Students have opportunities to get an apprenticeship or job shadow a career that they are interested in. Apprenticeships and job shadowing are good ways for students to see what career paths they want to take.

An apprenticeship is paid, on- the-job training. Having an apprenticeship can be very helpful for starting a career because it is paid job experience in a career of interest. They can act as a gateway into some careers, while other careers require additional schooling. Counselor Amy Daugherty helps students find apprenticeships.

“We have a large number of students who go through the construction trades. Typically, students will meet with a representative from the union or company to understand the specific requirements for that organization,” said Daugherty.

Job shadowing is following someone around during their workday to realistically see what their job is like. Students find people to job shadow by talking to adults that they know in the career they are interested in or talking to their counselor to find someone to shadow.

 “It is a great idea to job shadow because then you can see what the career is really like before committing to the educational requirements for that position,” said Daugherty.

Even if students know what career they want to go into, job shadowing can still be beneficial for learning more about the job. It gives them the opportunity to ask any questions that they have about the job.

Apprenticeships and job shadowing teach students more about career paths they are interested in. They can spend time watching some work do a job to see if it is something they really want to do or have a paid job that gives them experience working in the career.