Ever since your children were little, they have likely heard the question, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” If they’re anything like me, this answer has changed a dozen times throughout the years, spanning from a ballerina to a surgeon and anything in between. However, this question becomes a bit more important as teens enter high school and approach years when they will make actual career decisions. Now, this is not to say your child needs to rush or commit to a career in their freshman year. Quite the opposite, actually! Rather, high school is a time for your child to explore as many areas of interest as possible and figure out what they really like. For help getting started with this, we’ve compiled some resources on career exploration for homeschooled high schoolers.
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This post is part of a 10-day “Tips for Homeschool Moms Series” we are doing in conjunction with several other homeschool bloggers. Our theme is “Preparing Your Homeschooled Teen for College”. To see links to all of our posts and the other blogs, you can view this post. Now, our info on how homeschoolers can earn college credit in high school!
Electives
Electives can be a great way for your child to learn some information about a field and decide if it is something they want to study in college. In high school, I was torn between a variety of different majors. However, after taking a psychology class as an elective, I fell in love with the subject and decided on that as my major. Electives helped me explore many different subject areas with low commitment so I could decide what I was willing to pour four years of studying into in university.
Internships
Internships are a fantastic way to get firsthand experience in a specific career interest. In addition to helping your child gauge interest in the field, they also look great on applications. Students will also meet various other workers in the field who could serve as mentors or references for them if they decide to continue in the area. Networking is an incredibly valuable tool, and internships can be a great way for your students to start this process early.
Job Shadowing
Even if you can’t find a full-scale internship, job shadowing might still be an option for your student. If you have a friend or family member who works in a field your child is interested in, have your child ask if they could spend a day at the person’s work. While your child won’t be getting the hands-on experience they would at an internship, the knowledge of seeing how certain jobs work is still incredibly beneficial. Additionally, job shadowing for a day or two is a fairly low commitment. So, this means your student can shadow at many different jobs to get an idea of which ones interest them most.
True North Class
If you want some guided career exploration for your student, check out this course from True North Academy. This is a year-long course for 1 high school elective credit. In this class, students will learn more about themselves through a series of personality and learning-style quizzes. Then, they will then be instructed through projects to research careers that fit these aspects of themselves. If your child is feeling overwhelmed with so many career options and doesn’t know where to start, this class would be perfect for them!
Career Exploration Curriculum
7 Sisters offers a book that is specifically for career exploration! This workbook guides students through some questions and research to help them identify fields that they might be interested in and well-suited for. Additionally, it provides some great starting points for conversations between parents and students about college prep. 7 Sisters also offers this collection of blog posts on ideas for career exploration for homeschoolers for you to read further.
High School Challenge
Here at FundaFunda, we offer the High School Challenge to help with topics like career exploration for homeschooled high schoolers. This challenge is only $5, and it contains a wide variety of assignments centered around college and career prep. And, it is just for homeschoolers! This means you can be sure that the material is curated for homeschooled students and takes this factor into account. Additionally, your students have a chance to win one of several prizes. Students earn points for each task they complete. and the top ones earn gift cards! However, this is only available in the summer, so be sure to sign up soon!
Summer Camps and Programs
Summer camps don’t have to end when your student becomes a teenager! Many colleges offer summer programs for high school students to explore study areas they are interested in. Or, for some students, Governor’s School might be an option. Governor’s School is a selective and academically rigorous program for students to complete classes in a field they are interested in during the summer.
More Suggestions
If you’d like more suggestions on career exploration for homeschooled high schoolers, check out this blog post Vicki Tillman wrote for us. Here, she shares several more ideas to help guide your student’s experience. If you would like a quick, easy, free starting place for your student, consider this Career Exploration Questionnaire.
Blog Series Info
We hope you enjoyed these suggestions on career exploration for homeschooled high school students! This post is part of a 10-day “Tips for Homeschool Moms” series we are doing in conjunction with other homeschool blogs. Our theme is “Preparing Your Homeschooled Teen for College”. You can find all of our posts, as well as the other blogs and series topics linked in this post. Our partners have some excellent experiences and insight to share in their series, so please do check out their blogs!
As always, if you have any questions, comments, or other suggestions, please leave them in the comments below!
Thanks for reading!
