A brief personal reflection by Hinesh Chauhan advising parents and secondary students to keep their post-secondary and career options open. Using a conversation with his ninth-grade child as an example, he recommends choosing courses that preserve future choices, recognizing that interests and decisions can change and that choices have opportunity costs.
I have no idea what I want to be when I grow up. Or at least it's always changing and evolving and that could happen to your kids. And I had a really good conversation with my younger kid who's in grade nine, and we're talking about choices, choices for post secondary and what to do, what not to do as you're trying to figure it out. And that it was okay to change programs, to change your decision, to change professions. Just understanding that it's work, there's always an opportunity cost. And so thinking about post secondary, my discussion and advice was don't close doors, don't limit your options. So if you're thinking you want to go into this field for now, and that doesn't require maths and sciences, then that's fine. But what if you change your mind? What if your interests change? And to be 14, making these big decisions in class, class choices for the next few years leading into post secondary and potentially a career, don't limit your options. And the discussion was about that. Take the courses which are needed to be able to enter any post secondary program that you choose to do. So I wanted to share that because I thought it was really meaningful and thought it may help any one of you parents out there or any of you in secondary trying to figure out just what to do. The fact is it can change, it can change.
