We have a 16 and 15yr old in High school and I think the pressure on what to do career wise is too high. We don’t focus too much on achievements as we feel we can’t force our kids to work and take pride; that is something that needs to come from themselves. Of course we rejoice with them when they have good grades, but we found it more important that our kids are happy, have friends and make good choices in life. My 16yr old experience the pressure to decide about subjects and career at school as heavy and it really stresses her out as she doesn’t know what direction to take.

It’s a tough rough for our teens these days. On the plus side, there seems to be more acceptance of people changing career paths throughout their lives, so the decisions they make as a teen doesn’t have to be a life long decision.

My daughter is in high school and my advice to her is that she will only be in high school once so it’s important to do her best and not have any regrets. It seems to be working.

My daughter is in high school and I’ve always told her that she will get out what she puts in. She herself finds that if she puts in a little more effort it improves her grades and this has given her the motivation to keep trying.

Put yourself in your childs shoes, did you know what you wanted at 16 17?

There is a lot of pressure on students. Encourage your child to do their best & offer your help & support but understand that schooling is a lot different to what it was when you were in school. It’s okay to not get the best grades all the time, it shows your child where they need a bit more improvement. Your child also can not study all the time, they do need a break to socialise & spend time with family as well as some time out for themselves. Your son should take his time choosing what he wants for his future. & it’s okay for him to change his mind.
Some people go through university, get their degree, then choose a completely different career path.
Discuss with your son what he thinks he might like to do.
His school should have a careers teacher he can also discuss things with.
To achieve decent grades he does have to put in effort, but not all of his time.

The most important thing is to always put best efforts into study and every other area of life. Hard work does pay off.

Don’t have to know what they want to do yet, however it is essential to teach the importance of always putting in an effort in whatever your tasks and endeavours are if you’re ever going to get anywhere in life.

Yes! There is a lot of pressure put on kids from home and school. It’s great if 16-17 year olds know what they want. Work experience does help for some kids but causes stress in other’s who don’t have a clue as to what career path they want. I had one child who wanted to be a TRADIE all along. I took him to TAFE and he chose a profession and he joined TAFE when he was 16. He chose a pre-apprenticeship course in Electrotechnology. At the same time he was offered a apprenticeship. He is in his 3rd year now and still loves it. Uni is great for some TAFE has as many opportunities available so much so that kids can work and go to TAFE at the same time. Night College is another option. Your son should investigate courses he likes and talk with his career’s adviser. There are Trade Schools out there that take the kids from Year 10 and up. Girls and Boys and they offer the same courses at TAFE and offer pathways into Uni as well. Look at TAFE in your local area’s. You can also join some Private Business School’s that offer great courses like Business, Management and Children’s Services are just two. When kids know what they are working towards they excel! Best of luck for his future.