Source: Edutopia (https://www.edutopia.org/article/8-ways-to-help-middle-schoolers-imagine-their-future-careers/)
This article is reproduced for educational purposes. All rights belong to the original publisher and authors. If any rights holder objects to this reproduction, please contact us to remove it.
Most schools don’t give students a chance to think about their futures until high school, but a recent article published by the Association of Middle Level Educators argues the optimal window actually opens as early as middle school—and too many schools are missing it.
In middle school, kids are open to “exploring and trying new things—and aren’t as affected by what their peers think,” AMLE writes. They also aren’t experiencing the “crunch time” effect of intense academic strain, college admissions stress, and heightened extracurricular expectations that high schoolers generally face.
By giving kids the opportunity to explore possible careers “without the heavy burden of expectation on their shoulders,” we can help students “determine not just what jobs they might want in the future, but who they are. What makes their eyes light up? What are they curious to try? What can they talk about for hours?”
The research says middle schoolers crave these opportunities: 85 percent are already thinking about future careers and 87 percent are interested in ways to match their skills and interests to potential careers, according to a 2022 report from American Student Assistance.
This makes sense when you consider what’s happening in adolescent brains: A 2024 study found that teens are innately wired for big-picture thinking, naturally seeking connections between their learning and broader questions of purpose, future goals, and cultural implications. It’s a finding that lead researcher Mary Helen Immordino-Yang says has “important implications for the design of middle and high schools,” highlighting the need to create learning experiences that honor even younger students’ developmental readiness for deep, sometimes challenging, future-oriented questions about their place in the world.
Here are eight activities that can help middle schoolers think more expansively about their futures—prompting them to question initial assumptions about what careers might fit their emerging interests and strengths, while also exploring possibilities they’ve never considered.
Stir Up Ideas: Hypothetical questions are an invitation for students to think outside of the box, creating distance between common “assumptions and limitations that can hinder career exploration.”
Look 'Behind the Scenes': “Jobs Behind the Scenes” asks students to identify the experiences they enjoy—like visiting a theme park or going to a sports game—and name all the behind-the-scenes jobs that make it possible.
From Pie Charts to Purpose: Give students two blank pie charts—current time vs. desired time—and connect time allocations to career thinking.
Meet Future Me: A “Future Goals Gala” acts as an early 30-year class reunion—students come dressed as the people they plan to become, complete with homemade props.
Start With Strengths: Station rotation around strengths (creative thinking, problem solving, leadership) followed by career matching tools like My Next Move.
Turn Preferences Into Career Clues: “Would you rather…” prompts help orient students toward future roles aligned to preferences.
Visit the Office (Virtually): Age-appropriate virtual field trips to observe professions in action.
Hear From The Pros: Personal interviews with professionals; students research and present findings to peers.
