Key points:
Helping students choose a career pathway that’s personally rewarding for them is one of the most important functions of a secondary education. High schools can fulfill this goal by giving students opportunities to explore a wide range of career options in the courses they provide.
Programs and courses that help students learn about potential career pathways are important for many reasons. First, they make education more relevant and meaningful for students by connecting the skills and concepts learned in class with jobs in the real world. They also expose students to possibilities they might not have considered and open up a world of opportunities.
Students can’t aspire to work in a career field they’re unfamiliar with. When asked what they’d like to be when they grow up, most students are familiar with careers like doctors, teachers, firefighters, or professional athletes, but what about careers as an accountant, animal behavioral scientist, entrepreneur, or cybersecurity specialist?
When students are planning for their future, their goals and desires are limited by the careers they’ve been exposed to before–jobs they’ve learned about from their own experiences or from what they’ve seen in the media. But many exciting and rewarding careers aren’t featured in the news or on streaming video, and students from lower-income neighborhoods in particular might not see as many well-paying career options as those from more affluent families.
Taking career-related courses in high school doesn’t just broaden students’ horizons. It also helps them narrow their choices. It allows students to “test drive” various career options through hands-on learning to see which types of jobs they might like–and which they don’t like. Both of these insights can be incredibly valuable.
For example, suppose a student who likes animals thinks she might like to become a veterinarian. In taking a course in veterinary science, however, she discovers that this profession isn’t a good match for her after all. If she’d waited until college to make this discovery, she might have wasted valuable time and money pursuing a career pathway that wasn’t a good fit for her. By exploring career options while still in high school, she can “try before she buys” and make better choices for possible future study.
How online learning can help
The more career pathways that students can explore in high school, the greater the likelihood they’ll find an option that appeals to them. However, many high schools–especially those in small or rural communities–can’t afford to offer a broad range of career-related courses.
Hiring and retaining instructors who are qualified to teach career-related courses can also be challenging for schools and districts of all sizes. According to an analysis from the Brookings Foundation, high school administrators report having difficulty filling teaching positions in career-related subjects 57 percent of the time, compared to only 39 percent for job openings in traditional academic subjects.
Online learning can help expose students to a much richer array of career options than schools can provide by themselves. By partnering with a supplemental online learning provider, schools can offer a wide range of courses that give high school students hands-on experience in a broad spectrum of career fields.
For instance, VHS Learning has been an accredited nonprofit provider of supplemental online courses for high school students since 1996. Students who enroll in VHS Learning courses through their local high school have access to more than 250 courses across a wide range of industries and professions, including computer science, architecture, biotechnology, fashion design, forensic science, meteorology, and much more. VHS Learning courses expand a school’s local program of studies, allowing them to provide more educational options for their students.
All VHS Learning courses are taught by certified high school teachers, and students engage with their peers from around the world, while learning subjects not always available to them locally. Students who enroll in VHS Learning courses receive practical, hands-on experience in career fields by completing authentic, real-world tasks and projects.
Connecting students with careers they’re passionate about should be every high school administrator’s mission. High-quality, hands-on instruction from an experienced, high-quality supplemental online learning provider allows high schools to broaden the options available to their students, so students can find careers that truly engage and inspire them.
