Job Talk: A look into a Career Counselor's Work

by Geraldine Nuñez

Staff Reporter

May 2022

Susan Day is a career development director at CareerTek, a local organization that helps students develop and pursue their career goals by providing resources for career exploration.

What do you think should be a student's first priority when choosing a career?

I think they need to have a passion for what they want to do. Just enjoy what they're doing so it doesn't seem like work. I think students really need to think about what it is they enjoy doing and how they can continue to do those things when they leave high school.

What if you don’t have a passion for anything that you know of?

You need experiences, and one way you can get experiences is through job shadowing. I think it's extremely valuable to get out there and actually spend some time alongside someone in a profession that they have an interest in, and that's something we can set up at CareerTek. You can also set those up with your school counselors.

I'm more than happy to work with students to get some ideas of some things that they're interested in and then set up opportunities where they can actually go to work with somebody for a half a day and see what that career looks like.

I think so many times young people might see something on social media or on TV and think that a profession is one thing, and then they actually get out there and find out that it might be other things, and sometimes those are things they may not be interested in.

What do you wish graduating students knew about entering the workforce?

It’s hard work. Nobody is going to hand things to you—you're going to have to work for it. Try to find something you enjoy doing and pursue your dreams. In order to achieve those goals you have to push yourself to be the best you can be. You have to put in more effort. People can support you along the way, but you have to put in more effort than the support you get. It's hard work, but in the long run it's going to be worth it.

How do you feel your work as a career development director has changed the way you see career selection compared to when you were in high school?

I mean, when I was in high school we didn't have any service like this at all. I wouldn't have had the opportunity to receive support from somebody that had a genuine interest in what I wanted to do. Those opportunities just weren't there, and now there's so many opportunities for students to get experiences, to do job shadows, youth apprenticeships. They need to take advantage of those opportunities because when I was in school they just were not available.

The wonderful thing is that everything we do here at CareerTek is free—all of our services are free, so there is no excuse. They need to make an effort and let people help you. They want to help you, but you have to reach out for that help.

How could our students best prepare themselves for life after high school?

It really depends on what direction you want to go. Depending on if you’re college bound, you may obviously have different academic choices than if you decide to have a full time job right out of the gates which is not a bad thing either, but I think that academically you need to consider school as a job. It's your job when you're in high school to attend school and be on time, put effort in, be successful, work cooperatively with your classmates, have respect for your teachers. These are all things that will transfer to the real world when you get there. You're going to have to show up on time, you're going to have to work with the people you work with.

So, academically, treat school like it's your job right now and all those skills will transfer with you. No matter what direction you go, those are all skills that you're going to have to have in the future.

Do you think 18 is old enough to make decisions about how the rest of your life will go?

I think it's interesting because at 18 you're automatically, on that first day, considered an adult and there's so many responsibilities that go with that. You could serve in the military, you have to make your own choices about your medical care, when you attend college your parents don't get your report card, you have all these responsibilities, but I think that you mature greatly within those next four years past high school.

18 is just a number, but unfortunately in society there's a lot of responsibility that goes along with that age of 18. Some students are ready for it and other students are not, but I think that goes back to that there's so many people and organizations that are available to help people and young adults that are 18. They just need to reach out for the help. And there's nothing wrong with that.

What advice would you like to give our graduating students?

Just pursue your dreams. Try to find something you're interested in. You're going to have to work hard, but the more effort you put into something the more successful you will be.

And reach out for help— there are so many people and organizations that are available. Our community is beyond blessed to have the support we have in our community, but we find it here at CareerTek. The services that we offer to help support students with making that decision of what plan they have or what direction they want to go beyond high school. It's a big one, and we're here to support people, but we don't have nearly the number of students that we should have. Try to find something you enjoy doing [so that] it won't seem like work for the rest of your life.

Lots of responsibilities come with graduating high school. You're not going to have teachers checking up on you, you're not going to have people reminding you that you need to be somewhere on time or you need to turn in your assignments. All of a sudden that’s going to be on you, which is kind of scary, but you need to have confidence too because I think your teachers have done a good job preparing you. You just kind of have to step up to the plate and make it happen.