As we wind down January and our daylight hours start to stretch out, it is okay to start thinking about Spring.  There will be more cold and more snow, but we are through the darkest of Winter – an uplifting thought.

Last week, I listed websites of local post-secondary institutions.  The purpose was to give students the opportunity to explore programs and requirements for post-secondary study.  It is also good to know the wide variety of careers that are available today.  There are many other ways to identify a career path or to get a good idea what career paths are available.  One very accessible way is to interview or talk to a variety of people in different lines of work.  You will find that no two career paths are exactly alike.  It is very encouraging to discover how people developed their career from the time they were in high-school up to their present situation.  

The two important components in any career path are education/training and practical experience.  In talking to people, you will find that that they combined these two important components in a wide variety of combinations.  Some had equal time spent on both while others focused mostly on one or the other.

Career paths can be different in length or start at different times.  For some, it may have taken 2-3 years after high-school to start a career.  For others the process may have taken longer to get where they wanted – possibly 8-10 years or more.  Some may have decided to get serious about a career path immediately after high-school or even sooner when they selected courses or took a part-time job. 

You will also find that many people had several stops along the career path or drastically changed their career path after a number of years.  Again, you will find as many different career paths as there are people.  And, generally, most people love to talk about their careers and the path that brought success.

Encourage your kids to talk to people about their career paths.

Report meetings continue to go well.  If you have not made arrangements to meet with me or forward information to me, please do so before the end of January.  If you cannot make it to the school, I can easily let you know what information I require to do a report. 

Thanks,

Michael Cranley

Principal/High School Teacher

Phoenix Foundation

Calgary, Alberta