How Parents Can Help
Trust Your Student’s Choices: You may be tempted to push your student to major in a particular area because it is a “hot” field. In reality there is no such thing as a major that guarantees a job. We encourage students to pursue something that they enjoy studying. That enjoyment will most likely translate into better grades, more focus, better skill development, and a higher GPA. These, coupled with thorough career exploration, will help prepare a student to land a job upon graduation.
Encourage Exploration: Encourage your student to try different courses that may be of interest, and to consider getting involved on and off campus starting in their first year. Consider community service, campus involvement, internships and co-ops, and any other opportunities to develop and demonstrate leadership ability, teamwork, time management, and other career-related skills. Through this journey of discovery your student may uncover unexpected career disciplines, fields, and personal passions.
Go to Where to Start to understand how we guide students in the process of building career success during their college experiences.
Be Patient and Encouraging: Be careful of the dreaded question: “What are you going to do when you graduate?” There are approximately 83,000 job titles in the United States alone, and research tells us that people will have seven to ten major jobs and three to four careers over the course of a lifetime. Instead, focus on career research, broad job interests and next steps. Visit our Career Exploration page for what your student should be thinking about and ideas for how to support them where they are in their process. Then, help with research and exploration and offer informational networking contacts. Throughout the process, be encouraging but not overbearing.
Recommend Visits to Career Services: You probably won't know all the answers to the questions your student may have, but we can help. Students are welcome here at 511 Goodell at any point from enrollment to six months after graduation.
