Over the last few days I have had the joy of chatting to some senior students about their futures.
Some students have confidently listed off their chosen pathway along with the people, places and positions they will need to experience on the journey. Other students have sat in my office with a genuine uncertainty and confusion about what the future holds. It's a scary thought thinking about the direction you want your life to take. One decision that is going to impact your future forever. But does it have to be? Is the choice you make about your future job at school the one you need to stick with?
“It’s a scary thought thinking about the direction you want your life to take”
Recent research (Australian Jobs 2018) suggests that school leavers today are likely to have over five different careers and seventeen different employers in their lifetime. In understanding this statistic I hope that our young people understand that the important task for them is not to get the "right answer" about their future career at the age of 17, but to be actively developing those transferable skills that will help them adapt to any career choices that come their way. Skills such as digital literacy, critical and creative thinking, being able to solve problems and the ability to present and communicate information clearly. These are the skills you should be seeking to foster and build-upon at school, while you have teachers who are committed to your holistic development.
More often than not God will unfold opportunities and take you in a direction you didn't imagine anyway. When I left school I wanted to be a neuropsychologist, and that's certainly not the career I have followed or enjoy to this day.
I would encourage you, if you are feeling uneasy about next year and beyond, use this year to taste what is out there. Try new experiences, visit open days, listen to guest speakers with an open mind, pick people's brains in jobs that interest you, organise another bout of work experience and ask questions. Be open to the possibility that there is something out there for you, maybe you just haven't stumbled across it yet.
Please contact me if you have any questions!
Carly Brouwer — Pathways Coordinator