Choosing a career is an important life decision which includes determining how to get the qualifications needed to train for a field.  In this article, we outline strategies and tips for parents and young adults, gleaned from interviews with career counselors, recruiters, and young people in various stages of their career.

How Much Parental Involvement?

Children are more likely to make the best choices when parents are involved in the process, provided that there is a healthy balance of discussion and independence in the relationship.  Neither extreme of parents dictating the children’s career/training path or total lack of parental involvement is in the children’s best interest.  If needed, a mentor or guide, (a school staff member or older friend) should be found for the student.

Parents should keep in mind the need for objectivity.  Unfulfilled ambitions on a parent’s part, for example, may lead a parent to push their child to a career or educational path that the parent was not able to pursue.  Another potential trap is pushing a child to pursue the same path that led the parent or older siblings to a successful career.  In addition, parents need to acknowledge academic challenges that may preclude the pursuit of a specific degree.

The High School Years

Children vary greatly in their maturity, academic level, and ambition.  For some children, the high school years are an important time for social and emotional development.  Children who find academics difficult may struggle to graduate with the high school diploma.

Other children perceive high school as preparation for college, or indeed, as college itself.  Ambitious teens take AP (Advanced Placement) courses and exams so that they graduate with college credits.  There are teens who coordinated their high school coursework with college level exams so that they graduated high school with a BA (Bachelor’s Degree).  Parents who know their children well may help them decide whether to push themselves during high school or to focus on internal growth.

It is useful if the child is ready in eleventh grade to discuss career plans, since this allows the parents and child to include career preparation when applying for seminary or Bais Medrash.  Parents may ask their child, “Where do you see yourself in five to ten years?”   While some boys start their career training later than girls, it may be beneficial for those who are not determined to learn forever to start thinking about the future.  However, parents must keep in mind that children develop at different rates and pushing a child to decide too early may lead to wasting time and money on the wrong training, aside from causing emotional stress.

Considerations on Choosing Careers

Personal Preferences

Being unhappy with one’s work leads to problems.  With a little creativity, hobbies and favorite pastimes may be channeled into careers.  For example, an avid shopper or interior decorator may use their experience to start a business.  A camera hobbyist may use his/her expertise for a career in sales for cameras and related products.  Temperament should also be kept in mind.  Not everyone is suited to sit behind a desk, for example.

Suitability for the work/training 

Someone who dislikes academics may not be able to complete the degree even if s/he has an aptitude for the career.  This is a flaw with aptitude testing done in isolation from the personality or character of the person being tested.  On the other hand, aptitude tests may uncover previously unknown strengths that may open more career options.

Sometimes, children who were poor students in high school succeed in college and graduate school.  Maturity and motivation can make a tremendous difference in outcome.  A gap year often helps students reach academic maturity and success.  Starting classes at a community college that provides more support may be the right path for some students.

Work/Life Balance 

Before committing to a specific career or career path, one should consider the ramifications on family and spiritual life.  For example, a high-powered professional career may impede minyan attendance, regular learning, and spending time with spouse and children.  Girls planning high powered careers (law, PhD, MD, BoS or pharmaceutical) should be aware that the training period involved demands a great commitment from the family.

For married job seekers, much depends on the dynamics of their family, since some families need more time and attention from both parents than others.  Since this is very individual, it is advisable to consult a Rav about the work/life balance.

Researching Careers

Unless the child is certain about what s/he wants to do, it is worthwhile to find out what careers and jobs are “out there”.  Children should speak to older friends, relatives, and acquaintances to find out what they do for a living.

It is especially productive to speak to people who are just a bit older and who share one’s background and values in order to determine the viability of the training and the work from a similar perspective.  Talking to a variety of people in the field is also useful for learning about different career paths within the field, including unexpected ways to use one’s degree or training.  Many professional careers have alternative versions: for example, a lawyer may choose to work as an in-house attorney, or a doctor may work for a hospital rather than setting up a practice.

Shadowing someone for a day or two as they go about their work may be eye-opening.  For example, there is a misconception that girls who enjoyed science in school will enjoy working as therapists or nurses.  In reality, these careers involve working intensively with people and patience is as great an asset for this work as academic ability.  Students should also make sure to attend career events at school.  Internships are another valuable tool for researching careers, and some colleges allow them to be used for course credits.

Children who decide to “go into Chinuch” should educate themselves about different career paths in this field.  Tutoring, volunteering, and shadowing students or teachers are useful for learning more about the field.  Future mechanchim might consider taking courses offered through institutions such as Torah U’Mesorah to improve their job and income prospects.

