How to help your child choose a future profession test. How to decide on a career choice for a teenager

Do you dream of your son going to study to become an economist, but he hates mathematics? Since his birth, you wanted him to become a famous doctor, but your baby faints at the sight of a drop of blood? Very often one can observe an unpleasant picture when parents choose a future profession for their children, without taking into account their wishes and preferences.

In the best case, the child will bring a diploma, give it to mom and dad, and then go get a second education. At worst, the son will work all his life in an unloved job, hating his boss, colleagues and subordinates. Therefore, it is very important to understand the talents and tastes of your baby. Remember, your child is a river. You can only slightly redirect it in the right direction. But it will not be possible to completely change the current.

Main rules when choosing a future profession

We take into account the desires, abilities and capabilities of the child

So, first of all, you must decide what is interesting to the student. After all, it is very important that your child loves his future profession very much. It is not without reason that they say that if work coincides with a hobby, then a person does not have to work a single day in his life.

So, for example, if a child loves animals, he can become a veterinarian, ecologist, or zoologist. Does your son like to tinker, repair and build? Why shouldn't he then become a design engineer? Girls who love to draw can be more than just artists. Architect, designer, photographer - this is just a small list of professions where her abilities will definitely come in handy.

Also, do not forget about the student’s abilities. Ask him to solve a difficult problem and observe how he behaves. Will he be able to sit for 2 hours without a break or will he be distracted by trifles. Will he ask for help or will he try to do everything on his own? It is on his perseverance, loyalty and character that how his career will develop in the future depends.

When choosing a profession for a student, take into account his temperament. If the son is sociable, a leader, and loves to be the center of attention, he will like a job where he needs to be able to contact people. Conversely, it is better for a calm, quiet person to choose an activity where he will not have to constantly worry and be nervous.

Children who can easily understand numbers can connect their lives with mathematics, programming, and engineering. Linguists should become writers, journalists, lawyers, philologists or teachers. Don’t worry if a student makes 10 mistakes in an essay, in every sentence. The main thing is the content. After all, writing competently, but not catching the reader with a word is much worse.

Physically strong children can go to sports. Typically, such schoolchildren study very poorly, but they play football, basketball or hockey better than anyone else. There is no need to nip these inclinations in the bud - give them the opportunity to reach the big leagues. As a last resort, the child will then be able to receive a second education or study in absentia. By the way, athletes earn good money and are popular.

Emotional children with great charisma can become actors. Don't worry if your child fails to get into the theater department the first time. Many celebrities tried to break into the arena of fame 3-4 times. The main thing is to provide psychological support.

We don't put pressure on children

A dynasty is, of course, good, but only if the student is really interested in what his parents do. Otherwise, the child may become embarrassed, refusing to continue studying at school and entering university. The maximum you can do is take your child to work with you, give him the necessary literature to read, etc.

But in no case should you talk directly about material wealth. At this age, children do not always understand the value of money, influence and connections. There is no need to reproach or hint that your son will not be able to support you or his family. Otherwise, he will do everything to spite you, forgetting about his desires. In addition, in our country the salary situation may change dramatically.

We don't pay attention to the certificate

Learn to prioritize. Naturally, it is impossible to decide in one minute who the child should go to study. Parents are required to think about this from grades 5-8. And if you have already decided, then focus on items that will really be useful in the future. Remember once and for all - it is impossible to know everything. Of course, it’s nice when your child is an excellent student and the best student, but in this case his knowledge will be superficial.

But under no circumstances should you let your child relax by making concessions in his studies. Let him study for B grades, but C grades are not acceptable. Maximum – 1-2, no more. And then only in those areas that are difficult for him. For specialized subjects, be sure to hire tutors.

Distinguishing between dreams and reality

If your child has chosen a profession that he is unlikely to master, try to explain this to him gently. As children, we all dreamed of becoming pilots, astronauts, and teachers. As we grow up, most of us begin to look at things realistically. But there are still a few who look at the world through rose-colored glasses.

Of course, if your son has the makings of a football player, feel free to support his endeavors. It is better to send a singing daughter to vocals. However, it would be pointless to choose an acting profession for a child if he is afraid of speaking in public. Do not look at the talents of children through the eyes of a loving mother. Evaluate as if you were a strict critic, because the future life of the little man depends on it.

