Choosing a career is a big deal, and the pressure to make the right choice can be overwhelming. Whether you're navigating the early stages of career planning or you’re a parent looking to support your child during this pivotal time, understanding how to explore career options without breaking the bank is essential.
You’re not alone in this journey, whichever path you choose. Whether you’re deciding on the first steps of your career or a parent who wants to provide the best support possible for your teen during this pivotal time, we’ve got tips and things you can try. We've compiled a list of seven free and affordable ways to help you or your teen discover potential careers.
7 free and affordable ways to explore career options
Here are ten ways to explore a career with hands-on experience and mentorship, without breaking the bank.
1. Take online courses and webinars.
Platforms like Coursera, edX, Udemy, and Khan Academy offer free courses on tons of subjects. Everything from AI to psychology, coding to logical reasoning, self-driving cars to art history – you can take classes on just about anything.
If you’re not into all these platforms, there’s always good ol ’ YouTube University. There are billions of YouTube videos out there. You can probably find one that’s helpful to you!
2. Shadow someone at work.
If there’s a job you know you want to try, you can spend a day or even just a few hours with a professional to get a firsthand look at what the job feels like. Whether it’s a friend of your parents, someone you found on LinkedIn, or someone who works nearby, most people are willing to share their experience! It never hurts to ask.
3. Ask for informational interviews
If you don’t want to shadow someone or you can’t find anyone to shadow, you can ask about an informational interview instead. Reach out to professionals in an email, on social media, or in real life and ask if you can have a short conversation to learn about their job and career path. It helps to prepare a few questions beforehand so you can get the advice you need.
4. Apply for internships and apprenticeships.
Look for internship opportunities, many of which are paid or offer academic credit. Apprenticeships can also provide hands-on experience in a trade or industry (and are sometime necessary depending on the trade program).
5. Volunteer
Volunteering for organizations related to your field of interest can provide practical experience and help you network with people who are already doing what you hope to do. Do Something has a great list of ways you can volunteer. Or you can just offer to help a local business to learn the ropes and get some experience.
If you don’t want to volunteer in person, you can do it online! You can work with international education organizations, work on open-source software, or just search “volunteer online” to find hundreds of ways you can get involved.
6. Just try it.
There are a lot of jobs that you can just try out on your own. Social media, data science, app development, information security analytics, computer programming, audio engineering, beauty consulting, content creation, machine learning, and so many other careers you might be interested in are all things you can try out on your own at home. Try making videos for TikTok, learn how to code online, get your hands dirty!
7. Get to know yourself.
Your career is for you. So it makes sense to start figuring out who you want to be. You can try free online assessment tools like Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), Enneagram, and Human Design to better understand your preferences and potential career matches.
You might also notice that your results from these tests can change as you grow up. Don’t be afraid to try taking them again later!
Tips for teens
Here’s the thing, you can change your career at any point in your life. The average person holds 12.4 jobs between the ages of 18 and 54. 82% of Americans successfully switched to a new career after the age of 45.
You can try multiple careers. You can follow your passions and find success. That doesn’t have to mean going to college or university. It might mean trade school or apprenticeships. Maybe becoming an entrepreneur. Or it could be a corporate path.
Tune into yourself
Only you can know what career you might like. What are your deep-rooted interests? How do you prefer to work (right now, it doesn’t have to be forever. Maybe you like working alone or with other people, working inside or outside, working locally or new places or world-wide, working on objects or fostering professional relationships.
There’s nothing wrong with not knowing
You might not know yet what major you want to try in college or what career you want to enter. That’s okay! It often takes time and exploration to figure it out.
Know your risks
Everyone has a different support system. So the risks your decisions lead to might be different from others. Things like student loans, debt, and the cost of living. It can help to educate yourself on what your situation will look like with your parents, guardians, and other people who support you as you approach the first chapter of your career.
Like what you do
Choosing a career that you actually want to do will help you enjoy it more and be better at it. Follow what lights you up, what gets you out of bed in the morning.
Tips for parents
Recognize that your teen is entering a workforce that is vastly different from the one you experienced when you began. Open discussions about how they envision being a part of the workforce we now live in is so important. Pushing for a singular career path or university can leave your child struggling to talk to you about what they really want and making costly mistakes.
What are their values?
Focusing on the impact they want to have in the world reveal a multitude of opportunities beyond traditional career paths. Encourage your teen to align their values with what they enjoy and what energizes them, even if these seem unrealistic or impractical to you.
You might now know yet
There are future jobs that haven’t been created yet, and some current popular roles might be automated or obsolete in a few years. Avoid fixating on one career path. The reality is that few people stick to a single career; most change careers – at least three times – and switch jobs up to thirteen times in their working life.
Focus on transferable skills
Encourage the development of transferable skills like communication, teamwork, collaboration, and conflict management. Help them learn how to learn. If your teen can be adaptable, versatile, and flexible they’ll find success in any career.
There’s no one right answer
All problems have multiple solutions and that's perfectly fine. Most careers have multiple paths. Most of us don’t exactly know exactly what the right thing to do next is. Being honest about that will make your teen feel seen and supported.
Define success
We all want our children to have successful lives. But it’s crucial to recognize that their definition of success might differ from yours. They might not know just yet what success looks like for them, but you can help them define it for themselves, gently.
Keep the conversations going
It helps to keep open dialogue with your teen and avoid forcing decisions. Help students find and meet working adults in a range of careers (with their consent). Inquire about why they emphatically say yes to something and when they say no to something.
Financial literacy is key
Get to understand student loans and credit and help your teen understand it, too. Everything from amounts to adult co-signers, times when payments have to be made and don’t have to be made, etc. Students need to understand what they’re signing onto.
You’re not alone.
Finding the right career path requires more than just traditional education. It requires hands-on experience, mentorship, and a willingness to explore different fields. So, whether you're excited to dive into the world of online courses, shadow a professional, or volunteer, we hope you found some actionable steps to explore your career options.
Remember, you're not alone on this journey. With the right resources and a bit of curiosity, you can find a path that aligns with your passions and goals.
We want to hear from you! Parents, what did you do to find your way in your first career? Students, how are you exploring your career options?
Rachel is a freelance writer for EdTech companies. She studied Education and Achievement Motivation at Wheelock College. She made it through college on a trusty Lenovo Yoga. When she’s not writing, she spends her time adventuring in the outdoors, doing arts and crafts, and snuggling with her cat, Bonnie.
Find her on LinkedIn and her website.