experience regardless of future career. 

[maize]

On 10/18/2018 at 8:37 AM, Calming Tea said:

Ok thanks guys! My dd herself is thinking about this topic a lot lately with big brother going ot college this year and also being introspective.  She started a cool journal that's all about Growth Mindset and she's working through a lot of learning about yourself.  So, it's nice for her to have some ideas that she likes.  SHe never really loved the teaching.  THe idea of having something else she's actually looking forward to it is really helpful for her.  

But I won't focus on it.  She knows she doesn't have to choose a major now, and that most colleges let you change your major.  

Meanwhile, I am going to look into texting for dyslexia.  

 

Could you tell me more about the growth mindset journal? Or a link if you have one? It sounds like something I'd like to investigate.

[Pistachio mom]

Hello, I see some great ideas here about futures for our young people. 

I bought something from the 7sisters website: It is a course called Career Exploration. This is a short e-book course that prints as a PDF. It is Christian perspective. The course has questionnaires and links to online personality tests to help a young person see possible options. Ideas like shadowing someone in a possible career is one of the things that caught my interest. I haven't gone through all of it, but I like getting some guidance in helping my children look at their strengths & weaknesses, talents, temperament, physical ability, etc.... all of these make a difference in choosing a career. While I am not using this a class for credit, it does go along with so many discussions that we have at my house all the time.

https://7sistershomeschool.com/products-page/career-exploration-for-high-school/career-exploration-curriculum-bundle-duplicate-2/

Good luck, Calming Tea as you help your girl think ahead ? As moms, we are all trying to be a help to our young people in this area.