How to help your child choose a future profession

Making a list

Take a piece of paper and write down several options on it that are suitable for the child. Don’t forget to indicate the requirements that apply to both applicants at the time of admission and to future employees. So, for example, now my daughter will be able to pass biology or chemistry with flying colors in order to study to become a laboratory assistant. But think about it: will she be able to dissect rats in the future?

After this, show the list to your child. The student only needs to choose two or three professions that he more or less likes. Of course, it’s bad if these are different directions. In this case, the child will have to decide once again where it is better to go, especially if he successfully passes the exams.

Information about professions

If your child has chosen a profession, give the teenager the opportunity to plunge into it headlong. A future journalist can intern for free at a local newspaper, a doctor can work as a volunteer in a hospital. Only after this will the student be able to understand whether he really likes this activity. After all, many of them do not even realize what difficulties await them in this or that situation. Agree, in most cases we can only get an idea of the position of a pilot, flight attendant or singer based on movies. Everything there is always smooth, perfect and interesting. In fact, it is much more complicated than it seems to us at first glance.

Taking a career aptitude test

Go with your child to the employment center, where he will be asked to answer a number of questions. After analysis and summing up, the specialist will provide a number of professions for which your baby is suitable. Exactly the same tests are carried out in some schools, but parents do not pay much attention to them.

But you shouldn't take this kind of assessment too seriously. The result could have been influenced by a bad mood, fear of answering incorrectly, etc. In addition, when compiling the test, psychologists did not take into account the character of each individual individual. The questions were invented for a general audience, and not specifically for your case.

We study the situation at the labor exchange

Hundreds of unemployed economists, lawyers, philologists and historians cannot find a place in the sun. Without work experience, people are rarely hired for such positions, since there are many professionals in this field. Therefore, it is better to choose a profession that will always be in demand, regardless of the economic situation in the country. These are engineers, teachers, doctors, builders, programmers, cooks. Naturally, the future applicant must be well versed in his field.

Mistakes when choosing a future profession

Imposing your opinion is half the trouble. It’s bad when parents don’t take part in the child’s life at all. Schoolchildren choose their future profession without taking into account the realities of our lives. As a result of this, he studies for 5-7 years in vain, and then goes to work not in his specialty. Today, there are six most common mistakes that applicants make every year.

Lack of information about the profession

How can a child choose something without having any idea about it? Outdated information or idealistic ideas about a specific position can ruin the life of a future employee. Often children focus on the prestige of the profession or the possible earnings. But no one explained to them that at first they would have to work a lot, go over their heads, forget about their family in order to become a boss or open their own business. Moreover, unfortunately, not many manage to stay afloat.

Ignorance of one's own capabilities

It just so happens that a person cannot correctly assess himself and his abilities. He either exaggerates them, considering himself a genius and superman, or underestimates them, thinking that he is good for nothing. In both cases, it is quite difficult to choose for yourself the direction in which to move.

Inability to prioritize

Never draw a line between studies and future work. Good grades do not indicate a teenager's true abilities. You don't have to love math to be able to solve problems. You also don’t need to be an excellent student to be interested in biology, computer technology or medicine.

Fear of being rejected by friends

Another mistake is transferring your attitude to the person who occupies this or that position. So, for example, a teenager may be afraid that his friends will turn their backs on him if he goes to study to become a policeman or traffic cop. In this case, explain to the child that acquaintances should perceive the person as he is. And in every profession there are both good and bad people. And people in power are usually feared or disliked by everyone.

Follow the crowd

There are often cases when schoolchildren act “for the company.” This is what either lovebirds or best friends always do. But, unfortunately, only one person will like such a profession. The second one will have to fulfill his duties, because it is necessary.

Inability to choose a good institute

Study on a budget at a state university or study commerce at a private university - it all depends on your financial capabilities. The main thing is that the institution you choose has good professors. It’s great if the department allows me to travel abroad.

But what you shouldn’t do is enroll in an unaccredited educational institution with a dilapidated building. Perhaps philologists and historians can cope without computer equipment, but programmers, chemists, physicists and other students will have a hard time. But the future salary and employment of your child depends on the knowledge gained and on the prestige of the university (institute, college, academy).

