Welcome to your junior year. Stressed about all the decisions you need to make? Don’t sweat it. We’re in your corner and here to get you through this very important year.
Of course, you don’t “have” to make any decisions this year about college, but why procrastinate!? The hardest decision isn’t choosing a college, it’s identifying what you want to pursue. You don’t know what you don’t know. That big question, “what career path fits me?” isn’t going to answer itself. A lot of people – many smart people, like really smart people, focus this conversation on getting into the right college and everything else will fall into place after that. We challenge you to flip that thinking and put more weight on choosing what you want to study and trust the path to get you there will light the way.
Here’s a quick guide to get you closer to where you want to be:
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August |
Download the Encourage app and start to connect with colleges who might want to recruit you, and follow Encourage for Students on social media |
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September |
Do your due diligence and connect with your school counselor to make sure you’re on track to graduate. Ask for advice on majors and careers and see if there are any interesting electives to add to your schedule. |
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October |
Think about self-assessments and career matching tests and keep a very open mind when you review your results!
October is National Arts and Humanities Month. Explore liberal arts majors and the career paths they can lead to o Careers to research to get you started: Translator, Human Resources Manager, Marketing Director, Journalist, Teacher |
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November |
You might have an opportunity to speak with an admissions representative at the colleges that visit your high school –don’t miss out! National STEM Day is November 8th! Take advantage of the opportunities to learn more about the careers in science, technology, engineering, and math. o Careers to research to get you started: Renewable Energy Engineer, Food Scientist, Nuclear Technician, Information Security Analyst |
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December |
Use your winter break to push yourself on narrowing down possible career pathways and understanding the skills you’d need to be successful. Switching majors will sometimes add more time and tuition to your cost of college, which is why you should put a lot of thought into your goals!
o A tool to get you started:My Next Move Interest Profiler |
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January |
New year, new goals! Whether or not you have a career list in mind, you should consider taking your ACT and SAT tests this semester. The key is to be comfortable and prepared. Good luck!
Check out virtual tours of the schools you’re considering, and plan to visit your top picks in person Follow the schools you might be interested in on their social media channels |
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February |
February is National Career and Technical Education Month #CTEMonth!
o Careers to research to get you started: Radiation Technologist, Occupational health and safety technician, Automotive cybersecurity technologist, Dental hygienist, HVAC technician, Welder |
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March |
Many colleges host Junior Day or large-scale experience events in the spring, be on the lookout for group trips through your school to check out the colleges that have caught your eye so far |
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April |
April is National Community College month. Explore the opportunities at your local college!
o Research topics to get you started: are there 2+2 or 3+1 programs available for you to transfer directly into a bachelor’s degree program? What classes are offered online? Consider getting a jump start this summer with an online general education class or two. |
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May |
It’s time to wrap up the last bits of your junior year. Hopefully you’ve crafted a very cool careers list that you can continue to fine tune. It’s time to give yourself another goal and learn everything there is to know about the different types of financial aid.
o Question to get you started: what’s the difference between grants, loans, scholarships, and work-study? |
