All students can benefit from examining career and personal options both during and following high school. As part of our commitment to empowering students to be actively involved in their future life goals, all students who enroll at The Polytech as their full-time high school placement are automatically scheduled for these advising sessions. Other students may choose this service to explore strengths, preferences, and potential careers that utilize their best characteristics. Our staff help students determine where they are now, where they want to be after graduation, and map out a plan to get there in a straight line. Too often students zig-zag through these decisions, with every zig costing time and every zag costing money.
The career interest assessments used at The Polytech focus on several areas:
- Skills - determining what the student is good at
- Personality - determining the types of tasks a student likes (whether or not they have the underlying skills necessary to be successful)
- Environment - examines factors such as noise level, amount of light preferred, and the need for outside supervision and prompting
Overlap between all of these factors helps identify options that the student has a high likelihood to have a successful experience and also include activities and a work setting that the student will enjoy. We also examine grades on the most current transcript and the level of education needed, helping to guide the student towards careers and college majors that will require additional training as well as entry-level positions for the student hoping to apply for a job immediately.
Students report greater confidence and engagement when they understand what they are working for and the direction they are heading. Parents express that their teens are motivated and more willing to share their positive experiences, some even noting that the student needs fewer reminders for routine tasks like completing homework. Every child is different, and this is why academic and career advising is so central to all that The Polytech offers.