As a kindergartener, after you finish your Capri Sun, you are asked the innocent question, “What do you want to be when you grow up?”, but this isn’t as innocent as it seems. Children are forced by their families and schools to find the “right career for them” as young as 6 years old, which has become extremely overwhelming.
It’s no surprise that students can find thinking about future careers stressful. However, they aren’t just thinking about future jobs. Students are under the impression that they need their whole future planned out in front of them.
School can be stressful but it becomes even more nerve-racking when students are forced to think about their present and future. According to Indiana University, in their article titled “Teens under Pressure About Future, Achievements, and Appearance,” a study finds that “56% of American teens feel pressure to have their future life path figured out (e.g., college, career, relationships).” This idea that if a child doesn’t have their whole career figured out before age 18 has become a detrimental weight on America’s future workforce.
Stress about the future should be the last thing schools are pushing on children when they are already surrounded by so much stress concerning their present education. This stress can make it harder for students to pick a fitting career, but even without it, students may not be mentally capable of making this decision.
From ages 6-18, students are expected to have an idea for their future. Yet if we look at the psychology behind this social ideology it becomes apparent this should not be acceptable. The National Institute of Health’s article titled “The Neuroscience of Adolescent Decision-making,” states “Although adolescents appear to have full access to many of the cognitive foundations of decision-making, several aspects of decision-making such as intertemporal choice, prospective evaluation, and integration of positive and negative feedback are not yet tuned to typical adult levels.” If students can’t make adult decisions regarding their present lives they should not be making decisions about their future.
The idea of trusting students to make the correct decisions concerning their future when they aren’t mentally capable seems quite concerning. When this phenomenon occurs its effects are alarming.
Often adults have to switch their major many times in college because it is hard to find the right career. In an article for the Guardian, they state, “With students choosing careers they may not suit them, a worrying scenario could emerge: we could be stuck in careers like round pins in square holes.” Students don’t have the cognitive ability to pick these careers, and when they are expected to, catastrophe can emerge.
It can be scary when we have so many young adults not knowing what they want to do with their future, but this doesn’t mean the burden should be passed down to their younger selves. After all, children should not be forced by their schools into picking a career, instead, this enlightenment should come as a result of their education.
Students should feel comfortable enough to find their careers without the pressure school brings. As stated by Blue Stocking, an award-winning newspaper created by the Presbyterian College, “Students should not be required or pushed into choosing a career because those years are critical periods of change and growth for students. High schools need to encourage students to find a way to express their talents through a career and be open, rethink, and talk to other people.” School can be a place that brings hope and excitement to the prospect of a future career.
In short, when students are forced to pick a career at such a young age, a large amount of stress is brought with it. We are putting so much pressure on children who shouldn’t even be expected to know the job they want to practice for the next 40 or so years. Schools have the potential to inspire their students to find a study that intrigues them but it isn’t their place to force these children. Ever since I was six my teachers were constantly asking me what I wanted to be when I grew up. This made me feel embarrassed and tentative because my answer would always change. However, this question shouldn’t cause discomfort because, after all, we are still kids who have no clue what the future holds.
