If you have a teen who’s already in college or is thinking about getting started with college soon, they might be stressed about choosing what to study to help them start off their career. As a young person, making this type of huge decision can be hard. But luckily, with your experience, you can help your teen be directed down the right path for themselves.

To help you see how this can be done, here are three ways to help your teen decide what to study in college. 

Help Them See What They Are Naturally Good At

The best type of career is one that’s going to marry what someone is good at with where their passion lies. However, many teens, and just people in general, can’t see what they are good at. This is where your help can come in.

If your teen doesn’t know where their natural talents are, you can help them uncover this by asking questions and guiding them as they think back on things that they have done or accomplished in the past. By knowing what your child is good at, you can help them find a college major or a career path that will incorporate those skills and eventually lead them to a job that they love and will find success with. 

Start Broadly And Then Get More Granular

There are so many different areas of study at the university level. So many more than your teen might even realize. Because of this, it can be hard to pinpoint the exact area of study that your teen might want to pursue at this moment. So rather than trying to plan everything out right now, encourage them to think about things more broadly at this point. 

Thinking about areas of study or future careers in general terms can help your teen get themselves on the right track for their education. Then, when they are in the ballpark of what they like or want to be doing, they can start going deeper into finding the exact job or major that will accomplish this. 

Encourage Them To Apply For Internships

For many fields, the things that you study in class are going to be much different than what it would be like actually working in that type of career. For example, learning about the elderly is much different than actually working in an assisted living facility. So to help ensure that your teen is choosing a career that they will actually enjoy in real life, you should try to get them to participate in as many internships as possible.

With an internship, your teen will get real experience in the field they’re considering, which can help them to know if this would be the right fit for them before they pursue an entire degree in this area of study. 

If you’re wanting to lend a hand to your teen as they try to choose the right career path for their future, consider using the tips mentioned above to help you in doing this.