Chapter 18 Blog Post

 

I found the information on trends in career information to be the most interesting part of this chapter. We have spent a lot of time throughout this class looking back on both theories of career development and trends of the past. I enjoy looking forward to what is to come for the field of career development. Even if we do not become “Career Counselors” we will still be able to affect some amount of change on either clients or students. Careers are such a huge part of people’s lives and a necessary piece to explore when you are counseling someone, even if it seems you are helping through an unrelated problem. I was pleased to read that “there will be a continuing effort to improve the delivery of occupational information” (Brown, 2012, p. 375) (i.e. O*NET and Career One Stop, among various other online sources). Staying familiar with the resources available to our clients will only serve us in a positive way in the future. 

I also feel very strongly about the future of our adult workforce; those who are far from their graduation days yet not nearly close enough to start thinking about a life after their full-time jobs. These are the people who tend to be affected the most by a down economy because this is the population that has young children, mortgages, many bills to pay and are looking toward paying for their children’s college educations, weddings, cars, etc. Helping adults to use the occupational information out there could have a huge effect on their future planning. “The current economic downturn and the human misery it has created will, at least in the short-term, prompt people to engage in information-based decision making” (Brown, 2012, p. 376).

Another segment of this section on trends in career development that I was happy to read is that “The reduction in time spent on career information is partially because of the recognition of the need to pay more attention to career counseling, which is a healthy sign” (Brown, 2012, p. 376). The more we cultivate the idea of “careers” into our young students, the more informed they will be when they are thrust into the workforce. We need to keep working with our students so that their college and career moves are thoughtful and well-planned out decisions. The down side of this is that “career counselors and career development specialists will increasingly have to rely on their own study and in-service training for their knowledge of career information” (Brown, 2012, p. 376). You could also look at this as a positive thing. Since most career counselors will have little built-in support, the field will most likely only attract people who are highly motivated to be in the field and want to do a lot of self-education to stay well-informed.

 

Brown, D. (2012). Career information, career counseling, and career development. (10th ed.). New York: Pearson Education, Inc.