The problem has been a delicate issue that has to be approached with caution. There is no clear process that secondary school students have used to make career choice. Secondary school students should have the opportunity to explore all of the choices available in order to make a logical educated plan when choosing a career. There are several factors affecting the decision-making of a student in choosing a career.
Many junior high school (JHS) students find it difficult to make choice in the sense that they lack guidance and counseling. Making decisions about a career path is one of the first and most difficult decisions facing young people today. Many times students are making these decisions based on family, friend, and school influence and incorrect assumptions about the world of work.
Students tend to seek help from parents more than teachers and career counselors. Parents showing interest and guidance to the education of their children play a vital role in the performance of some learners. Parents should provide the learners necessary materials they need to learn, without these the learner will lose his sense of direction. The influence of parents has been one of the strongest and most persistent factor that will determine the attitude of the child in studying and hence his choice of career.
The element of interest, skill and ability are the basic factors influencing students in choosing their career. Lack of interest can always lead to low efficiency. It has been recognized recently that for a person to make realistic decision, his level of self-efficacy can indeed be very influential. It is one thing to demonstrate interest in a particular occupational field; it is another thing to have confidence in one’s ability to successfully undertake the task involved. If career planning is implemented in an efficient manner, students would at the very least be following a career plan of informed decision making rather than one of coincidence.
Guidance counselors of the school should guide the student in their career aspirations rather than leaving them to rely on their parents and friends for information. In the process, student undergoes self-assessment and assesses what they want to do in life, choose relevant courses and schools that will help them reach their career destination. Career orientation must be given to find out their personal ambitions in life, the ease of getting job after their training, level of job security.
Today, career choices are frequently difficult because of the many available careers, the staggering array of jobs, the continual changes in the economy and job market, the great potential for making mistakes, and the misery that is likely to happen when people get into the wrong work. Therefore, giving students in Senior High School (SHS) the skills and knowledge to realistically plan for their future in the world of work is a primary goal of education. Career choice is relevant in the life of the individual because it has the potency to affect the whole life of the individual. Career decision-making, choice and development which are usually influenced by factors that determine the choice of career are vitally important for today’s youth, who are more than ever motivated must be on the right track because success seldom happen by chance.
By JEANNE R. DACALCAP