What to do if your child does not want to continue studying

The first step is to talk with your teenager to understand why he decided to give up school. Perhaps he simply hasn’t decided on his choice of profession or doesn’t want to waste 5 years. In that case, give him one year. Let him work officially. At the same time, be sure to take part of his salary for food and housing. Since he wanted to become independent and adult, let him immediately feel the bitter taste of freedom on himself.

The second reason may lie in financial difficulties. Not all children want to study at the expense of their parents. But, unfortunately, not everyone can enter the budget. There are two ways to solve the problem: either let them earn money or lend them money. Set the conditions that after graduation the child will pay you a certain amount every month.

Children also often hope that they will inherit the family business. To come to everything ready, without making any effort for it - what could be simpler. Smart parents in such cases do not place their sons or daughters at the helm, but force them to start, for example, with an assistant director, an ordinary manager or a salesperson. Such is human psychology - he does not value what he gets for free.

Why go to university: answer questions correctly

Does the teenager use as an example people who have achieved good success even without education? You should not convince your child that these are just a few. At this age, schoolchildren rarely listen to their parents or teachers. We need to give him more significant and interesting arguments that will make him think.

Connections

At the faculty, together with your child, there will be children who will probably occupy serious positions in the future. By maintaining warm, friendly relations with his classmates, your son will always be able to turn to them for help in a difficult situation.

Development

Only at university do people learn many tricks that not all specialists know about. In addition to knowledge and skills, mentors force their students to think. It’s easy to answer “excellent” by pulling out an unlucky ticket. Discussing with the dean is as easy as shelling pears. The main thing is to learn to defend your opinion.

Communication skills

If you compare a school student and a university graduate, they will be two completely different people. Even the shyest students open up at seminars, conferences and other serious events. And, most importantly, your child will learn to be independent.

By the way, try to explain to your child that school education will not be enough for a good position. And if at the beginning the lack of a diploma does not interfere with him, then in the future, when the choice is between him and his colleague, preference will be given to the second.

Discussion 3

Similar materials

What can you do, but a child who has just recently learned to walk grows up quickly. And before you know it, he will have to choose his future profession; here he may need the help of his parents. Help can be of different kinds, but your participation in this process is important for the child.

At what age should you start thinking?

Moderation is important in everything. And it’s also not worth encouraging a child to become a doctor from a young age. Yes, maybe this is your never-realized dream, but you shouldn’t force it on your child. Yes, he is an extension of you, but he is already a completely different person and his preferences may be diametrically opposed.

Let your child try everything at an early age. Children should be sent to various kinds of clubs, but if a child doesn’t like dancing and it just doesn’t work out for him, don’t force him to go there, it can develop a lifelong dislike for it. Contact your child and be sure to talk to him about his failures; you can very well help your child with practical advice and support him. At the trial and error stage, he really needs you.

By trying different types of mugs, you and your baby can find what interests him the most. An activity that he will do willingly and with great zeal. Try to continue his endeavors and develop them into a serious activity. After all The main thing when choosing a profession is the opportunity to do something you enjoy. And you can prepare for your profession starting from childhood.

If your child does not know at all and cannot imagine his future, but will soon need to apply for admission, try to consider with him the advantages of certain professions, but not starting with material benefits, but starting with the knowledge and skills of your the child, from how he copes with certain activities, from his perseverance, from the way he communicates with people. This will help, if not choose a profession, then guide the child in the right direction. You can also consider the most in-demand professions and see if your child has an interest in them.

At an early age, children often want to be someone who sets an example for them. This could be a school teacher, a cartoon character or a favorite book.

What character traits indicate a particular choice?

Any profession, even the simplest one, requires certain skills from a person. You should pay attention to this. For example, concentration is important for a proofreader, while an artist must have imaginative thinking. It is important to consider these factors. It is best for a child to choose a profession where he can maximize his abilities, where he can realize himself to the maximum and achieve the greatest success. If you help him with this, he will be grateful to you in the future.

Today, high school students are offered to take a psychological test for career guidance. Such tests are compiled by several specialists at once: psychologists, teachers, human resources specialists. Based on the test results, the child is offered a choice of several professions at once. This will help him make a choice in the right direction. He will be able to choose the profession to which his heart lies most and begin preparing for admission. Sign up for the courses you need or see a tutor.

