Eighteen and getting out of high school, your whole world
changes. It’s a scary place. Think back
to when you were eighteen and what you had to do with your parents.
S24-year-old participant
from Calgary
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The transition from high school into educational and
occupational pathways is a bewildering process for many young people and their
parents. From the time
they start kindergarten to the day they graduate from high school,
most youth travel down a relatively straightforward path. They proceed
systematically from one grade to another. Everyone their age is doing pretty
much what they are doing school-wise, and career decisions are something for
the distant future.
Then comes high school graduation and the roadmap ends. Some
young people move
smoothly into post-secondary training and satisfying work while
others flounder. They
change their education programs multiple times or drop out
altogether. Many graduate from college or university with no idea what they
want to do and spend years
careening from one job to another and back to school in an
attempt to establish themselves in a fulfilling career.
Parents are left on the sidelines, watching and worrying as their
children struggle to find a place for themselves in the work world. In the
past, you’ve always been able to give your children the benefit of your
experience in the form of solid information, helpful advice, and comforting
encouragement. Now you feel helpless. There are so many more choices than when
you were your children’s age. How will they know what’s best for them?
Education has become so expensive. How can they avoid making a costly mistake? The
labour market feels like one big rollercoaster. What guarantees are there that
good jobs await them, even if they invest the time and money into college or
university?
You want to be able to guide your children through a
successful transition into adulthood. You don’t want to be a dictator. And you
don’t want to be a nag.
But sometimes it happens just the same. Anxiety gets fuelled
with frustration when your children don’t seem to be getting “serious” about
their futures. The temptation is to become critical or interfering as you try
to prod your child into choosing a post-secondary education program or getting
a “decent” job.
In 2007 and 2008 we interviewed 100 young Canadians about
their educational and
career experiences in the ten years after graduating from
high school. They described their successes and missteps; they spoke of pride
of accomplishment and regrets for missed opportunities; they gave their best
advice on what assistance they wished they had had when they were in high
school.
Out of that study, a guide for counselling professionals was
created, as well as this booklet for parents—written to give you hope and
guidance. We start by offering you a
glimpse into the world of today’s emerging adult. We describe
the multiplicity of pathways that youth follow when training for and finding
their way in a labour market
that is vastly different from when you were starting out. We
conclude with practical suggestions for constructive roles you can play,
activities you can undertake, and
resources you can use as you help your children make informed,
personally satisfying career decisions. Throughout the book we share the
stories of the young people we
interviewed
and let their voices speak to you.
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