What Are You Going To Do When You Grow Up?

The time of year when high school students take college entrance exams is approaching. This decision is critical and will largely shape their future. Some students are very clear about the career they will pursue, while others find it challenging to decide. From a young age, they are asked what they will be when they grow up or what they want to do for the “rest” of their lives. It is a very overwhelming question, and the pressure increases when they believe that their future depends on that decision. I didn’t really know what I would do when I “grew up” until I was 18, a month before taking my college admission exam. The decision process was distressing and full of uncertainty. How can teachers and parents guide students to discover what they really want to study? In this article, I share my experience, as well as tools and tips to help students make such an important decision for their future.

Vocational guidance, according to García Mejía (2022), helps young people recognize their skills, tastes, interests, and aptitudes; this knowledge allows adolescents to set realistic goals and objectives in the short, medium, and long term. Vocational guidance in a formal, structured sense emerged at the beginning of the twentieth century as a response to the socioeconomic transformations of the Western world, driven by the development of the labor market and educational institutions.

In the last year of high school, a special class is offered to help students learn more about their abilities, preferences, and interests. At this point, it would be ideal for them to know the universities’ academic offerings, scholarship support, and current labor market conditions to broaden their outlook and make a better decision for their future. Many high schools have a figure of a tutor or personnel specialized in psychology, social work, or a similar field, who is vital in guiding students regarding their concerns about their future. However, when such a figure is unavailable due to a lack of personnel or budget, the teachers themselves fulfill that role during class.

Support Tools for Career Counseling

Below, I share strategies that can be implemented in educational institutions to support students’ vocational guidance.

• Vocational tests. They are self-taught online tests. Some schools have their own applications, and although the tool does not always “get it right,” it provides an idea of the areas of knowledge that may interest the student, or even some skills they have not yet identified. Here are two online tools that I have used. One is not better than the other; it depends on the approach you seek:
  • Find your Ikigai: IKIGAI means “reason for being” in Japanese. This vocational personality test helps students explore career and study options through a simple, interactive process.
  • Enneagram: The Enneagram is a personality assessment tool designed to help students gain self-knowledge and personal growth insights. By revealing core motivations and personality types, this test helps students understand how these factors may influence their career preferences.
• Talks with experts. Some preparatory schools (high schools) set aside specific times for students to meet with experts from different fields in talks or workshops. How are these experts chosen? Through research on local and global market offerings.
• Visits to companies in the region. Students make field trips to local companies to identify possible careers and job options.
• Class times for discussions about the future. With tutor support, teachers can allocate a few minutes of class time to prompt conversations that help students explore their job outlook and possible options. This opportunity during a class can make all the difference.
• A specific subject that supports the process. Some schools have subjects, such as “Skills and Values VI: Integration and Decision Making” or “Me and My Decisions,” that, semester by semester, offer activities, questionnaires, movies, and other resources to help students get to know themselves better and identify their interests and abilities.
• Sessions with families or tutors. Adults who work in professional fields can participate in a discussion with students from their perspective, explaining what they do in their professions, its advantages and disadvantages, without imposing or discrediting one career or another.

Lifelong learning

Choosing a university career is one of the most important decisions young people face. A poor choice could lead to dissatisfaction with the work obligation and a lack of dedication to that profession.

A month before taking my exam to enter the faculty, my options were: 1) Hispanic Literature, 2) Literature, and 3) Law. The latter choice was there because of my parents, who would feel reassured that I would do well in life (financially speaking). They convinced me to take only the law degree exam, and I passed it. I went to university, I graduated with a good average, but I realized that I really didn’t like that career. I wanted to be like Olivia Benson, from Law and Order, that person who helps others, who, during chaos, always knows what to do or say. However, real life was very different and showed me that, with all my fears behind me, I didn’t really want to practice; I wanted to look for another profession. But how could I do that if I had already studied something specific for 4 years?

Learning is not limited to a specific building, matriculation, or time period. Lifelong Learning (LLL) is a global trend of the knowledge economy, where continuous training is necessary because a university education is no longer enough. According to UNESCO (2024), lifelong learning encompasses all learning modalities: Formal (institutionalized, aimed at the recognition of qualifications), non-formal (institutionalized, alternative, or complementary to formal education, usually not leading to recognized qualifications), andinformal (non-institutionalized, self-directed, or family, community, or socially directed).