How to help your child make the right decision?

First, introduce your child to your own profession. After all, parents often want their child to continue their parents’ profession. But whether he wants it or not is another question. And a good way to figure this out is to show him how dad or mom works, show him your working day, all the advantages and disadvantages of the profession.

Mistakes when choosing a profession

When choosing a profession, a child can make typical mistakes. Warn him against them.

Attitude to the choice of profession as unchangeable. This is not entirely correct, now people change their profession more than once throughout their lives, or even change not just their profession, but their qualifications. Your child will also face this in the future.
The prevailing opinion about the prestige of the profession. Popular professions tend to become obsolete after some time and may even become unclaimed for various reasons. Including due to an oversupply of specialists on the market. You can always offer your child something related to a popular profession if he wants nothing more than this.
Passion only for the external or one side of the profession. It is important that the child receives a complete understanding of the profession. He may like architects and how their work looks from the outside, but from the inside this profession may not be so attractive.
Transferring the attitude towards a person representing a certain profession to the profession itself. Having seen how others treat a family friend who works as a photographer, for example, a child may want to be the same, but he does not quite realize that the family friend is so popular because of his personal qualities, and not his professionalism, even if he is good as a photographer. specialist.
The child’s inability and unwillingness to understand his personal qualities. It’s hard, but it’s worth arousing a child’s interest in himself and his interests. Observe him from the outside and, if possible, point out his abilities, what he can do.
Ignorance of one's physical abilities and existing shortcomings when choosing a profession. To understand himself, a child needs to develop and be busy with some activity where he can test his abilities.

The main thing is to be unobtrusive in these matters and not to put pressure on the child; give him some freedom, but also point out the responsibility of his choice.

/ Choosing a profession for a child

Sooner or later, the child grows up, and adulthood looms on the horizon. In middle and high school, you are already asking your son or daughter questions about their future career. Indeed, choosing a profession is a very important and responsible step, and your task at this stage is to make it as painless and useful as possible for the child.

From the article you will learn about how to choose a profession for a child. We will talk about the problems of such a choice and understand how to influence a teenager.

How to choose a profession?

Perhaps almost every one of us has a story about what he wanted to be as a child. Agree that dreams do not always find themselves in real life. And the point here is not only in parents or opportunities: with age, the child’s range of interests changes, what was interesting 3-4 years ago becomes boring and not so important. That’s why don’t be alarmed if, at the age of 8-10, your child seriously decides to become a welder, plumber, or something else. Most likely, in a couple of years his position will change dramatically.

At what age can you start thinking about choosing a profession? Psychologists say that from the age of 12-13, a child can already make his choice.

From this period, you can use various tests that help determine professional orientation, and success in school in certain subjects begins to “give” the child away: some are successful in the humanities (Russian language, literature, social studies, etc.), others in the field of exact (mathematics, physics and others), and someone respects the natural (biology, chemistry).

Based on the child’s abilities and preferences, you can choose the appropriate specialized class or additional courses - it all depends on your school and financial capabilities.

In addition, various additional classes and sections help in choosing a profession.

Agree, if at school your child had 1-2 computer science lessons a week, and spent all his free time after school programming, your child is unlikely to go to a literary institute. So, when choosing a profession, you must take into account side interests, because they can become the basis for your whole life’s work.

Another way that can help you choose a profession is psychological tests that talk about the child’s abilities and thinking characteristics. In adolescence, children take such tests at school, but modern technologies make it possible to repeat them at home, on Internet pages. We have selected several links for you:

Such tests divide people into groups according to the way they interact with the outside world:

1) man is nature;

2) man - technology;

3) person - person;

4) man is a “sign system”

5) a person is an “artistic image.”

Depending on the results, you can choose your future profession from the list. So, for example, a child with the result “man - nature” will become an excellent chemist or ecologist.

Some development centers offer the child to decide on a future profession in a playful way. Thus, the children's development center DreamLand (Television str., 1. p. 4, t. 290-15-15) offers a whole trip to the Land of Professions for children. During the exciting game, the child gets acquainted with dozens of professions and can go through a professional path in one day. Such a one-day adventure can be a great help in choosing a future career.

Perhaps these methods and your friendly conversations with your child will be enough to choose a future profession, but the situation is not always so ideal. Choosing a profile creates certain problems in many families and in some cases can lead to serious conflicts.

