How to Prepare for a Rewarding Career
How do you define a “successful” career? A good income? Doing something new and interesting most days? Making a difference in the lives of others? Having the freedom to set your own schedule? Finding a great boss and co-workers? Experts agree that following your passion is a key to workplace success. So, how do you clarify what gives you profound satisfaction when you’re between 16 and 22 and trying to figure out how to get paid for that? This article can offer some guidance.
College isn’t for everyone, nor do you need a college degree to be successful. Still, 61.8% of high school graduates in the U.S. attended college in 2021. Over the past two decades, high schools have strongly encouraged students to pursue postsecondary education, often with a focus on four-year universities. As most families know, however, that route can be expensive! On average, attending college costs $35,000 per student per year. Thankfully, financial aid can help, including scholarships for students with disabilities. As the global economy becomes increasingly competitive, more employers seek workers who have developed the skills, knowledge, and experience that a well-planned college education can provide. In addition, the Pew Research Center recently reported that employees with a bachelor’s degree earn about 60% more over the course of their careers than workers with only a high school diploma.
So… some type of postsecondary education turns out to be a good investment in the long run. That still leaves a lot of options to consider, including:
- Trade schools like Lincoln Tech, which provide practical, hands-on training
- Community colleges like Ivy Tech, which provide 1-year certifications and 2-year associate degrees with smaller class sizes that allow you to transfer your credits to a university later on if you wish
- Take a Gap Year, which gives you time to mature, gain work and/or travel experience, and give more thought to what you really want to do
- Enroll in a 4-year university but:
- live at home your first year to save money and focus on the academic transition
- pick one that’s completely online if you can self-manage virtual learning
- attend a smaller, private, and/or religious university where you can be your best self
It turns out that work experience is a huge help in determining what you like and what you are good at doing. You can’t Google that. Here are some tips for gaining that experience, which you should treat as a learning experience. Most of these options also pay, which is a bonus.
- Job shadow – Spend half a day or an entire day following someone around who has a job you’d like to learn more about. Just being in their work environment can give you a great deal of insight. Treat the person you are job shadowing to coffee or lunch to thank them and to have some one-on-one time to ask about their training and what they do and don’t like about their job.
- Volunteer – This can be easier to schedule during your school breaks or over the summer and also count as service learning. Your school counselor, coach, parents, scout leader or religious leaders can help you identify people or organizations to contact. Thinking about becoming a vet? Animal shelter. Thinking about health care? Nursing home…
- Internships – Internships are longer (usually several weeks up to a semester) pre-work experiences that often pay. While some internships are just “busy work,” most give you valuable work experience, networking opportunities, and important experience to add to your resume. They help you develop skills and gain confidence, too. Employers often hire former interns once they finish college because they have observed your work habits directly. Increasingly, employers establish internship programs (usually for college students) to enhance workforce readiness in their future hiring decisions. Here’s more information:
In fact, internships have become such an important “win-win” arrangement for both employers and college students that growing numbers of organizations offer internships specifically to students with disabilities as part of their commitment to DEIA (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility) efforts. More and more companies value the unique perspectives, creativity and resilience of employees with disabilities. Here’s more information:
- The Gregory S. Fehribach Center at Eskenazi Health (for college students with physical disabilities)
- Emerging Leaders Internship Program for College Students with Disabilities (Indiana University)
- Entry Point! (internships for STEM college students with disabilities)
I specialize in coaching high school and college students, most of whom have ADHD, learning disabilities, ASD, or related diagnoses. This allows me to draw upon my 17 years of running services for students with these diagnoses at three universities. Coaching helps you create and follow through on effective action plans. You may know WHAT you want to do but benefit from guidance in HOW to take the steps necessary to reach your goals. I also conduct one-time career assessments. This service provides you (and your family, if you wish) with a detailed, 40-page report mapping out your interests, strengths, career aptitude, along with personalized recommendations for colleges, college majors, jobs and online tools to explore a personalized path to your career success. Call CRG’s intake line (317.575.9111 Option 3) to learn more.
