Why Aspirations Narrow
You cannot choose what you cannot see.
Ask a young child what they want to be when they grow up and the answer can seem wonderfully imaginative. But surprisingly early, possibilities begin to narrow. Young people form ideas about work from what they encounter around them, family, friends, teachers, television, social media and the occupations visible in their communities. What they do not encounter can be just as influential as what they do. By adolescence, many young people are choosing from a remarkably small portion of the world of work.
The invisible world of work
Think about the thousands of occupations that keep a modern country functioning. Who showed you what a power systems technician does? A respiratory therapist? An industrial mechanic? A cybersecurity analyst? A construction estimator? A marine engineer? A medical laboratory technologist?
Many adults would struggle to describe these careers. We should hardly be surprised when teenagers cannot imagine themselves in them. Yet we routinely ask young people to make educational choices that may influence their futures before they have had meaningful opportunities to discover what those futures might contain.
Aspirations are shaped by exposure
Career aspirations don't emerge in a vacuum. Young people absorb messages about which occupations seem appropriate, attainable, prestigious or interesting to "people like me." Family background matters. Gender stereotypes matter. Geography matters. Culture matters. What schools expose students to matters. Chance encounters matter too.
A conversation with an electrician, entrepreneur, nurse, engineer, carpenter, researcher or software developer can reveal an entire world a young person didn't know existed.
That is why career development cannot begin with the question: "What do you want to be?" It should begin with something closer to: "What have you had the opportunity to discover?"
Freedom of choice requires something to choose from
We rightly want young people to make their own decisions. But freedom of choice is meaningful only when people can see a reasonable range of possibilities. The goal is not to steer students toward occupations governments or employers want filled. It is to enlarge the field of vision. A young person who encounters 100 possibilities has more freedom than one who has encountered ten.
The missing bridge begins here
The bridge between education and meaningful work starts long before someone fills out a college application, chooses a university program or applies for an apprenticeship. It begins when children start imagining who they might become. We can help them imagine more. You cannot choose what you cannot see.
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Why Information Isn't Enough →
Discover why career agency grows through experiences, relationships, encounters, experimentation and exploration.
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