11 Things Teens Can Do to Prepare for Their Future Career

When you are in high school, you would have probably already given your future a good thought or two. Many teens find the prospect of the future and unknown too daunting that they freeze or shy away from the subject altogether. 

You cannot stop the ageing process and you will complete school sooner or later. How you will complete it is up to you. The future doesn’t have to be daunting, though. You can always begin with starting a job search, or also take these steps to prep for your career.

Start thinking of your likes and dislikes

During your teenage years, you discover a lot about yourself and in many cases, your discoveries can be overwhelming or even confusing. Ultimately, these discoveries affect your career and what you would like to pursue one day. 

Start looking at your likes and dislike and see how it will impact your career choice. At least, it will point you into the general direction.

Do a bit of reading on your career

When you’ve narrowed your career options down, do yourself a favour and start reading up on it. In many cases, your idea of a particular career can be romanticised because of how Hollywood pictured it to be. If at all possible, go and visit a company that you are interested in to get a better idea of what you will be signing up for. 

Start studying towards your goal

When you are set on a career and know what you want to do in life, you are in a very fortunate position. This means that you can start off at a very early age to prep for your chosen career. 

You don’t have to stick to a school curriculum either. There are thousands of free courses that you can do online to get a head start in your career. The sooner you can get a hold on the basics, the better. 

Get a temp job

Obviously, you are going to need some funds to sustain you when you go off to college. Getting a temp job is the perfect win-win scenario. Not only are you getting into the habit of a regular work schedule, but you also get to save up some money in the process. 

The biggest advantage of starting a temp job is that you start to learn the value of things. You’ll also learn how to avoid some of the unforgivable interview mistakes when you enter your real job one day. 

Start to budget

When your parents were the ones who always provided for your every need, it is difficult to budget. The problem is that you don’t know how much stuff costs and you also don’t have an idea about the time it takes for new money to arrive. 

The sooner you start learning how to budget and plan ahead, the better you will do in college. Having financial stress above your normal study stress is never a good combination. 

See what your smartphone can really do

Up until now, your smartphone has been your primary social companion. If you are one of the relative few teenagers that have used your phone for something other than Twitter or Facebook, then you are on the right track. 

Your phone has so many capabilities and you will need to start using your phone for more than just social networking in the workplace. Today, a smartphone is more like a personal assistant in your pocket. 

From setting up meetings to doing research on a project, you will start to use your phone for everything related to your job.

Get in the habit of cleaning after yourself

Although you will be going into a certain career and you will need specific skills, there are other skills that you will also need. 

Cleaning up after yourself will teach you self-discipline, which is one of the most important skills you will need to be successful in your studies. 

When you are at college, you don’t have a teacher who is looking over your shoulder to make sure that you keep your end of the learning bargain. Your lecturers are much less forgiving and will fail you for late submissions.   

Create a LinkedIn account

You might think that setting up a LinkedIn account is a bit premature, but you can never start your profile too early. An online presence is essential in today’s job market, and the sooner you can build a record for yourself, the better. 

You’ll have many endorsements and you can start to follow the influencers in your chosen career path to stay abreast of what is trending and other developments. 

When you graduate, your resume will be stacked and you will also know what is going on in your field. Your contact list could even open up a couple of doors or give you an inside scoop of an upcoming job opportunity. 

Get into good sleeping habits

Sleep is of the utmost importance for any working individual. There is so much research that proves that enough sleep helps you in every aspect of your work. As a teenager, you don’t really have that much of a sleep routine, except for school. 

During the holidays, that rhythm gets shattered and you have to start all over again. When you sleep well, your concentration is much better and you can think more clearly and be more active. Not only that, but your body also needs time to rejuvenate itself. When you don’t sleep enough, you are more vulnerable to sickness as well. 

Exercise and diet

The last bit of prep you can do for your future career is getting into the habit of frequent exercise and a healthy diet. It doesn’t matter what job you end up doing; you need to be in good physical condition if you want to work at your peak. 

Exercise and a healthy diet help you to stay focussed and bright. The fresh air keeps your mind sharp and it gives you a break from the mental strain of your job. 

Getting into the habit of exercising is not easy and when the extra responsibilities come piling on, the first thing to get neglected is your health. When this is part of your being and a high priority, you will be able to make time for it and schedule your life around it. 

Conclusion

The world is changing faster and faster every day and when faced with the prospect of a future, it can all look so frightening and uncertain. That is why it is perfect for you to start thinking and planning for your future career from where you are right now.

The better prepared you are, the better you’ll be able to face the curveballs and also make fewer mistakes. Besides, getting into good habits early on in life will set the tone for your future.

 

This article was produced for Career FAQs by Leon Collier. Leon is a UK-based blogger and assignment writer working for best paper writing services. He covers a wide range of topics that include pop-culture, travel, self-development, marketing and finance. He loves reading new books and playing tabletop games on Saturdays with his friends. You can find him on twitter @LeonCollier12