The importance of a future profession in a child’s life, how to choose and not make a mistake

Let's talk about choosing a profession: when does it make sense to think about it? Do early development clubs and interest sections prepare a child for future career guidance? What should a teenager rely on when choosing a university? What matters when choosing a profession? How to competently change profession as an adult? Let's try to answer these questions together with a professional consultant.

From a young age

As soon as the baby was born, predictions immediately began around him - who will our baby become? “What a loud one! He’ll probably be a singer!” Or: “Look, he likes cars - he’ll probably be a car mechanic!” Or: “Our girl dances endlessly - she is destined to become a ballerina!”

However, there is some truth in every joke - we, parents, must help the child decide on his inclinations and show his natural talents. And it’s better to start really as early as possible.

When we choose a development school, a club or a section based on interests, this can be considered a preparatory stage.

If we take it as an axiom that all children are talented from birth, then the task of caring parents is to find these same talents as early as possible.

By watching our child at a drawing group, in the swimming or sports section, or admiring his work in the art studio, we better study the child and help him explore his own passions.

When choosing a club, parents can go two ways: develop weaknesses or focus on strengths.

Example: a child is hyperactive, and according to his parents, he lacks perseverance. Mom and dad try to interest him in chess or drawing. With the help of an attentive and patient teacher, they involve the child in this type of activity, encourage his success, show interest in what is happening in class, and help with homework - if there is any.

Result: the child, with the help of adults, develops those qualities that he lacked. He learns to overcome what is difficult. This forms a harmonious, all-round personality.

Another example: a melancholic and reasonable child shows success in the game of chess, which mom, dad and grandmother really like. But he is often sick and is not inclined to exercise. His parents decide that he will not succeed in sports. And, hoping to protect him from experiencing sports failures, they abandon the idea of ​​attending the sports section, focusing on the chess club.

Result: by focusing on one type of activity, the child makes good progress in the chosen direction, he feels successful. He wouldn’t have turned out to be a first-class athlete anyway, say mom and dad, but just look at this young grandmaster!

It is worth paying attention: the key in both cases is the opinion of adults - they are the ones who note those qualities of the child, the development of which should be encouraged. But this in no way means that parents have to force their child “from under the stick”! In both cases, the personal interest of the child is fundamentally important.

Psychologist Anna Nazarova explains:

“On the one hand, in psychology the preferred tactic is to develop weak qualities - this forms a harmonious personality. On the other hand, if this very development is connected with some kind of struggle, if there is an element of violence in it, then it is better to abandon such activities. The interests of the child should always be at the forefront - if he expresses obvious dissatisfaction with the activities chosen for him, it is more effective to switch to what he likes best. This is better than traumatizing a child’s psyche from early childhood. In addition, the modern assortment of various circles, sections and schools of development makes it possible, through trial and error, to find that very ideal option for combining “useful with pleasant”

In addition, you should not give up trying to interest your child in something new - for example, at 4 years old he may not understand drawing, but after a year and a half, having met a good teacher or having come under the influence of his peers, he may well want to become great an artist. Some children choose a club “for In fact, all these music and art schools, various sports sections and clubs, where parents took their child for a long time and persistently, are not necessarily a future profession. Often teenagers who have graduated from music school or attended a sports section come for consultation on choosing a future profession. And most of them do not consider their childhood activities at all as an option for a future profession. Rather, it happens the other way around, and everyone knows this: most of those who graduated from music school then say that they will never play again. The exception, perhaps, is art schools - a profession related to visual activity is more often chosen by those who spent their childhood drawing.”

Children about the profession of Tailor

Both kids who study in kindergarten and children who are home-schooled should know who sewed them beautiful pants and dresses, who they should thank for shirts and T-shirts. Among the professions that children learn from pictures, tailor stands out quite clearly.

This is most often due to the fact that kids love to wear bright clothes - they will be interested in knowing who exactly created them. Explain to your child that sewing clothes requires a sewing machine, fabric, pins, threads, patterns, a measuring tape, and so on.

Girls will certainly like the mass of accessories that a person of such a profession uses - lace, buttons, snaps, and so on. You can additionally tell your child about the fabrics that are used for sewing - cotton, linen, silk, wool, and so on.

