Middle School Career Essay

627 Words2 Pages

Feeling pressured to select a career or vocational path may seem overwhelming for middle school aged students. However, adolescents often unknowingly make early career decisions in the form of their course selections and leisure activities throughout middle school and high school that may influence post-secondary education and future career paths. While high school students are being prepared to go into the working world, middle school students are being prepared for high school. Many work habits that develop at the middle school level are carried over to high school and into adulthood (Niles & Harris-Bowlsbey, 2013). Middle school students need to learn how to explore their interests and strengths, develop good work habits and positive …show more content…

The American School Counselor Association (ASCA) Code of Ethics (2010) states that a school counselor should “provide students with a comprehensive school counseling program…with emphasis on working jointly with all students to develop personal/social, academic and career goals” (A.3.a.). Additionally, school counselors “are concerned with the educational, academic, career, personal and social needs and encourage the maximum development of every student” (A.1.b.) and “provide and advocate for individual students’ career awareness, exploration and post-secondary plans supporting the students’ right to choose from the wide array of options…” (A.3.c.). A school counselor using SCCT can fulfill these obligations efficiently by guiding students in exploring their strengths, interests, and goals. Personality and interest inventories such as the Meyers Briggs Type Indicator and the Strong Interest Inventory may serve as beneficial tools for individuals or groups of students who are struggling to identify interests or strengths in regards to viable career options. In addition, many web-based career aptitude and guidance programs (e.g. Career Cruising, DISCOVER) are presented in a way that allow students to make connections between content areas, their interests and strengths, and suggested groups of

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