Career Planning for High School Students: Part 2-Gaining Work Experience

There are many ways for high school students to gain experience in their local communities. A quick search of "job shadowing city state", in which you are located, will be a good start for researching a place to gain 8-10 hrs. of experience seeing if the profession may be for you. 

 When I was a senior in high school, I decided to do a one day job shadow at a mortuary to explore the daily life of an embalmer and mortician.  This was in 1994, so I didn't email the funeral home or do a google search to find it.  I ended up having a close friend who's uncle was in the business in a large town about an hour from where we grew up.

The day was very memorable, and I will never forget the important things I learned from job shadowing a mortician and embalmer. The day started with my friend's uncle explaining the process, and walking us through the mortuary in the same sequence as the arriving dead. We started in the garage, and he explained each part of the Cadillac hearse, and showed us the different carts and the way they were constructed for ultimate ergonomics. We continued to the embalming room, and saw the drains, chemicals, and safety gear utilized by the embalmers.  I was surprised to see they even had headphones and television to watch while they were completing the process.

From this point, we went into the next room and saw where the bodies were finished with makeup and dress clothes, as well as other processes to make the corpse better for viewing.  We saw the casket room, and all the options available.
Long story short, it was an eye opening job shadow into the demanding mortuary profession.  I returned home that day pale and shaken from the experience, and my mom asked how my day had gone, and if I was still interested in pursuing Mortuary Science, but by the look on my face, she already knew the answer.  By dreams of becoming a mortician had vanished.

Job shadows are very important because they allow us the chance to see the realities of a given profession.]

Here is more information on ways to get vital career experience:

Information via:http://www.bls.gov/careeroutlook/2015/article/career-planning-for-high-schoolers.htm

Get experience

If job shadowing gives you a taste of what an occupation is like, imagine how helpful getting experience could be. Students can begin getting career-related experiences in high school through internships, employment, and other activities.
Taking part in different experiences is another step toward helping you to figure out what you like—and what you don’t. These experiences may teach valuable job skills, such as the importance of arriving on time. (See box: Put forth your best you.)
But, say school counselors, students need to remember that school takes priority over other pursuits. “It’s a good idea to get experience while you’re a student,” says Hartline, “but not at the expense of academic success.” Danaher agrees. “School should be your full-time job,” he says.

Internships

Completing an internship is an excellent way to get experience. Internships are temporary, supervised assignments designed to give students or recent graduates practical job training. Sometimes, internships or other experiential learning positions are built into educational programs, and students receive academic credit for completing them.
At Lovely’s school, for example, students have the option to fulfill an internship for credit during their junior or senior year. Lovely interned during her junior year for her high school theater director. “She gave us opportunities to do everything from contacting local newspapers for ads to writing program notes to directing the middle school production,” says Lovely. The experience gave Lovely a feel for a director’s work—and helped to cement her career goals.
At other schools, students seek out internships on their own. Academic credit may not be awarded, but gaining hands-on experience can still be worthwhile. Check with your school counselor to see if opportunities exist at your school.

Jobs

Summer or part-time employment is another way to get experience. Paid jobs allow you to earn money, which can help you learn how to budget and save for future goals or expenses.
For some students, summer is a great time to explore careers through employment. As the chart shows, young people worked in a variety of industries in July 2014, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).