An important profession of tailoring for your child

At the same time, tell us how each of these materials is created, demonstrate to your child exactly how the process goes from preparing and receiving the fabric to the moment when the finished clothes are already purchased by a person.

You can talk about the history of the appearance of fabrics and clothes, talk about famous people who set trends in fashion, show how the clothes of people living in different countries differ.

You can also read an article on the topic “Where to relax abroad in the summer.”

At the same time, the child learns not only about the profession, but also a lot of interesting things about the history of the creation of things, the geography of fashion and the spread of fashion trends. At the end, you can play a game during which the child will select clothes for different characters, which will also be good for developing the logic and motor skills of the little man.

My years are growing...

But by the age of 12-13, it’s time to think seriously about your future profession. What is my child prone to? What does he do best and what is difficult? What is his character, how does he cope with difficulties, is he inclined to work in a team?... Any attentive mother will answer all these questions, even without any specialists. However, all kinds of tests can be a good help.

So, my 12-year-old son and I took turns taking a free online test. It is curious that the test repeats the same type of questions - however, in the end a picture is obtained that is quite close to the real one. Thus, the program described my son as a balanced, reasonable, non-communicative person with a moderate ability for cooperation - and this is very similar to the truth! The program offered him the choice of becoming an accountant (88%), a land management specialist (82%) or a dog handler (80%). Also on the list of those proposed - much to the son's delight - are a biologist, a geologist, an engineer, a mathematician and a navigator. The relatively low percentage of agreement in his case is likely due to the fact that he chose the “don’t know” option too often.

And it was said about me that I am an active person, capable of empathy and teamwork (which, by and large, is also not far from the truth). According to the test, I should choose the job of a doctor (99% compliance), psychologist (96%) or teacher (93%), and the following professions would be suitable for me: actor, photographer or sports coach. And not a word about journalism! In the annotation to the test, however, there is a disclaimer that it does not give a complete picture. But, in any case, the test makes you think about the question “Who am I?” - and that in itself is not bad

In fact, psychologists at Moscow State University have long ago developed a special diagram of specialized classes, which is recommended for implementation in high schools in all Russian schools. According to experts, from the age of 13-14, children can be thoroughly prepared for their future profession by conducting testing after the 8th grade and dividing the upper grades into the following areas:

• Information technology.
• Physics and mathematics.
• Linguistic (linguistics).
• Humanities (social sciences).
• Socio-economic.
• Natural science.

The proposed scheme, of course, is more complicated than the division into classes “physics and mathematics”, “humanities” and “class for those lagging behind” that is accepted in most Ural schools.

Psychologist Anna Nazarova says:

“Regardless of what school a child attends and whether there is a division of classes into areas, you should start thinking about choosing a profession at the age of 12-13. Parents can have serious conversations with their child, finding out his inclinations and encouraging him to think in this direction. This helps him understand himself better. But rushing around with a package of documents in the 11th grade, wondering in the month of May which university to choose is already too much. If it’s difficult to decide on your own, you can seek the help of specialists. There was such a case in our practice. A mother brought her teenage son to a consultation. She was upset that by the end of the tenth grade her son had little interest in anything, showed no special inclinations and was an average grade-C student. Testing really did not reveal any clear abilities for a certain type of activity, but taking into account his area of ​​interest and temperament - computers and modern music, active communication - the program recommended the profession of a sound engineer. Neither the mother nor the boy himself had ever thought that such a profession existed. But it turned out that she is suitable and really interesting to him, and he can get a good education, and there are many opportunities for employment in the future! During the time remaining before graduating from school, the boy was so inspired by this idea that, with the help of tutors, he was able to “pull up” in the necessary subjects, passed the exams himself and entered the chosen department of the university. Now she is a second-year student majoring in sound engineering and does not regret her chosen specialty.”

Children about the profession of Rescuer

Since your baby will have a lot of information to learn, one of the first characters to meet should be the lifeguard. And it's not just like that:

1. The child will learn what a specialist in this industry does.
2. The child will understand the important role a rescuer plays during a fire or other disaster.
3. A bright and colorful character will be able to give advice to the child on how not to get hurt while at home, running around with children in the yard.

How to present information to a little person?