Learning does not begin or end in a school building. Much learning occurs in the school called life. The key to success is the curiosity to continue learning. I discovered that I love dedicating part of my life to education, teaching, discovering more about learning strategies, and creating learning spaces that I would have liked to have had in my school training.

Studying for a degree in Law opened doors I never imagined, as did learning English when I wanted to understand what the boys from “Beverly Hills, 90210” and Eminem sang in their controversial songs. Although I studied the language in school for several years, I also learned by watching series and movies, and reading. Let’s remember that studying does not end with the degree; it is part of who we are and what we should do every day. If you are an eternal student of life like me, do not be discouraging or overly demanding of yourself; remember that passion is vital to learning.

Seven tips for making a better career choice

Students who are about to finish high school are eager to receive ideas or suggestions to help them choose their career. Therefore, when girls and boys ask me what they should do or consider making this decision, I tell them the following:

1. Inform yourself to make a better decision. Watch talks on YouTube and TikTok and read specialized university magazines. Consult trusted professionals, such as family members or friends of your parents with similar careers, to learn from their perspectives on how they made their decisions.
2. Leverage time. Don’t leave everything to the last minute or the last week before the entrance exams begin. A hasty decision generates anxiety and prevents you from making a correct choice.
3. Learn as much as you can. Explore different activities that help you find your true passion, whether it is a musical instrument, painting classes, or a sport.
4. Do your research. The world is changing; therefore, today’s university careers are not the same as those of “other times.” Let’s look at future careers and better investigate current academic offerings to see which ones catch your attention most.
5. Be patient with yourself. Your decisions might change from day to day. That’s okay if they facilitate helping you pursue a career you really want.
6. Adapt to change. Just because you choose a career path now doesn’t mean you are locked into it forever; it’s okay to change your mind and evolve.
7. Ask for help. If you’re feeling scared, frustrated, or unsure of the decision you’re going to make, ask for help. There will always be someone who can help.

I suggest you keep these tips in mind. Print or write them, place them in a visible place so you remember them, and, above all, follow them.

Reflection

Today’s educational reality underscores the need for vocational guidance to become a more human and meaningful process for students. We must go beyond just showing information; more than ever, it is imperative to support our students in seeing their options, opening their horizons, and investigating the future as if we were the next university students.

For some time now, I have encountered the first students I taught in high school; they are now the age I was when I taught them. It seems strange to see them outside of school, grown, with jobs, and some even committed. It makes me happy to know that they have achieved more than they imagined. It is also curious that they continue to call me “Teacher,” as if it were those days when the most crucial thing was turning in their activity to me. Studying a career is very important but showing them that we can always learn and improve is the key.

About the Author

Yadira Díaz (lic.yadiradiaz@gmail.com) holds a law degree from the University of Sonora and a master’s degree in education from TecMilenio University. She has taught at the high school and university levels. She found that her passion for teaching is more of a reason to learn.

References

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Institute for the Future of Education. (2023, August 22). Edu Trends Report | Lifelong learning. Observatory / Institute for the Future of Education. https://observatorio.tec.mx/edu-reads/reporte-edu-trends-aprendizaje-a-lo-largo-de-la-vida/

Marcelo, A. R. (n.d.). Epistemological Reflections for Career Guidance in Latin America: A Proposal from Social Constructionism. http://pepsic.bvsalud.org/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1665-75272013000100002

Mejía, D. A., Cueva, A. S. V., Díaz, S. T., & Cuenca, S. M. S. (2018). Vocational guidance and choice of professional career at the National University of Loja. Dialnet. https://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/articulo?codigo=6756290

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Porfidio, T. C. (n.d.). Career guidance and vocational satisfaction. http://www.scielo.org.bo/scielo.php?pid=S2223-30322016000100004&script=sci_arttext

Rodríguez, M. N. J., Juvier, P. T., Bolaños, P. C., & Leyva, G. E. M. (2015, October 12). Career guidance: an indicator of efficiency in the training of professionals. https://www.medigraphic.com/cgi-bin/new/resumen.cgi?IDARTICULO=61262

United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization. (2025, 13 de febrero). What you need to know on lifelong learning. UNESCO.https://www.unesco.org/es/lifelong-learning/need-know

Editing

Edited by Rubí Román (rubi.roman@tec.mx) – Editor of the Edu bits articles and producer of The Observatory webinars- “Learning that inspires” – Observatory of the Institute for the Future of Education at Tec de Monterrey.

Yadira Díaz

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