Common Career Choices

Typical choices among today’s youth are therapies (OT, PT, Speech), special education, health services (nursing, dental hygienist, physician’s assistant, physician) and social work (CSW, LCSW).  Some less academic options include: OTA (assistant to OT) and para-legal.  Yeshiva graduates often gravitate to fields where doing well on tests is crucial for credentials: accounting, law (LSATS), actuary, and business (GMAT).  Computer programming and other technology fields are also popular, since the skills may be acquired outside the college system (e.g. computer boot camps or online resources) and ability can be clearly demonstrated.

Young men who are not academically oriented are often encouraged to pursue vocational training programs for careers as plumbers, electricians, heating/cooling technicians (HVAC), EMT (emergency medical technician), construction, and the like.

Real estate is another popular area, providing jobs in real estate brokerage, property management, and mortgage underwriting.  These kinds of jobs usually have minimal training requirements to obtain the requisite license.

For the Clueless Child

Where a child has absolutely no idea what s/he wants to do for a living, and especially where the childhood was complicated, it may be best to find the child any available job.  Employment fosters feelings of competence and self-esteem and gives a feeling for what the working life entails.  If the job doesn’t work out, the child may try another one, until the s/he gets an idea of his/her career preference.  At that point, the child may be mature and motivated enough to research the training path on his/her own.  Sending a child who has no direction at all to college may be a waste of money.

Financial Planning

Parents should be aware that financial aid (TAP/Pell grants) aimed at helping children acquire higher education cannot be used twice.  Once a student acquires a Bachelor’s level degree, s/he is no longer eligible for most forms of financial aid, although FAFSA (Federal Student Aid) may be available under limited circumstances for a second bachelor’s degree or graduate studies.

Children should be included in the decision whether to use this money for seminary/Bais Medrash or whether to save it to finance college level coursework later.  Children may feel betrayed if they find out, perhaps after they are already married, that they are not eligible for government help to train for a career, because the money was already used by their parents to pay for learning in Israel.

Bais Medrash

Yeshivas have varying attitudes about bochrim taking secular courses while attending Bais Medrash: some forbid it, some turn a blind eye, and some work with established educational institutions to provide bochrim with college courses or credits.  Where college credit and grades are determined by the Yeshiva, bochrim are advised to find out in advance which criteria Rebbeim/Hanhalla use to base grades (e.g. bechinos, seder attendance) which go on the transcript.

Yeshiva Boys in Career Training

Some Mesivtas do not emphasize academic excellence in general studies; they often do not see their job as preparing bochrim for college.  Moreover, even college-bound bochrim often spend a few years in Bais Medrash before starting college.  However, it has been observed that many Yeshiva boys adapt readily to the college workload and often excel.  A serious bochur is used to spending long hours studying; by the time he starts college, he is often mature and very focused on achieving.

That said, bochrim who use the BTL (bachelor of Talmudic law) degree and high LSAT scores to gain admission to law school without attending college should be aware that the adjustment is difficult.  It is a good idea for bochrim to develop writing skills before starting college.  Bochrim who choose technical majors may need to allocate a few months to review their math and bring their math skills up to the pre-calculus level.

College and Its Variants

Two frum college options, Yeshiva University/Stern College for Women, and The Lander Colleges (a division of Touro), provide a classic college experience on a single gender campus with a dormitory.  Among the advantages of frum colleges is that they work around the Yom Tov schedule, are accustomed to accepting Yeshiva/seminary credits, and understand the financial constraints of frum parents.  It is possible for diligent students to gain their BA in two years by using seminary credits and attending summer classes.  However, students who do not know what career they wish to pursue or are prone to changing their mind may do best starting with a slower route.

Some Yeshivas/seminaries are either accredited institutions of higher education or have close relationships with colleges.  They offer students the option of taking college level classes in Yeshiva/seminary, in a neutral location, or online.

The traditional college experience, with four years of taking courses on campus, has become one of many options for getting a bachelor’s degree (BA).  Even in the secular world, young people are finding cheaper, faster, and more convenient ways to attain educational qualifications.  Frequently, the bachelor’s degree is seen as a “piece of paper” that is needed in order to be admitted to the graduate program in which the real career training happens.

The general approach is to first to decide on the desired career, find the educational credentials needed to get a job in the field, and work backwards to determine which institutions can provide these credentials, or the steps to obtain the credentials, at minimum cost, inconvenience, and time.  Note, however, that many of these shortcuts do not come with financial aid, unlike standard college.

An industry has developed to help frum people gather the credits they need to get their BA.  This may include creating college-level exams to test Yeshiva-educated children on subjects such as ethics or Bible study, offering online courses, and giving credit for time spent learning in Bais Medrash.  Self-study courses allow students to learn material by reading and/or watching lectures, and taking exams for credit at testing centers.  Some organizations have created accredited separate-gender class-room-based liberal arts and specialized courses conveniently sited near frum communities.  Some programs, such as those that work with Fairleigh Dickenson College coordinate with the Yeshiva bochur’s calendar, scheduling classes during bein hazmanim.

