Do volunteer
work. Volunteering
helps your teen develop work ethics and social skills,
while helping the community at the same time!
Assess
gifts, talents, resources, and interests.
Read
and do the assessment in Discover
Your God Given Gifts
by Don & Katie Fortune. The unique thing abou this
book is its focus on careers in relation to your spiritual
gifts. Highly recommended for Christian students.
Explore
interests. Get involved in a variety of extracurricular
activities while in school including music, art,
sports, boy
scouts, Junior
Achievement, missionettes,
Royal
Rangers,
4-H
clubs, community theatre, Generation
Joshua,
Boys
and Girls State, Ham
Radio, Toastmasters, and debate.
Participate
in a hobby: collecting stamps, rocks and
other items; building and repairing things like cars,
woodworking, and electronics; decorating; cooking;
sewing; crafts; railroading; HAM radio; the list can
go on and on!
Enter
competitions: Science
competitions, Math competitions, writing contests,
Spelling Bees, Geography Bees, and more.
Explore
careers:
Read
over: Exploring
Career Information from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Investigate
careers that do not require a college education.
50
Best Jobs For Your Personality (50 Best Jobs for
Your Personality) by
J. Michael Farr.
300
Best Jobs Without a Four-Year Degree (Best Jobs) by
J. Michael Farr. ISBN 1563708612.
If
your child shows an interest in starting a
business, read books on business, marketing, advertising,
and leadership. Here are some suggestions:
Here's an example of two teens starting their own business: Susan and Karen Weckler own and operate Sewing Kits 4 Kids, LLC.
Another example is Shandra Pinion who owns and runs Line Eleven Finery, a handmade jewelry business. Check out their website and see how they do it!
Complete
the Career
Development/Internship (pdf
document) course outline, written by Cindy Downes.
Complete Life
Prep for Homeschool Teenagers
by Barbara Frank.
Participate
in an internship, apprentice or mentoring program.
Formal
programs are usually run by private employers and consist
of one half on-the-job training and one half formal
instruction. They are not easy to come by, but I have
found that with a lot of prayer and by asking questions
of people you know, you can find them. One way to initiate
an apprenticeship program is to approach a business
owner with the idea of allowing your child to spend
one afternoon at their place of business to observe.
If that works out for both parties, ask the business
owner if the child could come and volunteer on a regular
basis. This means sweeping floors, filing, washing
windows, etc. Your child must be willing to do the
grunt work! You will find that over time, if your child
is diligent and faithful, he will be welcomed with
open arms and slowly given more career-related work.
This volunteer work may eventually lead to a paid position
during high school or even a life-time career.
Business
people are looking for good employees; and when they
find someone who has potential, they will do all that
they can to help train him. If a degree is necessary,
some business owners will even help with funds for
education. Even if your child decides from this experience
that he does not want to pursue a career in this particular
field, think of the time and money you have saved!
Other resources you can try:
And don't forget to keep track of your teen's learning
in The
Checklist!
(top
of page)
.