<p>My friend would like to take her son to see a career counselor.</p>
<p>He is a sophomore with little ambition at this time. He has a couple of ideas of what he may want to do, but needs assistance to see if this is at all lucrative (will he be able to support himself?), jobs available, alternative job locations and schooling needed. </p>
<p>Needs to explore other options that require college or a trade school.</p>
<p>She is trying to avoid his failure and dropping out. With a career goal in mind, he will hopefully do well. He is a bright kid doing sub par work at this time.</p>
<p>Does anyone know of a great career counselor in the New York City or Long Island areas who will be able to explore (and maybe hlep define) his interests and a good goal/career for him? This should be someone who is not affiliated with a univ. and can think outside the box.</p>
<p>All due respect... your friend's son ought to start with the career counseling at his college. I work in corporate HR; we have relationships with a wide range of counselors for various issues; I can't think of a single reputable career counselor who would take on the Mom as the client given that it's the kid who needs the counseling.</p>
<p>Once the kid has shown a modicum of interest in his future (i.e. taken steps to identify strengths, weaknesses, interests, some vocational interest testing) he'll be in a position to contact outside career counselors if he still needs one. Until he's ready to do this- Mom is throwing her dough out the window.</p>
<p>Sounds to me from the brief lines you've written that there's more to the story here than career counseling... in which case, starting at the counseling center at his college is for sure the appropriate next step. If he's got a learning issue; ADD or whatever, this is information that the career counselor will need in order to help appropriately, but even the best career counselors are not qualified to diagnose.</p>
<p>The ADD may be an issue that needs addressing.</p>
<p>She will take him (and pay) for career counseling. The Mom is not the client. </p>
<p>The reason to avoid the college career counselor is that she would like to explore non-college options for him. Though after reading what you wrote, I think that is a good place to start) and free. We've likely inappropriately decided that that counselor would not have broad enough knowledge, but we may be totally wrong.</p>