A Career Planning Course for Parents

Your son or daughter just left for (or returned to) college but doesn't seem to have a clue as to what he or she wants to major in, let alone choose as a career. Don't worry, this is not unusual, although you might wish your child had a little more sense of direction. 

Choosing a career is a process students need to go through—and they go through the stages of this process at different rates of speed. The steps include: 

• assessing skills, interests, and abilities (an important first step to choosing an appropriate career);
• exploring majors and career options;
• experimenting with possible career options; and
• organizing and conducting a job or graduate school search. 
• You can assist and support your child in each of these stages. But what can—or should—you do? 

Here's your own career planning timetable. 

Careers 101—for parents of first-year students
During their first year or so of college, students will be involved (formally or informally) in assessing their skills, interests, and abilities. They will do this through finding success (or failure) in courses they take, involvement in campus activities, discussions with their friends and faculty, and by being exposed to and trying out different ideas and experiences. 

Most students enter college with a very limited knowledge of the vast array of courses and majors available to them. When they begin to delve into studies that are new to them, even those who entered with a plan may be drawn to different options. This is an exciting time for students.

What you can do to help

• Support your child's exploration of new areas of study and interests. This, after all, is what education is all about.
• Affirm what you know to be areas of skill and ability he or she has consistently demonstrated. Sometimes students overlook these and need to be reminded.
• Talk with your son or daughter about the courses and activities he or she is enjoying. Students discover new things about themselves throughout the college experience. Your willingness to listen and be a sounding board will keep you in the loop.
• Don't panic if your child is excited about majoring in something like English, history, or art. These can be excellent choices, particularly if they are a good match for a student's interests and skills.
• Support your son or daughter's responsible involvement in campus activities but urge this to be balanced with maintaining achievement in the classroom.
• Urge your child to seek assistance in the campus career center. Most institutions have assessment instruments and counselors to help students to define their skills, interests, and abilities.

Careers 401—For parents of graduating seniors
The senior year is when organizing and conducting a job search or graduate school search begins in earnest. It is also a time when students are heavily involved in more advanced courses and often have more responsible roles in campus and/or volunteer activities. Balancing these important pursuits and setting priorities is a constant challenge for seniors. 

You are probably anxious for this young adult to make a decision—and yet, he or she may be moving toward closure more slowly than you would wish. 

What you can do to help

• Suggest that he or she use the campus career center throughout the senior year. These offices provide assistance in preparation for the job search. Offerings may include:
• Workshops and individual help with resume and cover letter writing, interviewing, and other
• job-search skills,
• Individual and group career advising,
• Job-search resources,
• On-campus interviewing opportunities, and,
• Alumni career consultant or mentor programs.
• Don't nag your child about not having a job yet. This will often have the reverse effect. Use positive reinforcement.
• Offer to assist by sending information you may have found about your child’s target career field and/or job listings that may be of interest. Listen for indications from your child that you are getting carried away—and back off.
• Don't call potential employers to intervene for your child. Contact with potential employers is the candidate's responsibility.
• Be prepared to support your child through the ups and downs of the job and graduate school search. It can be a bumpy road—not every desired job or graduate school acceptance will come through. Your student will need reassurance that for every door that closes, another opens.

Psw 3 yrs

• Admissions Requirements
• High school requirement: 2.50 (recalculated academic core) grade point average.
• College requirement: 2.50 (calculated by FAMU) overall grade point average on all college course work (non-remedial).
• Test score requirement:  

 The Redesigned SAT (code: 5215): evidenced-based reading and writing 500,
  mathematics score of 500, mathematics subscore of 24, reading subscore of 24, and writing and language subscore of 25 and/or

The ACT (code: 0726): English score of 17, Mathematics score of 19, and reading score of 19. 

• Demonstrate competency in a world language or American Sign Language equivalent to at least the second high school level (e.g. Spanish 2) or the second elementary course at the college level (e.g. SPN 1211 – Beginning Spanish II).
• Be in good academic standing and be eligible to return as a degree-seeking student to the last institution attended.
• Meet the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL code: 5215) Internet-Based score of 80 or Paper-Based score of 550 or International English Language Testing System (IELTS) score of 6.5, if applicable

If you will have 30 or more, but fewer than 60 transferable semester hours of college course work (12 or more earned after high school graduation) by the time you enroll at FAMU:

Admissions Requirements

• College requirement: 2.50 (calculated by FAMU) overall grade point average on all college course work (non-remedial).
• Student must have successfully completed (with a "C" grade or higher) at least one English Composition course and one college-level mathematics course, each considering of three (3) semester hours.
• Demonstrate competency in a world language or American Sign Language equivalent to at least the second high school level (e.g. Spanish 2) or the second elementary course at the college level (e.g. SPN 1211 – Beginning Spanish II).
• Be in good academic standing and be eligible to return as a degree-seeking student to the last institution attended.
• Meet the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL code: 5215) Internet-Based score of 80 or Paper-Based score of 550 or International English Language Testing System (IELTS) score of 6.5, if applicable.

If you will have 60 or more transferable semester hours of college course work (12 or more earned after high school graduation) by the time you enroll at FAMU, or if you will have earned an A.A. degree or state-articulated A.S. degree from a Florida public community college or university, you must:

Admissions Requirements

• College requirement: 2.00 (calculated by FAMU) overall grade point average on all college course work (non-remedial).
• Be in good academic standing and be eligible to return as a degree-seeking student to the last institution attended.
• Demonstrate competency in a world language or American Sign Language equivalent to at least the second high school level (e.g. Spanish 2) or the second elementary course at the college level (e.g. SPN 1211 – Beginning Spanish II).
• Meet the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL code: 5215) Internet-Based score of 80 or Paper-Based score of 550 or International English Language Testing System (IELTS) score of 6.5, if applicable.