Everyone knows about colleges preparing you and others for jobs. This is called career counseling, and in many schools, they wait too long to start. However, in colleges such as Grinnell, the curriculum is starting to put career counseling at the end of first-year orientation and onward. They do this for the student but mostly for the ratings. Most colleges wait until it’s too late to give career guidance. Luckily colleges who do this are growing in numbers.

A survey was conducted to see how the attitudes of students towards the workplace are affected by career counseling. Six thousand students were surveyed, the results showed that students who began preparing for their jobs earlier ended up happier in their careers. However, out of that data, those happier students make up 16% of the 6,000 students (960 students). Half of the 6,000 didn’t start until finishing college.

In schools such as Washington University, there are new programs in networking. This class tests newfound skills at receptions. You are also graded on participation in career events. They intervene to help you realize the seriousness of your work.

In the Naperville 203 Community Unit School District in Illinois, career counseling is being offered even earlier. They have a new counseling curriculum for grades six through twelve, helping students learn about colleges and careers. You have to meet big goals at the end of each school year so that by grade twelve you will be college or career ready.

Our school did something very similar to this last year. We took surveys to see what careers we want and/or would fit into the most.

They have multiple programs for the high school such as the business incubator program. Similar to actual companies, this helps students learn about starting businesses and entering the world of entrepreneurs. Hopefully, in the future, we will see more career counseling and early help with responsibilities and careers.