Continue studying or start working? How to help a teenager make such a difficult decision

In the coming weeks, many teenagers will have to make important decisions about their future. Choices that will mark the beginning of a professional itinerary, a life plan that will lead them to achieve what they want. Continuing their studies or opting for the world of work, pursuing higher education or vocational training, choosing a university degree in science or literature, or traveling abroad to learn other languages and work may be some of the options.

In this fast-paced and ever-changing world, mainly due to the development of technology and the impact it will have on our lives, it is very difficult to make long-term decisions. In a lifetime, a person will go through approximately eight to 10 workplace changes, forcing them to adapt. That means that everyone will have to learn to reinvent themselves and develop the necessary strategies to cope with these new challenges.

Many of these teenagers experience a lot of insecurity and confusion when it comes to making decisions that are so important for their future, a headache that generates intense feelings of anxiety, impatience or overexcitement. Not feeling attracted to a specific profession, the fear of making the wrong choice, the fear of confronting their families because their concerns do not coincide with the expectations placed on them, the lack of information or the lack of motivation to continue studying are some of the reasons that make these decisions so difficult.

Families, together with the team of professionals that accompany the teenager, will be key in their professional and vocational orientation. They should offer the young person all the relevant information about the multiple professional opportunities that exist and the different ways to access them. The youngster needs to find a project that excites him or her and for which he or she can work with commitment and motivation. If they do not manage to find a plan that interests them, it will be very difficult for them to engage with it and to apply themselves in the face of the adversities that may arise.

Guidance means accompanying, and not deciding what a child should or should not do. It is a process that requires a great deal of application, time and affection. Adults must become guides who do not condition personal decisions or solve problems for which the young person must take responsibility themselves. A tutorship based on listening, respect, and trust that helps the young person to find what interests them and motivates them to work in the coming years. It should respond to their personal, emotional, and social needs and aspirations and be a source of security and motivation.

How can we help a teenager design their professional path?

— Help the adolescent to know themself better, to identify the interests, aptitudes, strengths and weaknesses that will allow them to discover their vocation. To organize their thoughts and design the steps they will have to take along their professional path through dialogue, trust and experience, promoting responsibility and effort and making decisions in a reflective and autonomous manner.

— Show interest and confidence in the decisions they make, making them feel that they are supported and respected at home. It will be very counterproductive for them to submit to pressure to satisfy the wishes of the adults who guide them.

— Adjust your expectations without allowing personal history or the worldview of adult references to condition their decisions. If the youngster feels pressured or judged, they will show little desire to share with their parents or relatives everything that worries and excites them or generates uncertainty. They need to feel that they are accepted as they are and that they have the freedom to decide what they really want for themselves.

— Encourage them to investigate the different professions and job opportunities available to them. Help them to understand the current labor market and to learn about new professional profiles that can help them to open new horizons. If the young person does not have the necessary information, they will end up deciding their future circumstantially; by what they see on social networks, what is fashionable, or what other young people in their peer group are doing.

— Accompany them to educational and job fairs where education and career guidance professionals can resolve all the doubts that may arise from their choices. Offer them a wide range of knowledge so that they can find what really motivates them.

The youngster needs to feel that in this complicated and stressful process they are not alone, that they are respected and accompanied in their decision-making. That they have adults by their side who exercise trust and understanding, who help them to decide without coercing them, and who do not judge their previous mistakes because they understand that they are an essential part of the learning process. They understand that you may have doubts and that it may not be easy to make a decision. As the American poet Edwin Markham said: “Decisions are the hinges of destiny.”

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