Long ago, when my life was so not together, I was visiting my grandparent’s graves with my mom.
“Do you and Dad have a plot?” I asked her.
“Yep. To get our 21-year-old daughter’s life in order”, she said without skipping a beat.
As a Success AGvocate, I career coach a lot of parents; professionals who want to go through career discovery, a career change, or they’re looking for jobs. However, many are also trying to get their kiddo’s life in order.
I get it.
You want your kids to grow up to be confident, competent, and self-sufficient. You want them to do something they enjoy. You want them to have job security. Most of all, you don’t want them sleeping on your couch till they’re 35.
Here’s the thing: job security ain’t a thing anymore. As a career coach, I see there are some jobs, companies, and industries who seem to have a higher degree of security, but even those are iffy.
And I’ve seen enough to know that having a formal degree does not mean job security. If you don’t believe me, ask the 120 laid-off clients I am working with NOW, most with college degrees. When Covid hit, 98% of my 150 out-of-work clients had a bachelor’s degree or higher.
But guess who still had jobs? Those with employable skills (a trade) under their belt. They were the essentials who kept this country running. It took me 6 weeks to get an appliance guy to come out and fix my washer. I quickly realized my washer and the fix-it guy were super essential.
When he showed, I almost kissed him.
Fresh outta high school, I bombed my first two college semesters-SEVEN F’s?! Don’t be judgy. I know some of y’all didn’t start out so well either.
When I am advising students and see they have struggled their first semester or two and hear their confusion and frustration, I think back to those days when I wasn’t clear about myself, my direction, or my options. I certainly wasn’t college material; yet.
As a Success AGvocate, I try to secure my student’s future, plant seeds, and follow the motto:
~Enjoyable skills: Learning to do something that’s a natural fit to their personality and abilities.
~Employable skills: Doin’ to learn something that will pay them real money. Cuz we all know, early on, most ain’t got any real skills that will make them any real money.
~Essential skills: Earning to live. Natural fit is essential, but those enjoyable and employable skills must be essential and in high demand. If not, they won’t be able to feed themselves or their critters. Speed reading in scenic transportation ain’t going nowhere.
~Service skills: Living to serve, along with having employable, enjoyable, and essential skills, make a great foundation to build on; before they need to start other formal learnin’.
~Continued Learning: Once the student and I figure out all the above skills, I gently plant the seed that although this is a good place to start, there will likely come a time they’ll want to move up and make more moolah in their career. Chances are good, that higher-up position will require a college degree.
If we want these kids to have any kind of job security, it will come from: Learning to do something that’s a natural fit for their personality and abilities. When it’s a good fit, there’s nothing better. Doing to learn a skill so well they feel confident and competent. Earning a living as an essential employee who is paid a real wage to support themsleves. The sooner they’re earning to live, the sooner they’ll be off your couch! And living to serve because serving others will fulfill them and give them purpose.
Today’s world comes with many employment uncertainties. Whether you’re a student or you’re all growed up like me, ag people should have a clear direction and keep building real-life skills to feel confident, competent, and stay employed. As your Success AGvocate, and in my own life, I encourage you to follow the motto. It’s a solid foundation that gives all of us the best shot at securing our future.
And if I can do it, so can you.