Problems of choosing a profession

The first and most important problem in choosing a profession for a child is that the child’s opinion does not coincide with the parents’ plans and beliefs about the child’s career. Many consider the future profession of their son or daughter as their own professional orientation. This is especially true for those families who are raising a child as a business heir - you wanted to become a lawyer and economist, but grew up to be a doctor or teacher.

What to do in such a situation? Look for a compromise and listen to the child. Of course, many parents successfully persuade a schoolchild to give up his dream and build a profitable career - sometimes something comes of this. But in many cases, such persuasion ends in unfinished higher education or lifelong suffering over an unloved job. Our advice is to talk to each other more and come to a common opinion. We are sure that you will succeed, but perhaps not right away.

The second problem is that the child’s opinion may change. Such problems are indeed possible, because tests for vocational guidance lie, teachers make mistakes, grades in the magazine sometimes depend on the teacher, and not on abilities, and in a higher educational institution the idea of a specialty changes. Such troubles are difficult to prevent, but, again, pay more attention to your child - you understand him better than others, believe me.

“Of course, conversations with the child should be held, no matter how dad or mom will explain to him what is better and what is worse, where attention is required, where perseverance is. But under no circumstances should you insist on choosing a profession for a child. As a result, if something doesn’t work out for your child in the future, he will blame you for it! Well, you need to respect the child’s choice!”
Happy dad Artem Artemyev

How to influence a child?

If you are categorically not satisfied with your child’s choice of profession and you intend to influence the student, then you need to do this very carefully. Of course, it will be better if you have almost no influence on such a difficult aspect of his life, but anything can happen, so listen to our recommendations.

Firstly, never say your loud and categorical “no” and “no” about your child’s choice. If you want to change something, do it carefully. Talk with him about the pros and cons of a particular specialty, offer your version of a profession that suits both parties.

Secondly, never tell your child that he won’t be able to do something. "You're laughing? But you never knew how to draw?” - this is how the career of a future architect or great artist may end. Thanks to you. There is one rule: if you want to say something, say it softly. Tell us that any profession requires enormous effort, labor, and perseverance. You can really help your child with practical advice.

Thirdly, tell us that higher education sometimes allows you to work in another field, and about the importance of self-education in the life of an adult. This will make it clear to the child that the choice of educational institution is not so critical and can change depending on the future fate and interests of an adult.

“The child cannot be left completely alone with himself in this situation. Here it is important to help, precisely to help, but not to influence, not to sway towards the option that the parent considers “correct”. To do this, you can ask questions that problematize, doubt, test the options that the child has chosen, test the desire, not so that he refuses these options, but so that he thinks about the risks and difficulties, sees the limitations of the options, it is important to open up other possibilities - show some options, ways that the child even thought about.
For example, in recent years there has been a clear trend of receiving only higher education after school; the guys don’t even imagine that they can do it differently. But there are a lot of advantages in receiving a stepwise education: first secondary vocational education, then higher education.
On the other hand, it is important to accompany, but not disturb the child. Of course, parents want their child to choose everything correctly, correctly and even ideally, so that this is the best university, the most in-demand profession. But you shouldn’t be afraid of failures, sometimes you need to be given the opportunity to make a mistake, perhaps understand after a year that the choice was made incorrectly, and enroll in a completely different faculty and a completely different specialty.”
Daria Shtork, psychologist at gymnasium No. 1 “Univers”, employee of the Department of Developmental Psychology and Counseling at Siberian Federal University

We are confident that choosing a future profession will not be a big problem for your family, and you will solve possible problems calmly, without arguing or shouting. Remember that the future life of your child depends on the choice of future profession. Pay special attention to this moment, dear parents!

Moms, dads and other relatives! Let's agree right away - the website will not tell you how to choose a profession for your child instead of him!

A growing person must make this difficult choice himself, and the task of relatives is to HELP choose a profession, orientate in the ocean of possibilities, and show maximum options! This is what this article will discuss!

At what age should a teenager seriously focus on a profession?

Of course, every child changes many “future professions” during his childhood.

But there comes an age when the question “who do you want to be?” ceases to be an “on-duty joke” among grandparents, aunts and uncles, but becomes a very real problem. And the fact is that in the last couple of decades, the age for making a final decision on obtaining a particular specialty is rapidly decreasing!

