My kid's future needs help!

Parents Forum
21

^^What lastone03 said!

There’s really no such thing.

If one believes that the point of college is to only take vocational classes that are directly related to one’s major or one’s future career, then one is missing the point and wasting an opportunity the vast majority of the world doesn’t get to have.

People change careers! I started out working in public health and I work in tech. I know lots of people who changed careers or came from seemingly unrelated majors into tech like me (at least three former teachers, a lingustics major, a women’s studies major, a theater major, etc.). I know an art historian who’s in finance. I know a former financier who is now a teacher. You get the picture.

You never know when things you learn will come back around, but the important thing is that college is a foundation for being able to do other higher-level careers later and learning things in different areas helps people learn to think in different ways.

There are lots of different things a person who likes computer science can do besides software engineering or programming. And I’m also sure he has a lot of other interests, too.

22

Yeah. College is as much about how to learn as it is what you learn. So no class is really a waste.

Except my kid is taking bowling. How does that work. :slight_smile:

23

I took bowling in college eons ago. Didn’t work that great…

24

If he wants tech and computers then his future career probably doesn’t exist yet as mentioned. The plan would be to learn as much as you can and keep an open mind. Learn to network.

25

I would recommend talking to your son’s guidance counselor and finding out if there are any college and career fairs in your area. Usually there will be people representing various career disciplines to talk with. They can discuss what they do and what education is necessary to pursue their career. Sometimes what to study is just a matter of general interest. Someone interested in computers might look into math, electrical or computer engineering, web design, or even business and marketing. As others have mentioned he may not find his true vocation for awhile but it’s worth exploring while he’s young. Good luck.

26

My sons a bowler. What college? Lol.

27

You say he’s a high school student - junior, senior, sophomore? Whichever one, he has time. If he has some CS skills but isn’t necessarily interested in studying CS, that’s fine. Most CS professionals who are older than 35 studied something else in college.

If he is good enough to get into any reasonable college, they will have career centers and career counselors. His job is to take advantage of these people. Discover what he likes to work on, what makes him feel accomplished.

He has time. The resources are there. He might be experiencing a paralysis from having too many possibilities and not seeing clear pathways to any of them. You don’t have to make him decide. There are professionals out there who can help him with this, and show him how to do the work. He may surprise you.

28

Wow, he’s in high school and he likes CS. That’s enough for now. It isn’t good to decide too early what you want to do. It limits your opportunity to explore what might interest you. For your son, he might find that big data is what he is really interested in, or complex systems or robotics or any of dozens of fields related to tech. Having him talk to people in various fields seems reasonable. He sounds like he has a lot of angst due to people around him. It’s just not ok to push high school kids into a mold where they need to decide their lives at 15. It’s not.

29

Some younger ones, too.

My son is 32 and works in CS. He was a CS major and has a master’s degree in the field, but many of the people around him don’t have those types of credentials. And it doesn’t matter. What matters is your skills, not how you acquired them.

30

@parentshim

To begin to comment meaningfully, I would need to know more about your son.

Is he a rising Senior, Junior, Sophomore? If he is only going to be a Soph, I would approach it differently than for a Senior.

How much math, English and science has he taken? How are his grades? Engineering is rigorous and too difficult for average students.

Did he take either of the AP CS courses? Those could help him decide whether he has a preliminary interest.

In general, if the thinks he could possibly be interested in engineering, but isn’t sure, and engineering seems feasible for him, it is best to stay on the engineering track until you decide you are not interested. That buys him a couple of extra years where it is easy to switch from engineering to something else. In contrast, if you leave the engineering track, it is very difficult to get back on for 99% of students.

31

OP, If you’re concerned about your child having to take classes that are a “waste” – someone cited bowling, lol – send him to trade school. He will take classes in a trade and nothing else. It’s a little different in a university… that word means something, after all.

32

I’m 52 and still don’t know what I want to do when I grow up. Which is why a career in technology has been perfect for me.

As other posters have said, college isn’t where you go to learn a trade. Ideally you learn how to learn - since the landscape changes so quickly! Even kids who go in majoring in CS probably don’t know about the variety of careers out there.

