Family

Career Guidance: How to Help Your Child Choose the Right Career

Many people are not happy with their jobs and if you look closely you will notice that the main reason for that is because they failed to choose their career path based on their passion.

Instead, they chose their occupation based on popular opinion, how much money they could make, or what they have been pushed to do. Picking your occupation based on what people say is bound to leave you disgruntled, incomplete, and hating your job.

You will feel miserable half the time and constantly come up with new ways of quitting or finding a better job. That is no way to live your life. As a parent, you have to protect your kids from going through the same predicament. You can achieve this by playing an active role in helping them decide on the profession they may pursue earlier on or before heading to college.

Smart ways of helping your child choose the right career path

  • Help your child discover their strengths.

One of the best things that can happen to your kids is them discovering what they are good at. Assisting your kids in choosing the right profession requires you to realize their strengths and maximize them. Start by finding out what they enjoy doing and have them try out different things because they have enough time to do so. Once you are aware of what your kid is passionate about, start getting the most out of that passion.

  • Enable your kids to cultivate their skills.

One of the main reasons why children give up on their most cherished dreams at a tender age is because they lack the kind of support and guidance needed. Ensure your child keeps improving her skills by making the environment conducive to the cultivation of the skills possessed. This can be achieved by offering words of encouragement and enrolling him or her in short-courses to gain in-depth knowledge and stay up to speed.

You can also encourage internships or advise your children to join boot camps which are a great way of ensuring your kids have a working knowledge of what they are studying. If your child keeps changing courses don’t let it get to you, remember, he should rather continue moving from one program to another until he finds what he is truly passionate about than stick to something that will make him miserable throughout his adult life.

  • Do not force your children into choosing the same career as you have chosen.

Most parents wish their kids could be in the same line of work as they are in and there is nothing wrong with wishing for that. As long as you do not overdo it. How can I know that I am overdoing it? You may ask. When you find yourself forcing your child to be a lawyer because everyone else in the family is, then know that you are overdoing it.

If you find yourself saying things like “You were born to be an engineer”, know that you are overdoing it. If you want your child to be truly happy about their job let him select his path. The only thing you can do is offer guidance, wisdom, and funding (where needed).

  • Offer your support.

Helping your kids pick the right career involves supporting their decision even when you are not ecstatic about their choice. For example, if you are not quite thrilled about your daughter’s decision of becoming a photographer when you want her to be a doctor support her anyway. At the end of the day, the only thing that matters is your child’s happiness. Imagining your kid 15 years from now doing what she loves, happy, satisfied and thriving with her job is all you need to help you come to terms with her career choice.

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