A
Career Planning Course for Parents
As
you send your son or daughter off to UAB, please know that their
ultimate success and career satisfaction depend on a careful, systematic
exploration
of who they are, what they
want to do and how they will get there. The time for them to do this
exploration is now. Working together, we can help them achieve their
career dreams.
Choosing a career is a process students (and adults!) need to go through--and
students go through the stages of this process at different rates of
speed. The steps include:
| 1. |
Assessing
skills, interests, and abilities
(this is an important first step to choosing an appropriate career) |
| 2. |
Exploring
majors and career options; |
| 3. |
Experimenting
with possible career options; and |
| 4. |
Organizing
and conducting a job or graduate school search.
You can assist and support your students in each of these stages.
But what can-or should-you do? |
You
can assist and support your students in each of these stages. But what
can-or should-you do?
Careers
101 - For Parents of First Year College Students
Careers 201 - For Parents
of Second Year College Students
Careers
301 - For Parents of the "Mid-Career" Student
Careers
401 - For Parents of Graduating Seniors
A
Few Final Thoughts
The college years are a time of exploration, experimentation, and learning
on many levels for students and their parents! Some student challenges
may seem more positive than others, but all contribute to the educational
outcomes of the college or university experience.
Throughout these years, students are developing a "record of achievement"
which will be evaluated by employers and graduate schools as they move
beyond college. There are several pieces of this record:
Academic Achievement. Although
it is not (and should not be) the primary factor in determining a candidate's
success, the grade point average (GPA) is one factor considered by competitive
employers and graduate schools. It is one of the few tangible indications
of a student's ability to learn and perform effectively, at least in
the academic environment. Therefore, students need to do as well as
possible in the classroom, especially in courses in their majors.
Responsible Work Experience. In
today's competitive employment market, many employers seek students
who have related internship, summer, cooperative education, or part-time
job or volunteer experiences. In fact, employers often look to their
own such programs as primary sources for their new hires. These experiences
are particularly critical for liberal arts students whose majors may
not appear to be directly related to their areas of career interest.
Responsible Involvement Outside the Classroom.
Extracurricular activities provide the opportunity for students to gain
many valuable and career-related skills such as the ability to work
effectively with others in a team environment; leadership; planning
and organizational skills; and priority-setting and time management.
These are part of the package of skills employers seek in their new
hires.
Best of luck to you in navigating the challenging waters of parenting
your UAB student!