If I’d not changed and grown after graduation I’d be coding on mainframes in COBOL. Which I hear is quite lucrative as long as legacy systems are still around, but I’d run screaming into the night if I was stuck doing the same thing for decades.

If he does decide on CS, other courses that don’t seem meaningful may well be. Courses in English and History help with critical thinking, research, and writing skills. I minored in Communications and combined with a Math/CS major that was an attractive option - a technical person who could read, write, converse, and present!

In 30 years I’ve been a GUI developer, database developer, QA tester, project manager, business analyst, program manager, manager of a PMO and a software development group. I’ve done account management, participated in sales calls, written and responded to RFPs, been a vendor and been the client hiring a vendor. I’m currently working on obtaining Agile certification and hold my PMP. In the technical world, valid certifications are great things to obtain.

A significant % of students change majors in college. And many kids have no idea what they’re going to do when they get out - they find a job somewhere and if they’re smart, motivated, and find the right breaks develop a career - that may or may not have anything to do with their college major.

You’re not going to be a Dr. without a medical degree. You’re not going to be an engineer without an engineering degree. You’re not going to be a translator at the U.N. without fluency in languages. But there are a whole range of jobs in between that are open to many different degrees.

33

“You say he’s a high school student - junior, senior, sophomore? Whichever one, he has time. If he has some CS skills but isn’t necessarily interested in studying CS, that’s fine. Most CS professionals who are older than 35 studied something else in college.”

LOL - I am 48 and have a BS degree in comp sci (and math). My husband is 56 and has a degree in comp sci and a masters in software engineering. I don’t think this is true based on our experience with co-workers. It depends what you’re doing but if you’re writing and designing software for a large company, good chance you’ll have a CS degree or a BS in some STEM area or possibly a BA and a MS. We used to filter applicants this way at a number of companies I worked at. If we were looking for a tech writer or someone more administrative, then a wider range of degrees would filter through.

Now if you are doing slightly less technical work, that’s different. I do agree MANY doors are open regardless of exact degree.

Anyway - this is a high school student. Give him time. Many of those kids that are so sure they are going to do something will change their mind. My sibling had something in mind and my parents really pigeon holed him to that and talked it up. He majored and graduated in it. And worked in that area for like 3 years before completely changing gears. The degree still opened doors. I think it is better to have a parent that isn’t too invested in any particular path for their child too soon and to keep doors open. Let him explore. Encourage a gap year if he needs some time to mature and graduating in 4 years is a concern. I never think education is wasted.

FWIW for a couple years my kid said he would major in comp sci. He now wants to major in music and is entering his senior year.

34

I think I was the only one of my group of college friends who did NOT change majors in college!

35

D thought she was going to major in Chemistry and and ended up changing paths completely. She’s now got an internship editing professional journals.

S although thought he would major in Chemistry. He’s now heading to his third year in Mechanical Engineering.

I have a nephew who graduated with a degree in Electrical Engineering. Worked for a couple years and has now given it up entirely.

36

Hold it…I took bowling as well. It was actually a lot of fun…and required a bit of skill. And it fulfilled a physical education college requirement too. What’s the problem with bowling?

Your college major might or might not actually BE what you do after college. Old timers here know that one of my kids was an engineering major undergrad who will NEVER practice engineering. But she learned a lot taking those courses anyway!

37

Not what you typically think about when attending University. And a little expensive at full out of state tuition. :slight_smile:

38

@yourmomma I was at a private university. If the school has a physical education requirement…you have to take physical education courses to fulfill that requirement. That’s what I was doing…bowling. Oh…and it was an 8 am class too!

39

I think most high schools use Naviance. This might be more for juniors and seniors for selecting colleges but I think there is a section on using your interest and strengths for possible career choices. Ask the school counselor about this.

40

In a decade or so it would be an interesting exercise to see how many of those kids who were so sure they knew their exact career path ended up following their plans.

Some kids do know at an early age what they want to do. Some think they do, follow that path, and end up in a career they ultimately find is wrong for them.

A significant number start out taking the courses in college to follow their pre-determined path, find for one reason or other it isn’t for them, and change their majors (or, like my D did, go in undecided and find their major).