How do you prepare young adults for life? They have spent years growing up in your house and now they are fixing to go out and find their way in the world. What are some things you can focus on?
For sure, you can focus on the attributes I’ve already blogged about before: Character, the Heart, Academics, Skills, and Experiences.
How To Prepare Young Adults For Life Click To TweetAnother way we helped prepare our young adults is by trying to match their interests and personalities with real-world possibilities in a career field. We looked for opportunities for them to participate in things that would help them decide what to major in and what career path they should strive towards. We told them that it’s okay if they go down this path and then decide that it’s not for them and need to pivot.
Summer Science Camp and Research
Our first daughter loved science. So we googled “summer science camps near me” and found there were several. She applied for a few and was accepted into the Auburn University Summer Science Institute. It was an all-paid weeklong camp on the Auburn campus where students learned about science and studied with professors. She said some of it was way over her head, but she loved it. It was a good introduction to the path a scientist might take.
When she arrived at college, she went to a professor’s office, and asked if she could get involved in research. He accepted her and after spending a semester doing research, she now concluded that science was not for her. We were thinking this all along, but we wanted her to come to this conclusion herself. So she changed majors and it turns out she is in the perfect career for her personality and giftedness now.
Shadowing a Professional
Our second daughter, Haley, decided she might be interested in medicine. So we asked our friends and found a physical therapy office where she could shadow over the summer. She interviewed for the position and was offered a shadowing job where she earned 50 hours that summer watching and learning from the physical therapist. After that experience, she decided she didn’t think physical therapy was the exact path. So she decided to consider becoming a doctor.
When you apply to medical school, one of the 7 things the medical schools look for is shadowing experience with a professional. So she contacted our dermatologist and spent a day with her. After determining that field was not her jam, she found a pediatrician who would allow her to spend a week shadowing him. She fell in love with this area of medicine – which was funny because we wouldn’t have predicted she would like working with kids at first — and this is the area she is headed toward as she starts med school this fall.
Mentors and Volunteer Work
Our third daughter, Haven, is more artistic than the first two. She was very involved and interested in music of all kinds and in serving at our church. Over time, she began meeting with mentors at church who helped her develop her skills and gave her a chance as she began playing and singing in the worship team at church.
As we considered her possible career options, she was all over the place. She was thinking of veterinarian, worship leader, and some kind of communication or graphic arts field. She finally settled on advertising as her major and this has fit her so perfectly. This is a field that she could use in a job both in the business world and also in a church or nonprofit environment. She is taking classes in photography, marketing, typography, graphic design, and art. It is awesome to watch her grow and learn how she can combine her passions into a career and lifestyle.
Summer Apprenticeship
Our son, Harris, (the last to leave home) has always been good with his hands. When I need help fixing something or putting something together, he’s my go-to person. He’s always said he would be interested in mechanical engineering. So we looked at colleges that offer this. We also were interested in colleges where he would be able to thrive academically, and still use his music skills in playing trumpet.
When doing my research, I found a college in our state that has a large program in mechanical engineering, but it is not as difficult to get in as the flagship schools are. This is more his speed academically. It also turns out they are very interested in supporting their students with advising and tutoring, have research and lab opportunities from day one that seem easy to get involved in, and have an engineering dormitory.
Then we found out they have a summer apprenticeship for high school students who are planning to go to college there. You apply to one of ten corporate manufacturing firms and go through an interview process with them. If you know me, this made me excited! To have interview practice as a high school senior is awesome, even if he didn’t get an offer. But, he did get two offers from the two interviews he did. He has accepted an offer and will head there to start his first full-time job the summer before college.
I’ve given you some ideas of ways to try to help your kid match you to their path for life. Here are some other things you can do. The runner-ups, so to speak, are still helpful as well.
Other Ideas and Resources
- YouScience – platform to match up personality attributes with possible careers
- Personalities – Study your child’s personality and help them find a career that is in line with who they are
- Foundations in Finance – Highly recommend taking a personal finance course like this one by Dave Ramsey
- Defensive Driving course – here’s a free defensive driving course. We did not get to this before my kids moved out, but I wish we had!
I hope these ideas get you thinking and help you in how to prepare to launch your own young adults! Please let me know if you have any questions and if I can help you in any way!
Blessings, Michelle