Students may use these institutions to create themselves a personal approach to getting the bachelor’s degree as a springboard to admission to nursing school and the like.  In order to fulfill specialized requirements, such as lab-based sciences, they might enroll in a local community college to take the courses as non-matriculated students. Students are advised to ascertain that the institution to which they are applying will accept these credits.

Higher Tier Jobs

The approaches described above to get a college degree without attending college or with minimal on-campus course work have proven effective.  These credentials have allowed many Yeshiva-educated people to find productive employment, particularly in frum companies and within the Yeshiva school system.

However, a resume containing accreditation from non-traditional colleges or from lower tier colleges is unlikely to be shown to management in upper echelons of the corporate world.  Candidates for higher prestige jobs (higher pay, more responsibility, more interesting work) are expected to stand out from the crowd, usually by having been admitted to exclusive colleges and maintaining high grades.

Exceptionally talented individuals may compensate for substandard college preparation if they can demonstrate that they have superior skills in a valuable area, especially in technology or in sales.  This may be done through acquiring relevant work experience that makes a significant impact, perhaps through work in a frum company or a startup.  Programmers may also showcase their abilities through participation in online forums such as StackOverflow or joining collaborative open source programming projects.

Researching Training Programs

There are a variety of programs available to provide people with the credentials required to start careers.  It is wise to ask questions before investing time and money in a program.

Effectiveness

It is essential to speak with alumni of the program, to find out how well the program qualified them to find employment in the field of their choice.  Questions to ask include: To which graduate schools were they admitted, based on the degree or training?  Did the jobs they attain have the salary and status level they had been led to expect?  How helpful was the guidance department of the program?  An inability to speak with alumni is a major red flag.

The more effective programs try to coordinate with companies in the field in order to finetune their training to meet their needs.  Many college programs have internships with companies that lead directly to being hired on graduation.  In general, the more established programs are more likely to have forged connections that lead to jobs.

True Cost

Aside from the tuition per year and the number of years to completion, there may be other costs, including: additional fees for tests, graduation fees, and transcript charges.

It is important to read the fine print on financial aid grants.  Sometimes, there are residency requirements for some years after graduation, such that the student must stay in the state or the grant becomes a student loan which must be repaid with interest.

Classroom Setting

Are the classes separate-gender?  Where and when do the classes take place?  How is the student expected to get to them?

It is a good idea to visit the program while it is in session to get a sense of the atmosphere: will this child be comfortable with these students?  Faculty?  Neighborhood? Transportation?

Transfer Credits

How many credits from seminary/Bais Medrash does the program accept?  Are AP (advanced placement exams) accepted?  At what score?  For which courses?  Are high school courses taken on college level accepted for college credit?  Are grades from transfer credits included in the college GPA listed on the transcript?

For colleges: what is the minimum number of in-house credits required for the degree?  This may limit the usefulness of credits earned in Israel or transferred from other programs.

Responsiveness

Do the program staff return telephone calls or emails promptly?  Do they take the time to explain details of requirements, financial aid, and like?  Does each student have an academic advisor?  How involved is the advisor?  How much job or graduate school placement guidance does the program provide?

General Tips

• It is a good idea to discuss career plans with a qualified outsider to make sure that they are plausible, especially when coming from a non-typical background.
• Avoid working fulltime during a challenging college/training program unless it’s essential.  Education is a long-term investment and it’s important to do well in order to land the right first job.  In general, girls should be wary of “biting off more than they can chew” on returning from seminary.  The adjustment to adult life, including dating, social obligations, and navigating home life, also takes a lot of energy.
• If after starting a training program or a career path, one feels that it doesn’t suit, one should be prepared to switch to another career and training course.  It is better to execute a U turn earlier than later.
• Taking online courses may be more convenient than attending courses on campus, but they may demand much more work from the students.  For many students, self-teaching is more difficult than learning from lectures.  Success for such students is more likely where online courses are in subjects in which the student already has a strong background or natural ability.
• Some people who skip the college option to work in an office have found it profitable to get a degree later on in business management to increase their salary or future job prospects.  Business degrees are also useful for students who wish to start their own businesses, since they teach the basics about accounting, cashflow, and the like.  It is worthwhile to find the most relevant degree since business degrees vary.

Which Factors Determine Success?

Getting the right degree from the right institution does not guarantee job offers.  The graduate also needs to acquire job-seeking skills: how to write an effective resume, how to network for job prospects, how to present him/herself, and how to interview successfully.

Once employed, traits such as a strong work ethic, reliability, social skills, and being a team player are important for success in the workplace.