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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
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Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Career Guidance
My younger sister is in high school and is trying to figure out what she might like to do as a career. Does anyone have any good websites that might offer a personality test or have some type of questionnaire that recommends specific job fields?
She doesn't really have any hobbies that would lead to a career path. Its kind of overwhelming for her, because she doesn't even know whats out there, besides the obvious visible jobs like teaching.
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Re: Career Guidance
I would recommend she take the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) and then read the book "Do What You Are." MBTI is a personality test and it can tell you a great deal about who you are and what you want to be in life. Pairing with the book will help her find practical careers in her type that might be a good fit for her. You can find MBTI administrators here: http://www.mbtireferralnetwork.org/find-an-mbti-master-practitioner.htm
Also, many people find the books "Finding Your Own North Star" and "What Color is Your Parachute?" helpful in this instance.
When I was in high school our school had us take the Explore test and the Plan test. They are made by the same company who makes the ACT. They give suggestions on career paths, and how to get there.
My high school also had us research careers a lot. We spent one semester doing brief research on any careers that were interesting to us at all - looking at them in the Occupational Outlook Handbook and other places. Then the next semester we had to pick one and research it in depth. I found the project super helpful. (The career that I picked then is actually what I majored in when I got to college.) Maybe you could modify that project into something you could do with her, and help her research careers that she finds interesting.
speaking with a guidance counselor is a first step
I am in the minority here, but speaking with my guidance counselor didn't work well for me. Maybe it was just her. The tried to direct me in a less challenging direction.
I suggest that she try some new things. Volunteer in different areas. Does she want to work with people or would she prefer a desk job where she does not have to?
Although I love my job/what I do. I'm now going back to school - ten years post college degree for something I never ever thought I would do. I wish I had a more open mind when I was in high school to give everything a try. I might now be in a different place entirely.
Friends can also be very insightful.
I took one of those tests through my highschool guidance counsellor's office and actually found it fairly unhelpful. My top two jobs I was apparently suited for were tattoo artist and florist. I am now in healthcare.
I think the message to give her is that it's not important to choose exactly what you want to do when you're 17 or 18 years old. If you have absolutely no idea what job or course or anything you'd like to try, don't pick a random college/uni course. Better bet is to work for a year and get some life experience. It's also a good lesson in what kind of jobs you can get without a diploma. Then, with some experience, pick a direction to move in, a broad job category or college course: business, healthcare, customer service, performing arts, etc.
Most people will change careers 5 or 6 times in their adult life. It's not so important at a young age to figure everything out in perfect detail, but having a general direction towards something she's interested in and passionate about will make sure she's happy with her decision in the end.
Another couple things to do if she's really really lost: volunteer at a whole bunch of different places in different sectors, see if anything sparks an interest. Or, start asking everyone she knows what they like about their jobs, how they got there, what they would change if they could, and what they think the future of the profession is like. If she's thinking of a few different options but can't decide which, there are lots of folks out there that would be more than happy to have someone shadow them for the day, to get a real perspective on what the day to day really holds.
Hope this helps!