Career Help

[TheIronMaiden]

https://alis.alberta.ca/careerinsite...nditions-quiz/

[Nufy]

"The world needs Ditch Diggers too..." - My deceased father in Law.

In all seriousness...Maybe look at some apprenticeship programs ?

If he is at UVic then he has already done the right courses in high school.
My youngest learned the hard way that High school Diploma credits aren't enough to get you into post secondary.

Two years of upgrading later, he is now at SAIT and enjoying his program.

Best of Luck to your son.

[karl262]

If there's an IKEA in Victoria, that would be a good place to work and maybe find a calling. They're masters in many discipline like logistics, trades, psychology, marketing, human resources, and accounting, to name a few. Lots of emphasis on training and growth.

Sent from my SM-F741W using Tapatalk

[Sylvanfan]

This sounds a bit like my brother who loved Football and trying to make a Ford Mustsng go as fast as he could afford. Lucky for him his first few years he could play Junior Football and not have to go to University while doing it and spend a pile of money. Although my parents would make him do the winter semester at the Kamloops university college which wasn't ideal, as he was needing fall courses in the winter so he usually could only take a couple.

But after 5 years of Junior Football he had figured out he might like Geology and because he'd taken some courses it did eventually get him a Football scholarship to UBC. He also got into that program despite his grades being so so largely because he could be on the Football team. Eventually got a degree and when he's employed does make a lot more than I do!

Maybe see if there's another Rugby league with a comparable level of competition so he's not paying for a wandering University education. Or at least make sure what he takes has some use for him in 2-3 years.

I went to a 2 year diploma straight outta high-school, completed it and have been working in that field since I turned 20. But assessing myself today that was a terrible choice. I listened to other people and made too many short term safe choices. Nearly 30 yesrs later the cumulative effect is that I make a really poor wage, and really am underskilled for what I should be. So I've wasted my working career and I kind of hate myself for that to be honest. I would have been better off taking 5 years to try to figure things out and than doing something better.

I like to think that I'll keep this in mind 5 years from now when my oldest is trying to figure things out that I'll be able go try and support him.

[FacePaint]

I'd highly recommend this:
https://theimplicitcareersearch.com/working-on-purpose/

Feel free to PM me if you want other career and employment resources. This free workshop helps people get "unstuck" and the nice part is they are virtual. Lots of positive feedback from attendees that had their Aha moment.

[Shazam]

Originally Posted by FacePaint

I'd highly recommend this:
https://theimplicitcareersearch.com/working-on-purpose/

Feel free to PM me if you want other career and employment resources. This free workshop helps people get "unstuck" and the nice part is they are virtual. Lots of positive feedback from attendees that had their Aha moment.

I swear my oldest did this exact thing in high school.

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by Nufy

"The world needs Ditch Diggers too..." - My deceased father in Law.
.

I did that, would not recommend.

[btimbit]

Originally Posted by Bigtime

Cut bait after the term and do a gap year (or half)? Maybe he finds his calling that way?

My vote too.

I didn't know what I wanted to do until my late 20's. Then when that didn't work out I was finally mature enough to know what I really wanted to do, and even that I only learned at 31.

The pressure to figure this out in the years after high school is nuts, I always feel for kids in this spot

[Fuzz]

I'd recommend at least making his second term as broad as possible. Try to pick as much variety as he can to get exposure to other options. That's how my first 2 years of Uni went(though I kept jumping programs completely which isn't necessary).

[you&me]

Does he have any entrepreneurial inclination?

I know most of the extracurriculars my kids are involved in are the result of someone else having a passion for something and starting a business based around that... Perhaps he could find a niche in the rugby world? Kids camps, private coaching, etc...

[Scroopy Noopers]

Originally Posted by Winsor_Pilates

He sounds like almost every kid entering university.
Just do some general studies and see what happens.

Many will change throughout university and many will work somewhere completely different than their degree.
We are also in an age where people change careers multiple times.

IMO, he just needs to feel things out and not worry about career path.

Yeah… taking a bunch of odd jobs is a great way to feel things out and get first hand knowledge of other jobs you come across while working. I rushed into college, dropped out, worked a bunch of jobs any of which could have been decent careers, and then targeting something at 25 that I went back to school for and it’s worked out perfectly. Still in that career 12 years later.

