The Most Rewarding Career Opportunities for Motivated Students with Strong Academic Performance
As a guidance counselor, you know better than most that some careers are about more than just making money. They’re about making a difference in the world. Doing something that you feel passionate about.
Pointing students toward careers that double as vocations is a great way to set them up for a life of fulfillment. If you have a roster of high-achieving students you don’t quite know what to do with consider calling their attention to rewarding careers, like education and healthcare.
In this article, we spotlight a few jobs that weren’t further attention.
Education
You know the score on this one. The world needs more teachers. Obviously, it is not a career path that is right for everyone. However, it may be a good fit for high-aptitude students who are interested in shaping a future generation of learners.
Future teachers do not necessarily have to have a 4.0 grade point average to be worth consideration. Your high achievers may be a good fit for the role but also look for students who have a passion for working with and helping others.
Keep in mind that some of your higher-need students may actually have a unique insight into the education system. They know how it has failed them, and they might have a passion for making sure other people don’t go through the same thing.
Healthcare
Healthcare jobs, like education careers, have experienced major shortages over the last few years. These jobs are an awesome way to give back to the community and make a good living. Doctors and nurses command above salaries and do work that they can be proud of every day.
Obviously anyone you feel would be a good fit for these jobs warrants further consideration, but make a point of calling healthcare careers to the attention of minority students.
Minority groups are dangerously underrepresented in the healthcare setting. This underrepresentation has resulted in healthcare outcome disparities.
By highlighting these jobs for minorities not only will you introduce a wider range of people to the world of high-paying healthcare work, but you also improve the overall quality of care in your community.
STEM
STEM careers are both mentally stimulating and financially rewarding. Engineering. Software development. These carriers consistently rank within the top income, brackets for undergraduate degree earners.
The programs are challenging and competitive, but for students with the right set of skills and the ability to work hard, they can be, interesting and rewarding.
Again, there certainly is importance in putting these opportunities in front of female and minority students both of whom are very much underrepresented in STEM careers.
When you have conversations with students who might be interested in STEM be sure to highlight how influential these jobs will be not just now but in the future. People are becoming increasingly worried about the relevance of entry-level positions.
As artificial intelligence and other disruptive technologies continue to proliferate, it is job applicants with high-value skills who will continue to enjoy the most opportunities.
Social Work
Social work is another career path that rewards people who want to make a difference in the world. And because the majority of social work careers are available only to people with graduate degrees— or at least a willingness to participate in continuing education— they are particularly suitable to high achieving students.
Education and healthcare work is difficult. Good candidates will be emotionally resilient and willing to work through a lot of hardship to achieve only occasional successes.
Secondary Education
College professors do important work, but their job is ultimately very different from those who teach K through 12th grade.
The majority of college professors have a doctorate degree which requires about 10 to 12 years of college education to get. Naturally, this means your students will need to be very academically inclined to pursue this career path.
Those willing to go through it will get high salaries and rewarding work. College professors earn six figures and they often enjoy surprisingly flexible schedules. Even a full-time college professor might only spend 20 hours a week on campus. Probably they will do more work at home, but the arrangement will most likely, be adaptable to their situation.
As remote learning continues to grow some college professors are even able to work full-time from home.
This could be a great career path for people who are passionate about any discipline, including healthcare, education, or even social work. There are teachers out there to train people how to do it. If you have students who excel at academia, consider calling college jobs, their attention.
Can you think of any jobs that we missed? The truth is that there are TONS of careers that are both financially and emotionally rewarding. As a guidance counselor, you are uniquely positioned to help usher in a generation of workers who are passionate about what they do.
