Because we're not all just doctors and lawyers
As kids grow up, they become curious about many things. One such thing is "What do you do for work, Mom?"..."What is Kayla's dad's job?"..."What did grandma do when you were growing up?"
So often, if it's not a cookie cutter answer like "doctor," or "lawyer," or something easy for kids to understand, parents give up. They think it's too complicated for a young kid to understand what a wealth advisor or a creative director or a partnerships coordinator is. It's easy to say "works with money," or "ah...something complicated, too hard to explain."
And yes, a five-year-old is not going to understand exactly what it means to be a operations coordinator or head of human resources, but there are ways to introduce the subject.
So many kids enter (and exit) high school and college totally unaware of the opportunities within reach. It takes getting into the given field to start understanding the lay of the land and what types of positions even exist. We put those kids at a huge disadvantage by ignoring the education component of what the adults in their life do.
If your little ones asks what their uncle Sean does and you hesitate to try to explain what a "medical technology recruiter" is–it shouldn't be that difficult to say that his job is to help companies that deal with medical technology find the right people to work for them. Do a pulse test: ask if them if they understand what medical means, what technology is, what it looks like to find people to work with. Just take baby steps to start talking about the world they will soon be expected to function in. It doesn't matter if they grasp it fully, even a little–just hearing the words 'medical' and 'technology' together in a sentence can help pave the way for a future of deeper understanding of the professional world around them.
Now the point here isn't to try to educate kids about every single position out there, it's about exposing them to eventually develop an understanding of how complex the professional landscape is. That there are different columns holding up different ends of each industry and they can eventually combine their own, personal interests with their strengths to form an integral part of one of those structures.
It shouldn't take getting into sales to learn there is such thing as recruiting, or getting into marketing to learn there is such thing as copywriting, or even going to get a masters to learn there is such thing as project management for renewable energy technology.
A lot of grads begin their careers with a somewhat abitrary direction. A job was open so they applied and they got it. A lot of them learn so much about what is out there when they then feel they are already "stuck" on a path. That's a whole different story, but in the meantime it is important we start educating our kids on the incredibly vast world of opportunity in front of them. We're not all cowboys, astronauts, chefs, and gardeners. Those things are easy for kids to fully understand, but they are not all encompassing.
Let the kids in on the complexity a little bit, I bet they'll surprise you on how much they understand.
explain what a "medical technology recruiter" is–it shouldn't be that difficult to say that his job is to help companies that deal with medical technology find the right people to work for them. Do a pulse test: ask if them if they understand what medical means, what technology is, what it looks like to find people to work with. Just take baby steps to start talking about the world they will soon be expected to function in. It doesn't matter if they grasp it fully, even a little–just hearing the words 'medical' and 'technology' together in a sentence can help pave the way for a future of deeper understanding of the professional world around them.
Now the point here isn't to try to educate kids about every single position out there, it's about exposing them to eventually develop an understanding of how complex the professional landscape is. That there are different columns holding up different ends of each industry and they can eventually combine their own, personal interests with their strengths to form an integral part of one of those structures.
It shouldn't take getting into sales to learn there is such thing as recruiting, or getting into marketing to learn there is such thing as copywriting, or even going to get a masters to learn there is such thing as project management for renewable energy technology.
A lot of grads begin their careers with a somewhat abitrary direction. A job was open so they applied and they got it. A lot of them learn so much about what is out there when they then feel they are already "stuck" on a path. That's a whole different story, but in the meantime it is important we start educating our kids on the incredibly vast world of opportunity in front of them. We're not all cowboys, astronauts, chefs, and gardeners. Those things are easy for kids to fully understand, but they are not all encompassing.
Let the kids in on the complexity a little bit, I bet they'll surprise you on how much they understand.