Helping Your Teen Tackle a Tough Job Market

Helping Your Teen Tackle A Tough Job Market

It’s a little too easy to accuse the younger generation of being overly picky and a bit lazy. The generation that grew up with smartphones, cheap air travel and open access to any and all forms of media was destined to be a bit spoiled. However, if you look at the challenges teens and millennials face these days, you’ll see it’s not all sunshine and rainbows.

While the global economy is reasonably stable at the moment, this stability is not reflected in the job market. With digital era disruptions popping up across many industries, it’s a scramble to figure out what career path will prove stable. For this reason – and others – it is an extremely stressful time to be a young person. In so many ways, the future seems unclear.

As a parent, one of the best things you can do to help your teen feel grounded is to really listen to them regarding their plans for the future. Some teenagers aspire to go to university for environmental science or a degree in architecture. Others want to play in a punk band and work construction.

There is no wrong answer.

In 2018, taking on a four-year bachelor’s degree without a sense of direction is a tough sell. For many, the answer is simply diving into the job market straight out of high school to get a head start. For others, it’s choosing a degree that leads to a specific job. Things don’t always work out the way you planned and it’s okay to take your time. At least by helping guide your teen towards a specific career, they’ll develop some real-world skills.

Let’s look at three possible careers that will likely grow in demand in the coming years:

Psychotherapist

Due to extremely high levels of aforementioned anxiety (not to mention the issue of endemic depression), psychotherapists will have their work cut out for them in the 21^st century. A more comprehensive view of the human mind suggests that diet, exercise, and connection with friends and co-workers can counter these issues. Psychotherapists often play a key role in helping patients beat depression and begin living their best lives. This career certainly involves an intense amount of education and training. The good thing is that the demand for good therapists is inelastic.

Gaffer/ Grip

Everyone loves big-budget films and binging television series. It’s likely there will be an increased demand for workers in the entertainment industry in the coming decades. Positions like grip and gaffer relate to the logistic lighting and camera demands on a film set. While you need to work your way up to these jobs, you can always start as an on-set assistant and work your way up. If your teen is interested in working on a film set, The CIE Tour is a great resource to connect them with experienced mentors and job opportunities.

Nurse

In the next few years, the number of humans over sixty in the world will surpass the number of children under sixteen. This is for the first time in modern history. The demand for nurses will almost certainly increase indefinitely. Like psychotherapy, nursing can help you connect with people and really make a difference. Nursing may be for folks who are more hands-on and high-energy.

Having worked in the nursing and medical field for 8 years, I can tell you that it is very rewarding.

If you found this post helpful, you will definitely find this ‘Should My Student Choose Taking Student Debt or Going to College‘ post helpful too.

What does your teen want to do after high school?

Let me know, til then–cheers m’deres!