my 15 year old daughter is asking me the question she should answer herself but how can i help her?

Question

shes 15 and she's asking me'"mom,what career should i take up on? what should i be when i grow up? i dont have any idea what path my future career might take? mom if i dont start having ideas im going to run out of time..."' and things
but shes the one to answer it..not me.she wanted to be an author because she came up with some really creative stuff but then she said an archaelogoist and then she wanted to be a teacher and now she dosen't know what to think..how can i help her?

Answer 1

Give her ideas of fields. If you go to a college they will give you a career guide. You can list off general fields like medical and tell her what different things in the medical field are... physical therapist, anesthesiologist, MD, OB/GYN, Nurse's aid, RN, etc... you can do that kind of thing with all careers like law could be a lawyer, a paralegal, a cop...
Let her look at the guide and help her look up the things that catch her eye and the different careers that sprout off of one that she thinks she might like.
And basically, you know your daughter... you'll know if she'd like being a teacher or a graphics artist. You know her talents just help her work with them and show her where they can lead. The sky's the limit. Good luck and I think it's wonderful that she is thinking of her future, you've done a great job.

Answer 2

I kind of know what she's going through.

I'm 17 and I have to start choosing which papers I want to do at University.

Firstly, tell her not to worry. She has a few years to decide. Chances are she wont be interested in doing half that stuff in a few years time.

I wanted to be a teacher when I was that age. Now it would be my last choice.

If she can do some work experience. Like if she wants to be a teacher, see if she can do a few afternoons helping at a school. Or an author, maybe at a publishers office.

Get her an appointment with a careers advisor.

When choosing subjects at school, do what you are interested in. If you aren't interested then you'll have no motivation. Don't let anything or anyone else stop you from what you want to do. Don't follow your friends or the crowd.

Remind her most people have more that 5 career changes in their lives. She can go to University/College, get a degree, go with that for 5-10 years and then change her mind and go back to University and choose something else.

Also remember, don't choose the job because of it's pay cheque. It's more important to be passionate about what you're doing.

Make sure you get proper advice and tell her to keep doing what she enjoys the most and not to panic, she's got AGGGGEEEEEEESSSS!!!

Answer 3

Get her out of the house more. Not just sports. Volunteer together. Work at a hospital, an animal shelter, go on short 1 day vacations together. Anything she has ever shown an interest in, try to give her a taste of it.
Also let her know that she still has some time to choose her life's path. She should focus on school now so that when she does decide where she wants to go in life, she has a made a good stepping stone for herself.
Introduce her to a variety of people who can inspire her to find a dream, or a passion. Sometimes we spawn our ideas from other people.
Lastly, if you feel that there is no other answer you can give her...tell her this. "Decide what you want to do with your life before someone else does."

Answer 4

Help her. Explain to her that if she doesn't enjoy a field, she can change during her life time. Teachers put way too much pressure on teens these days to figure out what they want to do with their life. I'm 20, still not a clue. I know things that I love but I can't decide on one thing that I want to do forever.

In the meantime, I've taken my basic classes in college and also taken classes which are related to my interests to see if that really would be the best career choice for me. My parents were always very helpful and still are. Just stay with her to reassure her that she has time and there is no need to stress over it so soon

Answer 5

My advice is to just let her be. She will change her mind a thousand times, just as I did. There are numerous career guidance websites out there that can maybe give her some direction. I would also advise her to take a Career class at her High School. Her school should have one. These are often very helpful, because she will have the opportunity to explore the infinite careers out there through research. This should give her more direction.

Answer 6

By telling her that only time will tell. Tell her that when she's in college, she can take a few extra classes (besides the general education classes she has to take) that interest her and that might help her decide exactly what direction she wants to go.

Answer 7

when i was 15 i didn't know what i wanted to do but now I'm 16 and i want to be a scientist. Only time will tell. If something sparks her interest then let her explore it because i always like science and when i took chemisty i knew what i wanted to do

Answer 8

It sounds like this is an issue that she s feeling pressured about. Are they talking about career choices at school? You need to listen to her. She is trying to figure out who she is and what she wants and it's your job to help her. You need to be her sounding board. explain to her that she has time. Not everyone knows what they want to do at her age. She needs to experience different things with in reason to figure out what she likes, what she is good at and what makes her happy.

Answer 9

Know and judge the qualities of your daughter--You can guide her but career chosing is solely dependent on her aptitudes,interest and future prospects--etc.Follow the advice of her teacher who knows her better.

Answer 10

In my opinion if she is asking you these types of questions thats because she either looks up to you and values your opinion or maybe she was babied to the point where she cant make her own decision without checking if its ok with you. The only way to help is to tell her to follow her heart or wait til it comes to her.