Reply to Career guidance and College Kids: It never ends.....does it?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]This board helped me immensely with the college process for my oldest kids, so I'm turning to it once again. One at Ivy (soph) and one at a private T20 (freshman). My youngest is still 2 years away from applying. But I'm not here for college admissions advice.

The older ones are having a hard time with career/job search and career path planning. Or at least I feel they are, when I see everyone around them getting summer IB jobs lined up for a year from now!  I don't think the oldest wants to do the banking/consulting route because hasn't gone the IB interview route (though, through connections, has a summer internship in private equity, so they can decide if they do want a different but related path). That DC seems not to know exactly what they want. I think they want a "dream" job or a passion job - but haven't nailed that down (what it looks like, what field, etc.) Major is econ + environmental science.

Younger DC is driven but has no freshman internship yet. Has a research opportunity remotely for 15 hrs/week and likely will work retail/restaurant. Also doesn't want the lifestyle of banking/consulting, but not sure what other business roles make sense (perhaps a management trainee program at a company - does that still exist). Are there internal roles to interview for at banks or consulting firms? Major is similar to organizational studies + English. Very strong writer and communicator.

Is there a career counselor or coach who can help with this soul-searching? I feel like they should have done this before heading to college, and they don't see a clear career path. I also feel like I've failed them in some ways when everyone has this clear-cut path and knows where they want to be in 5, 10, 15, and 30 years. Meanwhile, I've had the same career for 25 years (and I think my kids don't want that). Sorry, just venting here.

They've both used their career services at college, but the services aren't really focused on soul-searching and career mapping. More about resume reviews and interview tips. If anyone has any advice, a website, or help with guidance, that would be great. Or if you also are in the same boat, please commiserate. Be gentle with your critiques, please.[/quote]

to OP: Hopefully their schools offer a LAC-like environment where they can take a wide breath of coursework.  Having had a very similar kid at an LAC, this non-direction phase was NOT easy to watch happen, but it’s entirely natural for the many kids who don’t have there One Path line up from HS on.

To my surprise as my kid is grading from their LAC, it does now appear that have maybe not that One Thing, but least a Few Things they will be pursuing in more depth.  And it did feel like it took forever!  And that’s OK!

Take a breath!  Their job partly imo right now is to learn how to be 19, then be 20, etc.  I know this runs counter to some more typical, career-focused advice, but I’ve see it play out in real time over the past 4 years.

Good luck! [/quote]

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