Career & Interest Match

Why a Career and Interest Match Is a Crucial Step in the College Planning Process

College is a lot of different things. For most people, it’s the first extended stretch of time spent living away from home. For almost everyone, it’s a period of independence, freedom, growth, and self-discovery. You will likely learn a lot about who you are and who you want to be by going to college, trying new things, meeting new people, and attending your classes. But college is also about building skills for an eventual career and giving yourself the tools necessary to succeed in the real world. Making the most of your college years and being as productive as possible with your time (and your dollars!) will improve your chances of professional success. A career and interest match is a good place to start.

What Is a Career and Interest Match?

At Right Path College and Career Planning, the career and interest match is one of the core services that we offer. We work with students to understand their passions, interests, and strengths, with the goal of helping them to start envisioning potential career goals. Answering the “What do you want to do with your life?” question isn’t easy for anyone, least of all a teenager who might have a wide range of different interests. We try to make the process a little bit easier.

During the career and interest match, we help students explore their interests in a safe, non-judgmental environment. At the end of the process, we put together tailored recommendations for potential college and career paths. By helping students identify their post-college goals, we can point them toward the majors or paths of study that are going to get them there. In turn, we can identify specific colleges and degree programs that offer those paths of study, or that are particularly revered for them.

The Benefits of the Career and Interest Match Process

There are many benefits to be gained from working with Right Path to do a career and interest match while you are still in high school. The reason this service is so popular is that it makes so many future steps much, much easier, from college planning to post-college job hunting and everything in between. Here are some of the key benefits:

• It helps narrow down the college list: Most high school guidance counsellors encourage students to apply to about eight colleges. Deciding which colleges to apply to, though, is a tough hurdle in and of itself. There are more than 4,000 colleges and universities in the United States, including nearly 2,500 four-year institutions. Picking just eight schools out of such a large number of options is a challenge—especially if you don’t know what you want to do after college. A career-interest match with Right Path College & Career Planning will take some of the stress out of the question by giving you a carefully selected list of places to apply.

• It minimizes the likelihood of a mid-college transfer: Let’s say you pick a school, go in with no major in mind, and later decide that you want to pursue a major that isn’t offered at your college. Transfers are always possible, but they are also almost always a hassle. Some of the credits you earned at your first school may not transfer over to the second, and you’ll have to go through the whole “adjusting to a new place” process twice. Choosing a college when you have a good idea of what you want to study and achieve will reduce the likelihood of you wanting or needing to transfer a year or two in. You’ll have already taken the steps to make sure that the school you pick offers the programs and opportunities you want.

• It helps maximize your ROI: It goes without saying that college is expensive. According to the College Board, the average cost of tuition and fees for the 2018-19 school year, at a public four-year institution, was $10,230 for in-state students and $26,290 for out-of-state students. The average cost of tuition and fees at a private four-year institution, meanwhile, was $35,830. That’s without accounting for the cost of books, or room and board, or transportation, or other expenses. These figures also only represent one school year, not all four. Put simply, the cost of a college education is astronomically expensive, and it’s frankly too much money to spend finding yourself or getting a degree you won’t use. A career-interest match can help you minimize the time you spend in college while simultaneously maximizing your return on investment.

College and the ‘Undecided’ or ‘Undeclared’ Major

It's not uncommon for college students to start school without a major in mind. The idea of taking a few classes, exploring a variety of different subjects, and crossing general education requirements off the to-do list is appealing to many. It’s a path that puts off the big decision while still allowing progress toward an ultimate degree.

Not so long ago, this plan—starting college with an “undecided” or “undeclared” major—was arguably the go-to strategy. Now, though, with tuition and fees getting more expensive every year, students and their families are paying a premium for that exploratory period. Furthermore, spending a year or two in college before deciding on a major could also mean a longer path to a degree. Even just an extra semester can add tens of thousands of dollars to your overall college bill, leading to more student loan debt to pay off later.

Exploring your interests and career goals is a good thing. You should never pick a major or career path without deep self-reflection and critical thought. Remember: you are making a decision that will likely set the course for the rest of your life! It’s a choice that deserves plenty of time and weight. At Right Path College & Career Planning, our question is: why not do some of that exploration, self-reflection, and critical thinking before you head off to college? Our career and interest match service can help you start asking and answering questions about interests, passions, personal strengths, goals, and college fit today. Laying that important foundation right now will mean an easier college application process, a firmer plan when you get to campus, and a faster, more cost-conscious path toward graduation and career.

To learn more, or to schedule an appointment to start working on your career and interest match, contact Right Path today.