The first character a child needs to meet

The easiest way is to show a picture of a rescuer and tell him what he does:

1. Helps people and animals who are in trouble.
2. Helps in case of fire.
3. Helps people after earthquakes, landslides, floods.
4. Helps people who suffered in the mountains, in the forest, in accidents.
5. Helps find lost people. The last question is especially relevant if your child does not sit in one place for a long time and constantly tries to run away somewhere.

It is worth talking about what equipment the rescuer has, why he is not afraid of fire or water, why he can help in any situation. It is necessary to describe that a person in this profession uses special units to breathe, even while in smoke. To work in water, in extreme cold or in fire, a rescuer has special clothing that helps to perform the job efficiently.

A rescuer may advise a child not to climb onto a windowsill, not to go to a pond without adults, and not to play with fire or electrical appliances.

Professions as they are

All professions can be classified into one type or another depending on the subject of labor (what the worker deals with) and the means of labor (whether he uses machines or hand tools), etc. These are the types:

• Man is man
• Man is nature
• Man is technology
• Man is a sign
• Man is an artistic image

Using these simple rules, you can create an “ideal profession formula” for yourself and understand which profession is suitable in a given case.

Where do “I love”, “I can” and “I will be useful” intersect?

Phil Knight, the founder of Nike, loved running (“I love it”), so he began selling running shoes and even, together with his coach Bill Bowerman, came up with a new comfortable sole - waffle. Using his gift of persuasion (“I can”), Phil enlisted the help of famous runner Steve Prefontaine and asked him to compete in the Olympics wearing Nike sneakers. It was a resounding success. So Phil’s love for running inspired millions of people to take up sports (“I’ll be useful”).

Using this story as an example, find with your child the intersections between his “I love”, “I can” and “I will be useful”, and then name several professions that will combine all three factors.

The goals of work in these areas may be different

• Gnostic: recognize, distinguish, evaluate, check (sanitary doctor, literary critic, inspector, merchandiser, expert, investigator).
• Transformative: process, move, organize, transform (driver, painter, teacher, parquet floor worker, mechanic, tailor,).
• Research: invent, come up with, find a new option, design (cutter, marker, breeder, graphic designer)

Modern psychologists and professional consultants have gone further and, based on the above classification, proposed a new one, specifying one or another type. For example, the “person-person” type was divided into two: “social communication” (teachers, doctors, service industry, etc.) and “business communication” (sales manager, HR manager, customer service manager, etc.). d.)

Children about the profession Artist

It’s hard to argue with the fact that this is the first among all the professions that children are introduced to; it will be very interesting, because every little person is an artist at heart. How can you tell your child about such a profession? Initially, it is worth introducing him to famous paintings, but choose only those options that will be interesting to the child.

You can introduce your child to existing types of paints - gouache, watercolor, oil. The child can try to draw on his own using pastels, pencils, and charcoal.

You need to introduce your child to the essential attributes of an artist - an easel, pencils, brushes, a palette, and so on. This profession will certainly be interesting to the child, because he will learn what three main colors all other colors and shades are made of, and how exactly the artist works.

Be sure to introduce your child to the profession of an artist

At this point, the child can learn to independently draw sketches or sketches with a pencil, and then carefully color them.

It would be useful to get acquainted with artists of different directions - fashion designers, designers, and so on. You can also tell your child about restorers, in particular about their interesting work. Don’t forget that it is thanks to people of this profession that your child can watch cartoons, and it’s no secret that many kids want to become a cartoonist.

The final stage of the story can be a picture that your baby created with you.

What methods of career guidance are there?

You can choose a profession in different ways:

• on one's own. Analysis of the child’s interests and inclinations on his own (by mom, dad, with the help of teachers at school);
• consultation with specialists - this could be a school psychologist or a career counselor in a special center; for adults, they are now actively offering coaching services (career coaching);
• testing using computer tests or tests from collections, which are sold in abundance in all bookstores. Along with the questionnaires we cited as an example, there are in-depth projective techniques, for example, the L. Zondi test, the Achtnich career guidance test, etc.);
• active forms of career guidance - trainings that provide the opportunity to “play out” and try on various professions.

