Kids either know what they want to do with their lives or they don’t. Some kids might even know what they want to do with their lives at an extremely early age, which makes it a lot easier for parents. However, a lot of kids have no idea. In this case, it is up to the parents to work with their teen to start exploring career options and even gauge what some of their interests might be. It is crucial for parents to start before the child enters their first year of college, because this will determine what classes they should be taking and even what major they should declare. Here are some ways to explore career options with your college bound teen.

Assess their strong points

First off, assess what some of their strong points are. If they are good at writing and they are interested in language, there are a plethora of jobs tailored for them. If they are good at writing, this doesn’t immediately mean that they have to become a novelist or English professor, but they can also land a job in communications, advertising and any other field where having a grasp of language makes them an asset. So make sure you find out what your teen’s strengths are in order to go through the list of available job positions within a certain field – some of which they might not even know about. Moreover, if they are interested in a specific field, it is important to make sure you dispel any myths or rumors about the field.

Determine their passion

Next, what is your teenager passionate about? If they are passionate about politics you should encourage them to pursue their studies towards this particular field. If they are interested in the healthcare field, there are a number of degrees they can acquire to have a sustainable and fulfilling career in the healthcare field. After getting their undergraduate degree, they can acquire a health care management MBA to land a position in careers ranging from finance, to biopharmaceuticals, to insurance and beyond. If they are interested in current events, they might pursue a career in journalism, television or radio media.

Take a career test

Another way to explore career options with your teen is to find out what they are good at by having them take a standardized test. There are a number of tests your teen can take that will determine what they have a natural inclination for. This option is usually best for those teens that are really struggling with what they want to do with their lives. For instance, a test in math will determine whether or not they are good with numbers and another test might be able to determine that they are more inclined towards abstract modes of thinking. Either way, this is a great way to get quantitative proof of your child’s strengths and weaknesses, which can motivate your teen to really start thinking about their career aspirations.

At the end of the day, it is important to not get frustrated with your child and let them come to their own conclusions, especially if they are going off to college. They might need a few years to think about it and in the meantime they might even go undeclared. However, after a few years of college, your teenager will eventually realize what they want to do with their lives, which can be an incredibly relieving moment for most parents and well worth the wait.