Discovering the career one wishes to pursue after high school is different for everyone. For some, it’s a process to figure out, and for others, they’ve had one a lifelong dream. Rarely, a person will know what they want to do and stay with that idea through high school and then college, but most often, a person has to go through phases and ideas to discover what they love. Some put more value on this decision than others, but for most teenagers, it is a big decision and will mark the beginning of their adult life.

High school career paths can help you through this tough subject. Heritage has a wide range of options for many fields from medical science and law enforcement to art, business, design, and many more. These career paths last a semester and often have two or three levels. These can give you a taste of what a career will be like, what is involved and required, or if you are even interested in it. Over the course of your typical four-year, eight-semester high school career, you have the opportunity to take several.

Having taken these classes and possibly figured out what you want to pursue, the experience these career paths provide can be helpful when making your resume to get into a college or position. It reinforces the notion in the receiver of your application that you may be more committed to your pursuits, especially if you’ve finished the entire course including all levels.

What’s important to remember is that it’s great to plan ahead, but it’s also okay to go slowly. If you don’t know exactly what you want to go after, do not be too worried. Take the process slowly, try new things, and don’t be afraid to take a risk and go to college for a broad subject that can be applied to many fields. If you get your associate’s or bachelor’s degree and still don’t think it’s what you want to do, you may be able to try again if you have the funds. Not knowing what you want for a career can be an obstacle, but so can being stressed about figuring it out. You don’t want to be so anxious about taking that risk that you never actually take it.

I encourage students to take Heritage’s career paths, even if they think they know what they want. You may have an experience that changes your mind and saves you from a wasted college degree, or an experience that strengthens your resolve. Either way, having taken a career path in high school is valuable experience that can be useful to you in many ways.