In addition, information is an important component of choosing the right profession. Not many parents can boast that they can tell their child absolutely all modern specialties, professions, and the peculiarities of the labor market. It’s a good idea to read electronic or paper encyclopedias about professions, articles about choosing a profession, look at real vacancies, visit open days and special exhibitions (“Education from A to Z”, etc.). By the way, many even among high school students do not know who and how their mother and father work, let alone other specialties!

What do you like to do?

It’s enough to remember a hobby or think about what the child likes to do in his free time. Is it difficult for him to answer? It's okay, envy will come to his aid: ask which of his friends he envies and why. A classmate, a football player, or maybe a friend, whom her mother taught to sew stylish clothes. You can learn a lot of interesting things. It would be useful to remember in which lessons at school the child listens to the teacher with interest.

Another good way is to play 10 Lives. Invite your child to come up with 10 scenarios, in one of which he can be a sailor, in another - a film actor or a representative of a more mundane profession - a lawyer. Any options are possible. When we have the required number of scenarios, we change the rules: now out of 10 lives you need to choose only three.

As a result, you will have several favorite or desired activities. Write them down on a piece of paper.

How to choose the right profession?

The founder of the domestic theory of career guidance is Evgeniy Aleksandrovich Klimov. His method was used in the 1970s, improved in the 1990s, and is still considered one of the best. The tests and questionnaires developed by Klimov are still popular; he once found out which factors most influence a person’s choice of a particular profession. According to Klimov, there are eight such factors:

1. Position of senior family members

There are elders who are directly responsible for how your life turns out. This concern also extends to the question of your future profession.

2. Position of comrades, girlfriends

At your age, friendships are already very strong and can greatly influence your choice of profession. We can only give general advice: the correct decision will be one that suits your interests and coincides with the interests of the society in which you live.

3. Position of teachers, school teachers

By observing the behavior, academic and extracurricular activities of students, an experienced teacher knows a lot about you that is hidden from unprofessional eyes and even from you.

4. Personal professional plans

In this case, the plan refers to your ideas about the stages of mastering the profession.

5. Abilities

The uniqueness of one’s abilities must be judged not only by academic success, but also by achievements in a wide variety of activities.

6. Level of claims to public recognition

When planning your career path, it is very important to take care of the reality of your aspirations.

7. Awareness

It is important to ensure that the information you acquire about a particular profession does not turn out to be distorted, incomplete, or one-sided.

8. Tendencies

Tendencies manifest themselves in favorite activities, on which most of their free time is spent. These are interests supported by certain abilities.

The main mistakes that are advised to avoid when choosing a profession:

• Identifying a school subject with a profession or poorly distinguishing between these concepts is a common mistake among schoolchildren. For example, there is such a subject as a foreign language, and there are many professions that require language ability - and this is not only a translator. When choosing a profession, it is worth considering what real occupations and professions are behind this subject. There are many more professions than school subjects.
• It is also common for teenagers to become fascinated by a professional, and as a result, by their profession. Psychologists call this a “transfer” of attitude towards a person, a representative of a particular profession, to the profession itself. It is a mistake to choose a profession based solely on the fact that you like a particular representative of it.
• Sometimes, having poorly understood the essence of the profession itself, a teenager is interested only in the external or one aspect of the profession. But behind the ease with which an actor creates an image on stage, there is intense, everyday work, and journalists do not always appear on television.
• An inadequate assessment of one’s own resources often coexists with the previous mistake of enchantment: unable (or unwilling) to understand one’s personal qualities and abilities, a child may insist on choosing a profession. Psychological tests and special career guidance consultants will help you figure out what is truly “mine.” However, you should not firmly stick to yourself the label obtained as a result of the tests (even if they are the most correct ones) - it is human nature to change, and yesterday’s “humanitarian” after some time can easily begin to show abilities in technical sciences.
• Strictly speaking, the choice of profession itself is not a lifelong diagnosis. In addition to the fact that the person himself changes over the course of his life, changes also occur within the profession itself, and new ones appear every year. Whatever business you do, there is always room for development: you will have to regularly improve your skills, master related specialties... And vice versa, the first profession chosen in your youth can come in handy in the most unexpected situations, even if you later find something more attractive.

Getting to know the Baker profession

From childhood, children know that bread is the center of everything, and the profession of a baker is one of the most necessary and necessary. What can such a character teach? The child will learn how bread is created, that it requires yeast, flour, water, and salt. The baby will also understand that other ingredients are added to make buns and other sweets - sugar, eggs, milk, cocoa, and so on.

