College & Career Resources

Parents have a HUGE influence on how children perceive, explore, and decide on future educational and career paths. In addition, the reality is that many of today's youth won't select and obtain just one job or career over the course of their lifetime. As parents, how do we appropriately coach and support our children in making informed choices that will result in engaging, challenging, and financially secure career prospects?

According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, the average employee holds over twelve different jobs before age 56 (2023)! As parents, how do we appropriately coach and support our children in making informed choices that will result in engaging, challenging, and financially secure career prospects?

Here are some tips on how to open the door to critical college and career conversations with your children:

Model life-long learning for your children. Read, explore new interests, etc.
Share some of the following aspects of your journey and career choice(s) with your children:
- What careers had you considered growing up? Who were your role models?
- What were critical points in your journey? When did you take risks, try new endeavors? What were your turning points?
- How did you determine what interests are best served in a hobby versus a career?
- What do you like about your job? What do you find fulfilling? What do you dislike about your job, and how do you deal with that?
- How do you utilize communication skills, time management, critical thinking, collaboration, and creative problem-solving in your career?
- Talk about times when you were faced with challenges and worked hard to overcome them.
It can be overwhelming for youth (and parents) to face innumerable career and college options. Sometimes it is easier to start by asking "What DON'T you want?"
If you child automatically gravitates to selecting the same career as you, feel flattered. Then make sure you encourage other options as well. There are so many opportunities - don't let your child make what might feel like a "safe" choice by following your path. They may eventually choose the same career. They may not. Regardless of their final choice, their journey will be different.
Listen & Watch. When you notice a strength or interest within your child, let them know. Not only will this help build them up, but it will help them develop greater self-awareness of where their strengths and interests lie. When talking about their journey after high-school, reference these! Then, let them teach YOU about their strengths and interests!!
Don't focus only on one post-secondary path (such as college). For youth to be successful in their future endeavors, they need to be engaged. Military, technical schools, and apprenticeship programs are noble and valuable post-secondary paths.
When you don't have the answer - seek it out together. Share the excitement about their future goals and dreams.

PEWAUKEE SCHOOL COUNSELING WEBSITES

College Exploration & Planning

ACT Reading Tutorial: Created by PHS' own Mr. Zindler, this great tool gives important tips on how to prepare for the ACT exam.
BestColleges.com: A great tool to help you identify a college with a great reputation that meets your needs.
Best Scholarship Search Platforms: An analysis and links to different search platforms that help you look for scholarship opportunities (Forbes)
Big Future by the College Board: Explore profiles of various college majors and different careers
College Scorecard: Explore and compare different colleges based on size, location, programs of study, and other factors
Community College Search: US News & World Report provides an avenue to search for community colleges in every state
Education Planner: This site guides students though what they should be thinking about at different ages, as well as how to explore different careers
FAFSA: An article with helpful information about the FAFSA
FastWeb: Search for scholarships here!
Financial Aid Support: Reading Financial Aid Letters: Helpful tips for understand all of those numbers!
Online Colleges: Looking for an online college opportunity? Check here to compare different options available!
QuestBridge: This is a great tool to support low-income, high-achieving students get into college
RaiseMe: Quickly and easily apply for micro-scholarships
Scholarships.Com: This site has great ways to explore scholarships - from looking for those that are easy to apply for, to those that don't require essays
Unigo: A Scholarship search engine
University of WI- Admissions: Great information addressing what UW colleges look for during the application process
UW Scholarships: This resource will help you find scholarships that are specifically offered at different schools within the UW System

Career Exploration

Big Future by the College Board: Explore profiles of various college majors and different careers
Bureau of Labor & Statistics For Kids: Information on careers in the US in student-friendly language
Careers in the Military: Thinking about options in the military? Find out more here!
Career Videos: Check out short videos on this Virtual Career Symposium that showcase different careers in Wisconsin
Health Care Career Pathways: Interested in careers in health care? Check out some great information on careers at all levels - some you might even by able to start in high school to get experience!
Job Center of WI: One-stop shopping for Wisconsin Labor Market Information
My Next Move: Looking to learn more about a specific career, or want to try and narrow down ideas? Check out this site!
Student Career Info: Contains videos for students by the US Bureau of Labor & Statistics
STUFF: Learn about a variety of career opportunities here in Wisconsin!
The 200 best and worst jobs by CareerCast.com : An analysis of 200 jobs based on various components. Findings are published annually.
Will Robots Take My Job? Search different careers and assess the potential risk of automation having a future impact on the field
Wisconsin Health Care Careers: Interested in health care, but unsure of what exactly is the best fit? Information on a variety of growing hospital-based careers can be accessed here.

Building Self-Awareness

ACT for Youth: Building self-awareness through multiple online inventories that assess learning styles, multiple intelligences, and a personality assessment.
Education Planner: This site guides students through what they should be thinking about at different ages, as well as how to explore different careers
Elementary Career Conversations & Building Self-Awareness: Explore ways to learn about yourself and have conversations about careers and finding a great fit for your own unique personality!
JA My Way: Junior Achievement's free interactive site for middle school students guides them as they build self-awareness and begin to explore careers
Multiple Intelligences Inventory: Find out how you are smart!
My Plan: From interest inventories to salary research, this site provides multiple avenues for exploring your future
Volunteer opportunities in Waukesha County: Colleges look for those who volunteer and lead! Start those positive, giving activities when you are young and they become a way of life.

CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT COORDINATOR

ADRIANA PLACH • placadr@pewaukeeschools.org • (262) 695-5057

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