Why Waste High School Credits on Career Exploration?

In my years as academic advisor for homeschool high schoolers, I’ve often heard questions like:

My teens only have time for 1 elective each year, why should I waste their high school credits on Career Exploration?
Or do my teens need to concentrate on high-level credits in their core classes so they can get into a good college, why should they sacrifice that time for Career Exploration?
My teens already know what they want to do after graduation, why should they bother with Career Exploration?

It is NOT a waste of time or credits to invest in good Career Exploration! Teens need it; here’s why.

Career Exploration might just be the most important element of your teen’s high school experience.

Instead of graduating from high school with a shrug of the shoulders and a sigh of, “Well, I guess I need to figure out what I want to do with my life now…” your teen should be intentionally exploring areas of interest, strength and talent. He or she should be seeking God, seeking wise counsel from trusted people, and trying out different types of job fields.

High school is the perfect time to go exploring! You need a comprehensive high school career exploration curriculum.

You do not know how many times I have worked with college sophomores who had always thought they wanted a certain career, then halfway through sophomore year, they realize that this is not at all what they expected. Either they find out they hate their courses or the lifestyle that goes along with that career will not be at all what they want. It is way cheaper to do a little exploration and tweaking in high school than it is in college. (Caveat: It is not unusual for college students to change majors, however, doing some of the exploration at high school level is likely to eliminate some of the expensive major changes.)

It is developmentally wise to invest in Career Exploration in high school. Your homeschool high schoolers know from studying Human Development that part of a teen’s job is to discover and develop their identity.

The #1 way to do that is with a good Career Exploration course that helps a teen examine:

Career exploration bundle — Click image for full description.

Giftings and talents that God gave them
Interests they already know, interests they have yet to discover
Personality styles that God gave them
Ways God has already influenced or guided them
Values and needs that they have (finances, lifestyle, causes, health, etc)
Gifts or abilities that they haven’t noticed but others clearly see

These are the nuts and bolts of a good Career Exploration course like the one we offer at 7Sisters. It has been used by homeschoolers for years to help them get started. When they spend a little time on these topics, teens will understand themselves better AND be looking for God’s leading more accurately.

When homeschool high schoolers work through 7Sisters’ Career Exploration course, they will also do some exploring of:

career types that would be good fits
colleges or career trainings that will be good fits
finding apprenticeships to discover, hands-on, if chosen careers will be a good fit

Here are some ideas for courses that count as Career Exploration.

Career Exploration might just be the most important element of your teen’s high school experience.

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