20-05-2025
A Student's Guide To Postsecondary Education And Career Planning
For middle- and high-school students, life after high school may seem like a distant dream. But for many, graduation comes far too quickly and without a plan for the future.
To enable students and recent high school graduates to plan an education-to-career pathway tailored to their interests, strengths, circumstances, and life goals, American Student Assistance (ASA) and Jobs for the Future (JFF) have created a Pathfinder Guide and Checklist. The guide and postsecondary training program checklist include questions, topics for consideration, and tips to help students navigate their career journey. It helps students:
What are career interests? They can be specific jobs, like a nursing assistant, or broader industries, like health care. Many teens may still be exploring their career interests, and that's okay. They can start narrowing down their options by considering what classes, extracurricular activities, and hobbies they enjoy; volunteer, work, or community service experiences that give them a sense of accomplishment; and advice from their teachers, counselors, family members, or neighbors. Using free online tools like ASA's Futurescape and EvolveMe, students can then see which careers align with their likes, strengths, and goals, gain access to real-world experiences like virtual internships, and connect with career mentors.
Note, some students may have multiple career interests that they want to explore further while others may feel drawn to one in particular. Either situation is fine at this stage in the process.
Almost all careers today require additional education or training after high school. For each career interest, students should identify at least one postsecondary training program aligned to it. For example, if a young person is interested in becoming a nursing assistant, they will need to identify and enroll in a state-approved training program and pass an examination.
To find this information, students can talk to trusted adults like guidance counselors, network to find professionals who work in their area of interest or do online research using free tools such as My Next Move or Career Village.
To evaluate the pros and cons of each training program, this four-step checklist includes a useful rubric. After listing one or more postsecondary training programs aligned with each identified career interest (Step 1), students are asked to respond to a series of prompts about each training program (Step 2), covering areas including but not limited to entrance requirements, structure and logistics, cost, time to hire, and success indicators. Step 3 of the checklist then delves into career readiness/placement, prompting students to reflect on whether their career interest will help society, be something they enjoy doing, allow them to earn a living wage, provide them with employment stability, and give them opportunities for advancement. To answer these questions students may need to supplement their online research with informational interviews with professionals already working in these roles.
Once students complete Steps 1-3, they should have the information they need to evaluate each postsecondary training program. Step 4 guides them through this process with reflection questions including how well the program meets the needs of leading employers in the student's area of interest and their placement track record, aligns with student requirements (costs involved, time to completion, scheduling flexibility, etc.), and prepares them for a career that is a good fit for the student's personality and goals.
After this analysis, a student may find a specific training program is not a good fit. If that happens, there is no need to be concerned. It is just part of the process and gives students the opportunity to find better pathways that will get them closer to their ideal career.
Graduation should be an exciting time for teens, a celebration of their past accomplishments as they look forward to the next chapter in their lives. Yet it can bring stress and anxiety to those who don't have a plan for the future. The Pathfinder Guide and Checklist can help young people explore their career interests and postsecondary training program options, so they can develop a plan for life after high school which puts them on a path towards a fulfilling, enjoyable, and successful career.