One of the most necessary and necessary professions for children

The child will get acquainted with the basic tools of a baker - a sieve, scales, knife, board, rolling pin, stove, oven.

By showing pictures, you can also talk about how this profession differs in different countries, that bread is prepared differently, that it differs both visually and in taste.

The main thing is not to give your child very complex information in large quantities so that he is interested in studying.

Select - chosen. How about applying?

It is not difficult to notice that in the classification proposed by Klimov, a person’s inclinations are taken into account last, but the opinion of parents has a huge influence.

Psychologist and recruitment agency employee Anna Nazarova comments:

“In my opinion, a person’s internal prerequisites - his abilities and inclinations, character traits, motivation - are more important than external factors (such as the demand for a profession in the labor market at the present time). Yes, now, perhaps the chosen specialty is in demand and allows you to get a good job. But we cannot know how the situation will change by the time today’s high school student graduates from college and faces the issue of employment. He may be a loser if he chooses a specialty for which he does not have any special inclinations. When choosing a profession, I always advise starting from the abilities and motivation of the person himself. If a person does what he is good at and what he is most capable of, then he will be able to realize himself in any profession. In any case, it’s better than realizing years later that you received an education that you don’t need, and spending time and money retraining.”

How could you be useful to the world?

Ask your child to remember an episode in his life where he was useful due to his innate qualities. For example, he returned a book that had been delayed for two weeks to the library instead of a shy friend, because he easily finds a common language with people of any age. This quality can be used consciously, and there are many professions where it is useful.

At first glance, this feature may seem neutral or even negative. As in the case of the boy Jim, who had very active facial expressions and could make the most unimaginable faces. Such an ability might just annoy teachers. But Jim noticed that his antics would make people laugh, and he began to do it on purpose to make them cheer up and get positive emotions. Today we know him as the popular comedian and actor Jim Carrey, and lively facial expressions have become his calling card.

Think of a few of your child's standout qualities and come up with useful uses for them. Brainstorm. Let these be the craziest ideas for startups or even new professions. The main rule is to justify why it can be useful to people and why exactly he can do it. Write down everything you come up with in the third column.

The education we choose: will it be in demand?

In September, a Russian recruiting company conducted a sociological study on the topic “Are Russians satisfied with the education they received?” More than 2,300 respondents from different regions were surveyed and the results turned out to be quite interesting:

• The respondents who regret their first education most are those who received an education in economics, management and, oddly enough, technical education.
• Respondents with a humanities education and education in the field of marketing, advertising, and PR regret the education they received the least.

To the question: “Do you work or have you worked in your specialty?”, only 41% answered that they were still working. A quarter of those surveyed previously worked in their specialty, but are now working in a different one.

34% of respondents have never worked in the specialty they received at a university. According to the authors of the study, this may indicate, first of all, the unformed career plans and goals of some university graduates. Many people go to school under the influence of their parents’ opinions, and not based on their own preferences. Also, some school graduates do not plan their lives beyond a couple of years, and do not think about how they will apply the knowledge acquired at the university in adult life. In addition, this can be explained by the fact that a person’s interests change over the course of life.

Psychologist and recruitment agency employee Anna Nazarova comments:

“It happens that already accomplished people come for consultations about choosing a profession, most often these are women aged about 30 years or older. They have children and a family, but work in their previous profession ceases to bring satisfaction. Oddly enough, at this age career guidance occurs more easily - a person already knows what he wants and what he doesn’t want, and has already managed to demonstrate his basic inclinations and character traits. It’s easier to understand yourself, but more difficult to realize yourself - not everyone is ready to start working in a new field from scratch, and existing education and experience do not always matter in another profession. And here we have to show more flexibility and listen to what is happening on the labor market. It is also important to write your resume correctly - in such a way that your best qualities are emphasized first. But don’t despair and give up trying to realize yourself in what you love! Practice shows that a person who is motivated and confident in his abilities finds the job he needs, despite many “unsuitable factors.”

Is it necessary to choose a profession once and for all?

