High School Career Essay

High school marks a new chapter in one’s life. The next four years will be filled with new friends and amazing memories. However, during high school one must make the biggest decision of their life thus far; choosing a career. For some this decision may come easily. They have known since they were five they wanted to be a doctor. However, others are struggling to make this decision. They may still be uncertain on what they want to do with the rest of their lives. The purpose of this research project is to understand what external factors influence a high school students career choice. I want to understand how a high school student comes to this decision. Who or what influences them? Is it their family, their academic life, gender roles, the media …show more content…
There is much research that shows men enroll more in advanced mathematical high school courses (Dick & Rallis,1991, p. 282). While this may be true, it does not necessarily mean they will pursue a career in mathematics. They might just take mathematics courses because they are easy for them and they know they will get a good grade. It will be fascinating to see the importance a high school student puts on their academic life in terms of their future career. Next we must look at gender roles. Gender roles have played a big issue when choosing a career especially for women. As past research has demonstrated women tend to consider different careers as men (Gati& Perez, 2014, p. 63). There are numerous explanations for this. One being that women are more family orientated than men (Gati& Perez, 2014, p. 63). This suggests that women take into consideration their future role as a wife and mother when deciding their career. Women tend to choose careers with nine to five jobs that will allow them to spend more time at home (Gati&Perez,2014, p.72). Women also to choose careers that will work towards communal goals like serving and helping others (Gati&Perez,2014, p. 65). Some of these careers include counselling and