Career exploration for high school students can be challenging. High schoolers are expected to understand so much about themselves, the careers they are interested in, and the future. As parents, guiding your high schoolers through the career exploration maze can be exciting and overwhelming. Significantly, when often, they are not all that interested in listening to the advice of Mom or Dad.
The truth is, however, that high schoolers need their parents’ help with career exploration. Not to make decisions for them or impose their own desires or vision for the future, but to offer guidance, be a sounding board, and seek out resources for the students to help them find clarity.
The world offers countless opportunities, and helping your child identify their passions, strengths, and aspirations is crucial in helping them find the right path. One of the most effective ways to support your teen during this phase is by asking the right questions that encourage self-reflection and help them explore their interests and potential career paths. We’ve developed a short list to help you kick off the conversation. Here are five essential questions to ask your high schooler to foster meaningful discussions about their future and aid in career exploration.
5 Conversation Starters To Foster Career Exploration for High School Students
1. What Activities Make You Lose Track of Time?
This question is about identifying flow states—those moments when your child is so engaged in an activity that time seems to fly by. Whether drawing, coding, playing a musical instrument, or engaging in a sport, these activities often hold the key to your child's passions and potential career interests. Amazingly, many choose career paths that have nothing to do with their strengths and passions.
Encourage your teen to think about the moments when they feel most alive and fulfilled. Ask them to recall when they last experienced this state of flow. Their answers can provide valuable insight into areas where they might excel professionally. For example, a child who loses track of time while solving puzzles or playing strategy games may have an aptitude for careers in problem-solving fields like engineering or computer science.
2. What Do You Care Deeply About?
Understanding what your child values can also be a great tool for career exploration for high school students. As they define what matters most to them, they can narrow down potential career paths that align with their core beliefs and passions. This question encourages them to think about the causes or issues they feel strongly about, whether it's environmental conservation, social justice, helping others, or creating art.
By discussing their values, you can help them identify careers that allow them to make a meaningful impact. For instance, a student passionate about the environment might explore careers in sustainability, environmental science, or renewable energy. Similarly, a teen who cares deeply about helping others might consider careers in healthcare, education, or social work.
3. What Are Your Strengths?
Everyone has unique strengths and weaknesses, and recognizing these early on can significantly influence career exploration. Ask your child to reflect on the skills and abilities they naturally excel at, whether they're academic, creative, athletic, or interpersonal. These strengths can often point toward suitable career paths.
Encourage your teen to think about the subjects in which they perform well at school, the activities in which they excel outside of academics, and the compliments they receive from others. Understanding their strengths can help them choose a career that leverages their talents.
Here are some real-world examples:
- If your high schooler is not strong in math, following in Dad’s footsteps to become an engineer may not be a good fit.
- If your high schooler excels on the debate circuit, exploring the field of law might be a worthwhile endeavor.
- The student who is a strong communicator might thrive in careers such as marketing, journalism, or public relations.
- The teen with an aptitude for science might explore careers in medicine or research.
- If your teen spends hours designing and building games in Roblox, they may have a talent for engineering or coding. This interest could translate into a career in software development, game design, or even a role in user experience (UX) design.
4. What Problems Do You Like to Solve?
Career exploration for high students is not just about identifying what your child enjoys doing but also understanding the types of challenges they find rewarding. This question prompts your child to consider the problems they enjoy tackling, whether they're related to people, technology, nature, or ideas.
Some students might enjoy solving logical puzzles or technical problems, pointing them toward careers in engineering, computer science, or mathematics. Others might be more interested in addressing social or interpersonal issues, indicating a potential fit for careers in counseling, social work, or human resources. Helping your child understand the types of problems they enjoy solving can lead them to a fulfilling career where they feel challenged and engaged.
5. What Do You Want to Learn More About?
Curiosity and a sense of wonder is a powerful driver of career exploration. This question invites your teen to think about the topics or fields they are eager to learn more about, whether through formal education, hands-on experience, or personal research.
Ask your child about the subjects they are most curious about or the areas they wish they had more time to explore. Their answers can guide you in helping them seek out extracurricular activities, internships, or summer programs that align with their interests. For instance, a student fascinated by technology might explore coding bootcamps, while a teen interested in history might look for opportunities to volunteer at a museum or historical site.
Tips and Tactics for Guiding Your High Schooler’s Career Exploration Journey
- Timing is everything. Choose a time that makes sense. If they are stressed, rushed, or angsty for any reason, don’t bring it up.
- Ask permission to engage. Teens often respond well when they feel that their feelings are being respected. Asking your teen if they’d like to chat about their future shows them consideration and gets their buy-in before you even begin.
- Get creative with the format. Maybe you know your teen is the type that likes to process things independently first. Type up the list of questions and offer it to them to answer on their own. (Best case scenario, they come back and have a discussion with you about them, of course.)
- Create the space for honesty. Teens are still trying to please their parents, even if it doesn’t look that way. When opening the space of career exploration for high school students, make sure they know the truth matters. You won’t be mad or disappointed if they choose a different path than you expected.
Asking these five questions can open the door to meaningful conversations that not only help your child explore potential careers but also foster self-awareness and confidence. Keep in mind that career exploration for high school students is an ongoing process, and as a parent, you play the role of guide, support system, and cheerleader.
By engaging in these discussions, you're helping your child build a foundation for their future, one that is rooted in their passions, strengths, and values. The answers to these questions may evolve over time, and that's okay—what's important is that your teen is looking discerningly at the elements of their future that set them up for both success and happiness.
Once these conversations take place, a logical next step is to find some real-world application. An excellent way is through educational and experiential programs such as those offered through Envision by WorldStrides.
Our programs offer hands-on experiences that allow high schoolers to test the waters of possible career tracks in:
Start the conversation with your teen with this guide, and take the next step toward solidifying a future path with an experiential journey that includes real world learning.