You can also find Course and Career Chat on Spotify, Amazon Music and Audible.

What we’re talking about:

What if you don’t know what university or TAFE course, or what career you want to pursue? I work with heaps of high school students who either have no idea yet what they want to do, or who want to do EVERYTHING and need help narrowing it down. Here are some ways you can start to work it out.

2:56 Talk to people

The people who know you best, like your parents or friends, will likely have some insights into what you might be good at, or how you can pursue a career where you can do more of the things you like to do. Alternatively, you can talk to people about the work that they do so that you can make a decision one way or another about whether you’re interested in this particular job. You can also talk to the teachers of the subjects you like about what types of courses and careers their subject could lead to. A career counsellor will also have insights into particular courses that would suit you, or could put you in contact with past students who can tell you about what they’re doing. You could also listen to past episodes of this podcast to hear students’ perspectives of particular websites.

7:41 Check out unis and TAFEs

Check out exactly what some of the unis or TAFEs have to offer by looking at their websites. You can often filter a search so that you’re looking at subject areas that interest you, and then you can read about courses and google the job titles that they list on course pages to get a better sense of where the course could lead. You can also visit a uni or TAFE you’re interested in. Go to an Open Day, or if you’ve missed them and need to make a decision sooner, contact them and see if you can join a tour, or just turn up and walk around the campus to get a sense of what it’s like.

10:29 Do some work experience

You probably did/will do work experience in Year 10, but you can do more than one work experience placement (even if you have to do a second or third placement in the school holidays). You can still do work experience if you’re in Year 11 or 12, or even if you’ve finished Year 12. Speak to your career counsellor to see if they have any contacts you could speak to about doing a work placement, or look up local businesses and see if they’d be happy to have you come in.

Links mentioned:

Work with me: https://www.roadmapeducation.com/services