STORY BY: Helayna Desrochers

Most high schoolers start freshman year thinking they know exactly what they want to be, like a doctor or an engineer. But as you actually go through school, things usually change. Between finding new interests in class, joining clubs, or just talking to friends, you start to see more options. By the time graduation rolls around, a lot of students end up changing their minds because of everything they’ve experienced.

Naviance is a website that many students start using in Long River Middle School. In Naviance, students take surveys and career tests that suggest different jobs based on their interests and personality. Even though it is meant to help students explore careers, it can also make them feel as though they have to start thinking seriously about their future at a really young age which senior Taylor Syombathy definitely understands. 

“I think choosing your future in middle school is way too premature. I personally experienced unfortunate circumstances that forced me to change the decision of my next 4 years.” 

Syombathy’s experience proves that life is unpredictable, so forcing 11-14  year olds to map out their entire future before they even hit high school just does not make sense. While this can be helpful, it can also make students feel like they are supposed to already know what they want to do with their lives. In middle school, most students are still figuring out who they are, what hobbies they like and what they enjoy, so having to think about careers that early can create extra pressure.

Students also have to choose their elective classes as early as freshman year. These choices can feel as they dictate your direction in life because of the way it can affect what classes students take later in high school and even what they might study in college. For example, if a student is interested in something like medicine, they might feel like they need to take certain math, science, or other types of electives early on. Students feel like they have to start choosing what career path they want before they have even had the chance to try different things. Freshman year is usually a time when students are still adjusting to high school, but they are already expected to make choices that could impact their future. 

Syombathy says “My perspective on my future has definitely changed from when I started high school to now, says Syombathy. Life changes too suddenly and randomly to make a decision like that 4-6 years early.” 

Students may feel like they need to have a plan for college and careers much earlier than they are ready for.

High schoolers feel a ton of pressure to pick a career path before they’ve even graduated. Between using Naviance in middle school and picking electives as a freshman, it feels like you’re forced to decide your entire future way too soon. While these programs are supposed to be helpful, they mostly just make people stressed about making a “wrong” choice. 

Honestly, it’s normal to still be figuring things out, and students should be allowed to just explore different interests without feeling like they need their whole life mapped out already.