17 year old daughter is graduating high school this summer....?

She is REALLY stressing out about making the right career choice. She sees how I struggle and flat out says she does not want to be in the position I am. I have a college degree but work in social services so we all know there is no money there. Noble profession yes but one that leaves me broke as hel1..





She is interested in three (3) professions and has asked me to set up interviews with people I know in the professions because she wants to learn first hand what the career entails.





1. Pharmacist...I have 2 friends in this profession so no problem there.


2. Counselor...My sister is a counselor and so is one of our neighbors.


3. Real Estate Agent...For some reason she is REALLY interested in this career. I have nothing to say about it one way or the other and am trying to be very neutral. I have a license that I never used for many reasons. She is a natural at sales! Negotiates EVERYTHING! Shoes at the mall, salon services.





Is there anything else I need to do?

17 year old daughter is graduating high school this summer....?
If she is smart enough to think for the long term (which it seems she is) then you don't have to worry about anything. She will end up choosing the right field.





Pharmacy is the highest paying of the three. Also, no stress and almost guaranteed job once she graduates since there is a good demand for pharmacists especially with the baby boomers retiring.





Real Estate Agent is probably the second highest paying.





She should do what she enjoys. I'm sure she will choose the right path. Don't worry. =)
Reply:It's great that you're taking such an active role in your daughter's career plans. You seem to be doing everything right. If she plans on going to college, internships are an excellent way to test out a field without having to commit to a permanent job.
Reply:No, she'll be fine
Reply:real estate is a lot different from retail. You can expect to make very little if any money your first couple of years until you build up contacts, get listings, etc.





she can probably get a pharmacy tech position with just a one year courses/training program - Pharmacy degree is pretty much a 5 year college program - heavy on the sciences I imagine - pays great once you get a job





does her highschool have a guidance counselor who can help her get info on careers?
Reply:pharm start at about 100k per year................the others don't
Reply:There is a real shortage of pharmacists in some areas. Demand will continue to grow for these services. Better and more certain income than real estate.
Reply:Age may be a problem in Real Estate initially, especially since the house market has all but fallen apart.





You mention that she is a natural at sales. How about testing that theory. My oldest son went to a four year college for his freshman year and did fine enough but seemed restless and unsatisfied. When we talked about it, he indicated that the school was fine (but he's never been a "big" guy on school although he does fine on grades), but it felt like he wasn't going anywhere. He had this "crazy" idea about wanting to go check out Tampa (We're from OH). He had a girlfriend reason, sort of, but what he really wanted to do was to get out on his own. Now, to be clear, I don't really advocate this in general, but in his case, we were able to work some situations around where it was a safe proposition. Anywah, we set some ground rules on what he had to do in terms of timing of getting a job, finding a doctor, you know, the normal stuff that someone who is responsible would do. He got an initial job at a movie rental place that paid barely above Min Wage (but he met the job deadline). After about 3 months, he'd about had it. He barely made any money, it sucked up his time etc. He was still enrolled in school full time as well.





(I'm getting to my point, I promise).





He's a natural salesperson. He hated the minimum wage grind. One day he said "how do I get ahead of all this". My response was that there are only two real ways to make decent money, i.e. make a lot more per hour on average, when you're that age: Work in the restaurant business and get good tips) or sell something of significant value to someone. He was also interested in the idea of real estate but we found him something a little better to cut his teeth on. He got a job selling at CarMax. I liked the situation because:





. CarMax is real. It's not some fly by night thing and it's not a typical "dealership" model


. CarMax provided real, corporate, sales training


. CarMax customers buy something of real value (a car), which means you actually have to sell


. Car Max has a good formula, it's real sales, and, in my son's case, he can reall get a feel for whether sales is his "thing" or not. Turns out, for him it is.





Of all the things you said...if you really believe you're daughter can sell and has the sales personality (Driven, gets restless, likes to "win" either by persuading someone she's right or by flat out beating them, has good verbal skills, and has some natural presence/charisma, consider suggesting she start by testing the water on sales. If she has sales in her blood, the other two may look interesting initially but she'll be bored before you know it. If it turns out selling really isn't her "thing", my gut says counseling might be a good second and pharmacy a third (but I've never met her so it's just gut)





Hope that helps some.
Reply:Real estate is going nowhere. Everyone's in it and no one is making money. Pharmacist or nurse!!!
Reply:Pharmacists make good money for what they actually do. A counselor does not make much money at all, unless you are talking about a legal counselor. Real estate agents are a dime a dozen. It is possible to make money in real estate but it seems 50% of the US population has a license.