When I ask this question at a master class, ten-year-old children answer “No.” They saw their parents completely change their lives, leave their regular jobs and start their own business or get a second education. But not everyone has such an example before their eyes, so it is important to tell the child that it is also possible to change your decision. It’s normal to lose interest in something you once loved and start doing something completely new. Knowing this, it will be easier to choose a profession.

It has been proven that 90% of the skills that an adult possesses (the ability to play an instrument, knowledge of languages, etc.) were acquired during adolescence, mainly between 11 and 16 years old, when our cognitive abilities are focused on the external world. The more you allow your child to try during this period, the wider his horizons will be.

What about the labor market?

A snapshot of today's labor market can help those who have already decided on their choice of profession and are finishing their education. According to the latest data, today the following specialties are among the undisputed leaders:

• Sales managers. Moreover, “sales people” with experience, with their own client base and who are truly in love with their business are most valued. The financial crisis has forced us to look at the profession of a sales manager differently - this applies both to the “sales people” themselves and their employers, and to those who are clients of sales managers, that is, buyers. Selling something to someone today is no longer as easy as it was two or three years ago - this requires a special character, mastery of one’s business and a strong grip.
• IT technical specialists. Despite the financial crisis, technological progress does not stand still, enterprises are developing communications, information technologies are improving... But in this area, the requirements for the professional level of workers are also high. According to the sociological service of one of the personnel portals, the crisis as a whole revolutionized the labor market: a reassessment of values ​​took place, companies got rid of “ballast” (employees whose professionalism was in doubt) and tightened requirements for the remaining employees. Today, in order to find a good job or keep your current job, you need to prove to your employer almost every day that you are not getting your salary in vain.
• The top three are rounded out by accountants and finance specialists - these professions are always in demand, as long as money is the “lifeblood of the economy”.

Ekaterina Krushinskaya Consultant: Anna Nazarova, psychologist, employee of a recruitment agency

Children about the profession of Driver

This is one of the professions that is also worth introducing your child to. It will be especially relevant and interesting for boys - both for toddlers who have just learned to talk, and for children under 6-7 years old.

Here, both in books and coloring books, you can show your child exactly how the car works inside, and describe how to drive the car correctly.

A relevant and interesting profession for boys

Taking into account the specifics of the profession, tell us how the traffic light works, which light you can go to, and which light you can’t.

Older children can be given a serious task - after the training course, ask what parts the machine consists of and what the name of each of them is. At the same time, it would be good to tell your child about such concepts as pedestrian crossings, signs on the road, and so on.

How to work with educational cards?

Profession pictures for children are a very simple option for memorizing, especially if for each card you offer a detailed story about the profession, about what exactly the person does. This is important for children, because several types of memory work simultaneously. Having learned one or two professions, do not forget to ask the child the next day what the picture means and what the person depicted in it does. You should help familiarize children with professions, make the activity interesting, then the child will be happy to learn!

Educational cards for children

If a child sits confidently at a computer and is not two years old, you can give him a more difficult task - to find information about some profession, which will be very interesting and educational for him. It all depends on the capabilities and age of the baby. Of course, you shouldn’t set unrealistic goals for him.

At the same time, parents have the opportunity to see which profession the child liked best. Perhaps just at this moment the child will say who he wants to be.

Stories about professions for children would also be a good option. It is possible that it will just be a fairy tale, but the child will be able to learn a lot of information about a specific craft or area of ​​​​work.

Music - learning professions in an unusual way

You can also find children's songs online that are sung or chanted about a particular profession. Children love and remember cartoons well, so it is also worth looking for animation on a relevant topic. It will simultaneously combine moving characters, bright pictures, actions performed by the characters, as well as background music telling about a particular specialty.

Using a game form of learning, helping a child develop in this direction, do not put pressure on him - this is the only correct and correct approach to simple, easy and interesting learning.

Doman educational cards with people's professions

This is one of the options for introducing children to professions that exist in the world. In this case, the card will have an image of the profession, and the picture will be very bright and simple, easy for the child to remember. This is the easiest option to teach children to understand who is doing what. Such pictures of professions for children will be one of the most convenient learning options.

The pilot profession will be incredibly interesting for your child

There are 122 such cards in total; they provide 5 types, one of which is military professions. On the back of the card there is a word in large letters, on the other side there is an image that indicates this word. Thus, the child’s learning is more interesting, educational, and simple.