Anonymous wrote:When I was a junior in HS I knew I wanted to be an engineer. I joined a Boy Scouts explorer troop for science and engineering. One evening a week we had a speaker or went on a field trip to hear someone explain their science or engineering job.

http://exploring.learningforlife.org

When I was a junior in HS I knew I wanted to be an engineer. I joined a Boy Scouts explorer troop for science and engineering. One evening a week we had a speaker or went on a field trip to hear someone explain their science or engineering job.

Anonymous wrote:Some people have a real passion, e.g., love of languages, politics, literature, creativity and pursue that interest doggedly.

I think most people fall into professions without much thought.

Schools don't do a good job of explaining real world options, but networking, shadowing, interning, informational interviewing can be beneficial of job seekers at any age.

Please, please stop with the passion crap already! (I am yelling at the schools and colleges, not you PP)
I fell into my profession, which is very different from my major, and became really good at it. Being good at stuff helps you enjoy the time spent at work, feeds into your motivation that can grow into a passion.
On the other end of the spectrum, look at all the waiters in LA who have a passion for acting and film, and what happens to their careers and enjoyment of life, not to mention bank accounts.
When we talked with my college-age DC about majors, the word "passion" came up. I said, "When I immigrated, virtually unemployable in the States, my only passion was to find paid employment; yet look at me now - doing what I like, respected in my job and very well paid. Passion is in the moment, but you need to think strategically. DO NOT LISTEN TO COLLEGE CAREER ADVISORS, THEY DON'T KNOW WHAT THEY ARE TALKING ABOUT".

Some people have a real passion, e.g., love of languages, politics, literature, creativity and pursue that interest doggedly.

I think most people fall into professions without much thought.

Schools don't do a good job of explaining real world options, but networking, shadowing, interning, informational interviewing can be beneficial of job seekers at any age.

My kids are high school juniors. I fell into law without really knowing what I was getting into ( humanities major who coulda write, what else could I do?!), and my husband was the same for business. I hear about how my friends' kids want to be this or that type or engineer, or to major in accounting or finance, and we just don't have a sense of what people in those fields actually do. I know it was kind of a vague question.

Anonymous wrote:Many colleges offer summer programs ranging from one to six weeks. Locally, UMD offers exposure to engineering and architecture. There are numerous summer programs nationwide offered for intro to medical school. Almost every college offers programs. You just have to do the leg work or let your fingers do the walking. Here are just a paltry few.

http://summer.usc.edu/4week/

http://oes.umd.edu/young-scholars/young-scholars-program/course-information

http://www.eng.vt.edu/students/prospective/discover

http://scs.georgetown.edu/programs/202/summer-programs-for-high-school-students-medicine

http://medillcherubs.org/

PP again. When you said you have juniors, I assumed you meant high school so the examples I provided are geared towards high schoolers.

Many colleges offer summer programs ranging from one to six weeks. Locally, UMD offers exposure to engineering and architecture. There are numerous summer programs nationwide offered for intro to medical school. Almost every college offers programs. You just have to do the leg work or let your fingers do the walking. Here are just a paltry few.

http://summer.usc.edu/4week/

http://oes.umd.edu/young-scholars/young-scholars-program/course-information

http://www.eng.vt.edu/students/prospective/discover

http://scs.georgetown.edu/programs/202/summer-programs-for-high-school-students-medicine

http://medillcherubs.org/

Pretty much you have to figure it out on your own. You can go to the career office and talk to alumni who are in various careers or do internships. You can ask family friends who are in other careers about what they do. You can also look online on various job blogs/websites. With the exception of the last bit, I don't see how this should be different than it has ever been. I don't really get what your asking--how did you decide to be a lawyer? Don't you have any friends who are accountants or environmental scientists who can chat up your kids about what they do?

Mostly in college you are there to get an education--you take courses, get involved in research, etc. But it is up to you to figure out what you want to get out of it.

I have been reading the other thread on potential majors with interest as the parent of two juniors. My question is, how do kids find out what people do with the various degrees? DH is in business without a business degree in a niche area that our kids would not enter. They have a general understanding of what I do (lawyer), but really no understanding of what one does with an accounting degree, for example, or one in environmental science, or many others. Do colleges do a good job of explaining all this to kids, or do they need to figure it out on their own?