If during our and our parents’ adolescence it was quite typical for a teenager to take his final exams from school and only then begin to seriously choose a university (or a vocational school after the 9th grade), now only a crazy C student with his parents can afford this. don't care...

As a rule, already from the 8th-9th grade, responsible mothers and fathers demand that their child decide (sometimes too openly palming off his own vision of how to resolve the issue).

The subjects that are needed for admission and successfully passing the Unified State Exam are crammed (the certificate must be good, because it affects admission!), all sorts of “non-core” interests and hobbies fade into the background - after all, maximum effort must be directed towards the main thing, admission!

It is difficult to blame parents for such help in choosing a profession - the bar is really quite high, successful admission requires good preparation, and there is simply not enough time to pay enough attention to all subjects and extracurricular hobbies without losing the quality of education.

But the problem is that even the most responsible schoolchild may well make a mistake in choosing a profession when he is 13-14 years old, and before starting a career in his chosen path there is still a good ten years of study! And it’s not uncommon for a child’s fleeting passion for some profession to turn into the beginning of tedious preparation for a university that later turns out to be uninteresting to him...

How to solve this situation, in an averaged version? Perhaps you don’t need to think too early about how to help your child choose a profession.

It is worth giving him maximum opportunities to actively study subjects that are truly interesting to him, to also develop his hobbies, to try something new, etc. A more specific decision can be postponed until the last school year - when it is clear which direction the teenager is most interested in.

As a rule, no specific professional knowledge is needed for admission to universities (except for creative specialties), and any school subject for the sake of the exam can be improved during this last year.

How to help your child choose a future profession?

There are two aspects to helping a teenager choose a profession:

Provide all opportunities for various hobbies, interests and interests - after all, some of them may become the basis for choosing a future profession! Listen to your child - what interests him, what would he like to try? This should be done from a very early age, as soon as the baby begins to discover any abilities and inclinations! Indirectly, sections, clubs, creative studios, tutors for school subjects, children’s and youth camps (with teaching something or language practice), etc. can help a child choose a profession.
Show the teenager the professions they are interested in as realistically as possible and talk about them. If possible, during the holidays he can be arranged in an area of interest to him. It’s great if one of your friends is a representative of this profession and can talk intelligently about it. It’s good if there are opportunities to conduct a tour of the enterprise (to a specific workplace)! Of course, reading articles, books and other materials about this profession, interviews with its outstanding representatives, etc. will also help you choose a profession.

In addition, a good psychologist can help you choose a profession - there are many tests to determine which activity a particular person is more inclined to.

If a child dreams of getting an unusual profession...

We already said this at the very beginning - the independent choice of a maturing individual cannot be condemned, much less prohibited and demanded to choose some other university or faculty. This is his life, and he has every right to live it the way he wants! Your task is only to help the teenager choose a profession!

But still, the anxiety of parents for the future of their own child can be understood... We hasten to console the mothers and fathers of future actors, painters, philosophers, etc.:

A person with a diploma in a creative specialty usually has much wider employment opportunities than what is written on the credentials. For example, painters can do interior paintings, illustrate books and other printed materials, design websites, etc. Actors can organize public events, be hosts of holidays, shows or television programs... That is, as a rule, there is always the opportunity to retrain a little after graduation if it is difficult to find a job strictly in their specialty.
There are “eternal” professions. These include, for example, those associated with manual labor - furniture makers, builders, seamstresses, etc. Craftsmen with “golden hands” will always be in demand; these are the people who are least affected by crises and unemployment.
Some professions have great potential in the future, but for now seem exotic. Perhaps your child’s choice will turn out to be promising in a few years, and he will be one of the first to be in demand on the employment market!
If a person is truly passionate about his business, then he has a chance of success even if the professional niche is quite narrow!

Do you want to help your child choose a profession that he will truly enjoy? Give him a trial year.

Let him enter the university of his dreams and study there for a year - during this time he will be able to understand whether his chosen profession is really close to him, whether it looks “from the inside” as it seemed before admission. And if it turns out that this is not his path, then try not to judge and support the child when he wants to transfer or re-enroll in another university - Plan B may turn out to be much more thoughtful!