{"id":16348,"date":"2025-03-27T14:04:15","date_gmt":"2025-03-27T20:04:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.petersons.com\/blog\/?p=16348"},"modified":"2025-04-01T11:12:29","modified_gmt":"2025-04-01T17:12:29","slug":"teens-guide-to-college-and-career-planning-announcement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.petersons.com\/blog\/teens-guide-to-college-and-career-planning-announcement\/","title":{"rendered":"Teens’ Guide to College and Career Planning Announcement"},"content":{"rendered":"

You\u2019re not cookie-cutter\u2014although, sometimes, in middle and high school, it can feel that way. If you feel like you\u2019re on a conveyor belt toward adulthood without much knowledge about the next step in the production process, know that you\u2019re not alone!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Many teenagers wonder about the next steps after high school, and these thoughts often intensify as they progress from freshman to sophomore year, sophomore to junior year, and junior to senior year. Over the course of your education, you may have experienced glimmers of hope for the future and what it might hold regarding college and career\u4e00or perhaps you have NO CLUE what you want to do. Whichever camp you are in, let\u2019s break free from the mold, analyze the steps of production toward adulthood, and supercharge your path to building the life you truly desire post-grad.<\/span><\/p>\n

Introducing Teens’ Guide to College and Career Planning<\/b><\/h2>\n

Whether you already have a career plan or have no idea where to begin career development and planning, our newest addition to the Peterson\u2019s platform, <\/span>Teens\u2019 Guide<\/span><\/a>, will support you through your teenage years. It is designed to ensure that as you move up in class rank, you\u2019ll gain increasing confidence in your college and career planning.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We sat down with Lacey Smith, PhD, content development manager at Peterson\u2019s and lead writer of this course, to learn who Teens\u2019 Guide is for, how to use it, and when. She shared that Teens\u2019 Guide is the resource she wishes she\u2019d had during college and career planning. She believes that Teens\u2019 Guide is \u201cfor all sorts of students.\u201d As she explains, \u201cThe student I had in mind was a lot like myself. When I was in high school, I didn’t have a lot of parental support around college and career planning, and I didn’t know what I was doing when I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do regarding all that stuff. So, I had to rely on the resources at the library. When writing this course, I imagined I was that kid going to the library and saying to myself, \u2018I want to tackle this. How do I do it on my own?\u2019 We then developed the course with that kid in mind.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Teens\u2019 Guide is for anyone ready to take charge of their future\u4e00whether you\u2019ve had a plan for ages, have no idea what\u2019s next, or have support at home or not. Think of this course as a window into the many options and steps available to help you reach your goals.<\/span><\/p>\n

Who Has Goals This Early, Anyhow?<\/b><\/h2>\n

High school students may ask themselves, \u201cWhat are my career goals?\u201d or “How do I begin the college search process?” At Peterson\u2019s, we\u2019ve found that career planning and college planning for high school students has many moving parts. Teens want to feel empowered to make their own decisions but need structured support to navigate the process. Without it, they risk spending all their time gathering information instead of acting on it. <\/span>Teens’ Guide to College and Career Planning<\/span><\/i> provides a comprehensive guide to college information and career resources so students can take meaningful steps toward their goals. All the while, they can still explore their options and streamline their college and career development efforts.<\/span><\/p>\n

Customizable Content<\/b><\/h2>\n

While the course includes college and military sections, you can skip what doesn\u2019t apply to you and focus on what\u2019s most relevant. The course is highly customizable, allowing users to select the sections that most benefit their specific goals. As Lacey puts it, \u201cYou don\u2019t have to read every module\u2026 If an option interests you or you want to consider all your options, that chapter is there for you! The course goes from eighth grade through college graduation and even includes a chapter on applying for your first job. So even if you have skipped college, have taken a different path, are applying to your first job, or are diving into your first adult years, Teens\u2019 Guide is there for you.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Topics Covered<\/b><\/h2>\n

After joining Peterson\u2019s following two years of high school teaching and nearly a decade of university teaching, Lacey began writing this course with teenagers and their needs fresh in her mind. As she explains, \u201cComing straight from teaching to writing this course shortly after, I often thought to myself, what do students need to know? That includes stuff beyond school, like how to navigate an argument with your roommate or talk about consent. For example, say you borrowed your roommate’s stuff but didn’t ask them first. We clarify why that would potentially cause an issue. In the lessons devoted to navigating your first years after high school, for instance, we have a section on how to talk about house rules when you get your first place with a roommate. All of those sorts of scenarios that come up around college, career planning, and navigating your first years of adulthood are part of the course.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Here are a few additional topics covered for career planning and development:<\/span><\/p>\n

Getting Hyped for High School<\/b><\/p>\n