How to Prepare a Homeshooler for Future Employment

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Just like kids who go to traditional school, some homeschoolers go into college, and other homeschoolers go directly into the workforce. For children that go directly into the workforce, there needs to be a certain amount of academic preparation.

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Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Step1

Decide on a future career. If your child knows that college is not the path they want to take, they need to have a good idea of what they want to do. While they may not end up doing exactly what it is that they set out to do, they may very well end up doing something related. A 10th grader should have a good idea of what it is they want to do when they are done with their schooling.

Step2

Once your student has decided on a future career, you need to map out a plan of action. They will need to spend some time becoming an authority in their area of interest. This can be done through reading, taking classes, and keeping up with changes and innovation in their area of interest through reading blogs and industry periodicals.

Step3

Gain experience. If you read the wanted ads, you will notice that many ads say “degree or commensurate experience”. Once your student knows what they want to do and have enough knowledge to back it up, it is time to start compiling experience. A good way for a teen to gain experience in their area of expertise is to take part time job and to get internships. This is very important because having this kind of early life experience in their sought-after field can take the place of a degree.

Step4

Demonstrate skill. Your student should do something that demonstrates that they are skilled enough to handle the job. If they are interested in making furniture, they should build an armoire. If they want to be a computer programmer, they should write a program. If they want to be an artist, they should have an artist portfolio. These things can be demonstrated to a future employment through a website or professional catalog.

Tips & Warnings

Constantly research the field your homeschooler is interested in.
Be aware that the student may have to start at the bottom and work their way up.
Take advantage of free opportunities to learn from company sponsored education to weekend training sessions.
Do not let the child assume they know everything about the subject. They need to diligently stay on top of the industry they want to work in.