Is it hard for teenagers to test career paths these days? (jobs, companies)

[Serious Conversation]

I'm not that old, but I remember when I was a kid/in high school that not only were more jobs available, but also "youth outreach" type programs where a company or government agency may allow a high school student to come in and "job shadow" or there may be a program geared toward youth.

I worked in a PC repair shop between my junior and senior years of high school. It was decent money (more than today's minimum wage) and taught me how to use little hand tools, consumer PC troubleshooting, and customer service skills. Today, those types of shops are mostly out of business as people have shifted to tablets and PCs have become disposable.

I also remember the TN DNR offering specific programs geared toward rising juniors and seniors in the local high schools. While I don't know for sure if the programs are gone, I haven't heard much of them lately, and they were fairly visible ten or more years ago. The local hospitals also had deals with the local high schools where the high school students involved in the health care classes could learn more from hospital staff and other nurses.

Do you think these kinds of programs are in decline today?

[BirdieBelle]

No, I think they are on the rise.

The assumption that EVERYone should go to college has placed less emphasis on vocational education, but it certainly still exists.

Now that the college bubble has burst a bit and people are remembering the value of skilled trades, community colleges are stepping up to attract more students by partnering with local companies for job tracks.

Our local school system has cooperative education, job shadowing, service learning, health science clinical internships and even school-sponsored businesses like bank branches.

It's probably just off your radar because you aren't directly involved anymore.