For parents · Launch League blog
How to Help Your Teen Discover Their Career Path in Ohio
By Nick Gonzalez, founder, U.S. Air Force veteranPublished
The short answer
Stop asking what they want to be and start running small experiments. Each semester, help your teen test one career guess with a conversation, a shadow day, a class or a job. In Ohio, use what schools already provide: required career advising, College Credit Plus from grade 9, and career-technical programs from grade 7.
The one-semester experiment
Every semester of high school should contain one small, real-world test of a career guess: one conversation, one class, one shadow day or one job. Eight semesters means eight experiments, and a teenager with eight experiments behind them graduates with evidence instead of a guess.
How to help your teen discover their career path: lower the stakes first
Most of the tension in these conversations comes from a belief that there is one right answer and your teenager has to find it before graduation. There isn't one, and they don't have to. The job in high school is not to choose a career for life. It is to learn enough about themselves and about real work that the next choice is an informed one.
Say that to your teen, in plain words. Pressure is what produces the shrug.
How career coaches help teens answer “What do you want to be?”
Mostly, by not asking it. The question is unanswerable at 15 because it asks for a conclusion with no evidence. When I work with a teenager, I ask about things that already happened: what they did last week that they would happily do again, what people come to them for, what drained them. Those answers have patterns, and patterns point toward families of careers.
The second thing a coach does is turn every guess into a test. If your teen says “maybe nursing,” the answer is not a debate about nursing. It is: who do we know who is a nurse, and can you ask them three questions this month? The guess either survives contact with the work or it doesn't. Either way, it was decided by evidence rather than by an argument at the dinner table.
- Instead of “What do you want to be?”, ask “What did you do this week that you'd do again tomorrow?”
- Instead of “What are you passionate about?”, ask “What do your friends come to you for?”
- Instead of “Have you thought about college?”, ask “Whose job have you seen that looks like a decent day?”
Use the career advising your Ohio school already has to provide
Ohio Revised Code 3313.6020 requires every school district to adopt a career advising policy, post it on its website, and update it at least once every two years. The policy must include a career advising plan for grades 6 to 12, information on career fields and the credentials or degrees they need, and information on ways to cut the cost of education after high school, including College Credit Plus. Districts must also document each student's career advising.
Tonight, look up your district's policy on its website. Then ask your teen's school counselor two things: what the plan for your teen's grade actually includes, and what is in your teen's career advising record so far. Ohio also runs OhioMeansJobs K-12, a free career planning system for students with interest tools, résumé help and a tracker for job shadows and internships.
College Credit Plus: a cheap way to test a field
College Credit Plus lets Ohio students in grades 9 to 12 take college courses and earn high school and college credit at the same time. For public school students taking courses at an Ohio public college or university, the state says it is free: no tuition, books or fees. For the 2026 to 2027 school year, public school students submit a letter of intent to their school between February 1 and April 1, with a second window from September 1 to November 1 for spring.
Most families think of College Credit Plus as a way to save on a degree. I think its better use is as an experiment. One intro course in psychology, criminal justice or engineering technology tells a teenager more about that field than any amount of reading. The trade-off is real, though. Under Ohio Revised Code 3365.09, if a student does not pass a College Credit Plus course, the school may ask the family to repay the state money spent on it, unless the student is identified as economically disadvantaged. So a teen should take a course they are ready for, not one they are guessing at with no preparation.
Career-tech centers are not a fallback
Under Ohio Revised Code 3313.90, every Ohio school district must provide career-technical education to students in grades 7 through 12. A district can run its own program, belong to a joint vocational school district (often called a career center), or contract with one. So your teen almost certainly has access to programs in fields like health, construction, manufacturing, IT or business, whether at the home high school or a career center.
I would push back hard on the idea that career-tech is for students who can't do college. Ohio's Department of Education and Workforce describes career-tech as one way students earn industry credentials while still in school. For a teenager who learns by doing, two years in a lab or a shop is the most honest career test available.
The one-semester experiment, grade by grade
Here is what the one-semester experiment can look like across high school. Pick one per semester, not all of them, and write down what happened afterward in your teen's own words.
- Grade 9: ten minutes on a free career quiz to widen the list; one conversation with an adult about what they actually do all day.
- Grade 10: a shadow day with someone you know; a look at your district's career-tech programs before the enrollment deadline.
- Grade 11: a College Credit Plus course in a field they are curious about, or a career-tech program; a part-time or summer job.
- Grade 12: a second conversation with someone in the field they are leaning toward, asking about the worst part of the job; an application, apprenticeship inquiry or enlistment conversation if that is where the evidence points.
Future Finder, the free career quizHow to make money as a teenager in Ohio
When to bring in a coach, and when not to
Three honest signs that outside help is worth it: every conversation at home turns into an argument; your teen talks more openly to other adults than to you, which is very common; or you don't have the network to get them in front of people doing the work. A coach earns their fee by running these experiments with someone who isn't their parent and by knowing who to call. Our Future Ready Sprint is six weeks of one-to-one coaching over video for US$1,295, with a full refund after the first two sessions if you don't think it is worth it.
If none of those apply and your teen is already testing things, you probably don't need to pay anyone. And if anxiety, low mood or something more serious is the real obstacle, start with a doctor or licensed mental health professional. Coaching is not therapy. If your teen is in crisis, the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is free and open 24/7 by call or text at 988.
Questions
Quick answers
- At what age should my teen start thinking about careers?
- Middle school is a good time to start widening, which is why Ohio's required career advising plan starts in grade 6. Grades 10 and 11 are when narrowing matters most, because College Credit Plus and career-tech choices open or close options. Grade 12 is late for exploring but not too late.
- My teen says they don't care about any of it. What do I do?
- Stop asking the big question and arrange one small, low-pressure look at real work, like a conversation or a shadow day. Many teenagers who say they don't care are really saying the question feels too big. A concrete experience is easier to react to than an abstract choice.
- Does my teen need a work permit for a summer job in Ohio?
- Ohio requires minors of compulsory school age to give an employer an age and schooling certificate before starting work. Under Ohio Revised Code 4109.02, 16- and 17-year-olds hired during summer vacation can skip it if they provide proof of age and a signed parent or guardian consent. Check with the school or employer for the current process.
- Is College Credit Plus right for every student?
- No. A failed course can cost the family money, because Ohio lets the school seek repayment of the state funds unless the student is economically disadvantaged. It works best for a teen who is ready for the course and curious about the field. Talk to the school counselor before the letter-of-intent deadline about which course fits.
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Sources: Ohio Revised Code 3313.6020: district career advising policy · Ohio Department of Education and Workforce: OhioMeansJobs K-12 · Ohio Revised Code 3365.03: College Credit Plus eligibility (grades 9 to 12) · Ohio Department of Education and Workforce: College Credit Plus (cost and letter-of-intent dates) · Ohio Revised Code 3365.09: repayment when a College Credit Plus course is not passed · Ohio Revised Code 3313.90: career-technical education in grades 7 to 12 · Ohio Department of Education and Workforce: Career-Tech · Ohio Revised Code 4109.02: age and schooling certificates for working minors · 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. Coaching is not therapy, medical, legal or financial advice.