[Scroopy Noopers]

Originally Posted by btimbit

My vote too.

I didn't know what I wanted to do until my late 20's. Then when that didn't work out I was finally mature enough to know what I really wanted to do, and even that I only learned at 31.

The pressure to figure this out in the years after high school is nuts, I always feel for kids in this spot

It legitimately caused me inexplicable stress in junior high and high school. I thought my life was over because I didn’t know, and my old man was on my ass all the time about figuring out something.

[btimbit]

There was a 20 year old kid on reddit asking this the other day too, and I told him the same thing. Don't stress too much about it, a lot of us don't figure that out for another 10 years.

Sadly that seemed to stress him out even more

[Jiri Hrdina]

Originally Posted by btimbit

There was a 20 year old kid on reddit asking this the other day too, and I told him the same thing. Don't stress too much about it, a lot of us don't figure that out for another 10 years.

Sadly that seemed to stress him out even more

This is really great advice. I've had 3 distinct careers. What he chooses now isn't a forever thing.
Taking a year off, to get into the workforce and try some things is a good idea, but sounds like you maybe aren't aligned with your partner on that.
So picking a path, for now, that has a lot of options downstream would then be smart. A commerce/business degree is good for that.

[PaperBagger'14]

A year off university and working a more or less menial job could be the motivation he needs to figure out what he wants.

I know for me it started off working in the trades, getting a journeyman ticket and realizing it was not what I wanted to do forever so I went back to school. I was like your son at that age and my parents gave me 2 options, military or a trade. When you freeze your ass off every winter for a bunch of years you’ll figure out that there are better career paths.

[powderjunkie]

Professional athlete or astronaut

[Lubicon]

Originally Posted by btimbit

My vote too.

I didn't know what I wanted to do until my late 20's. Then when that didn't work out I was finally mature enough to know what I really wanted to do, and even that I only learned at 31.

The pressure to figure this out in the years after high school is nuts, I always feel for kids in this spot

My son was in the same boat. Super stressed in high school because everyone was asking what he wanted to do when he graduated - he had no idea. The more they asked (in good intention) the more stressed he was. 7 years and a Masters degree later he's really still no closer to knowing what he wants to do with his life. Being a perfectionist amplifies things, he's paralyzed by fear of making the wrong decision.

Then again, I'm in my late fifties looking at winding down my working life and I still don't know that I like either. I've regretted my career choice almost daily, I just hope my kids find their passion and are happy in theirs.

Sorry, not really any good advice there other than I understand your situation. And it's hard to go through as a parent.

[bluejays]

Originally Posted by Lubicon

My son was in the same boat. Super stressed in high school because everyone was asking what he wanted to do when he graduated - he had no idea. The more they asked (in good intention) the more stressed he was. 7 years and a Masters degree later he's really still no closer to knowing what he wants to do with his life. Being a perfectionist amplifies things, he's paralyzed by fear of making the wrong decision.

Then again, I'm in my late fifties looking at winding down my working life and I still don't know that I like either. I've regretted my career choice almost daily, I just hope my kids find their passion and are happy in theirs.

Sorry, not really any good advice there other than I understand your situation. And it's hard to go through as a parent.

I'm in the same boat myself in my 40s, being in banking and wondering what value I bring and seeing the personalities that I don't fit in. Anyway, one piece of advice I wish I had was not necessarily following what others did just because, but instead finding skills I was good at and moving accordingly. For a few years now I've come across 16 personalities test online (free), and it hit my personality on the head. Having known these things at a younger age would've been helpful. Just a suggestion for the OP or others as I found that personality test was amazingly accurate.

[btimbit]

Originally Posted by bluejays

I'm in the same boat myself in my 40s, being in banking and wondering what value I bring and seeing the personalities that I don't fit in. Anyway, one piece of advice I wish I had was not necessarily following what others did just because, but instead finding skills I was good at and moving accordingly. For a few years now I've come across 16 personalities test online (free), and it hit my personality on the head. Having known these things at a younger age would've been helpful. Just a suggestion for the OP or others as I found that personality test was amazingly accurate.

Interesting. Do you remember which one(s) in particular seemed pretty accurate?

[Shazam]

Originally Posted by btimbit

Interesting. Do you remember which one(s) in particular seemed pretty accurate?

The ones that told him that he doesn't like to share info.