Explore strengths, interests and goals

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Meaningful work experiences in high school are a strong predictor of employment success as an adult. the key is meaningful - in the community, doing or learning about actual tasks required for a specific job, and related to your child's interests. Having a paid job in high school can make a big difference in your child's future. Research shows that teens who work are more likely to find and keep jobs as adults - and often enjoy better job stability, higher wages, and stronger career growth.

These experiences may include:

• Paid entry-level job.

• Internships.

• Volunteering.

• Job shadowing.

• Informational interviews.

Your child's school may have a work-based learning program, which gives students a chance to learn about jobs by doing real work in the community. These experiences help students explore careers, build job skills and understand what it is like to have a job.

Vocational Rehabilitation Services (VRS) and State Services for the Blind (SSB) may also support and provide work-based learning experiences when school work-based learning services aren't available or don't fully meet your child's needs.

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Start career conversations at home. Help your child complete an online career interest tool to identify jobs for them to explore. this tool asks questions about activities they like to do and then matches them to job possibilities.

Build a plan for work. The Planning Paths area of your child's My Vault account. My Vault is a secure, personal account you can use to explore planning paths and activities, access your saved Estimator sessions, store and share files.

Understand your own thoughts around employment. Use the Charting the LifeCourse portfolio for family perspective on employment (PDF) to explore your own thoughts about the role employment can play in your child's life.