Indianapolis, Ind. (PRWeb) February 6, 2007 -- Looking at statistics, one could draw the conclusion that many people spend a significant amount of their life confused about what they want to do as professionals. Consider college students: the majority of them change their major at least once throughout their college career, and many change it several times, according to Randall S. Hansen, Ph.D., in an article featured on QuintCareers.com.
Choosing the right career path isn't any easier on adult workers. "Studies show that most people will change careers--yes, careers--about four or five times over the course of their lives," writes Hansen.
For some, a change in something as significant as a career or academic major is invigorating and liberating. For others, it is a decision that can feel frustrating, expensive and exhaustive. Many career experts believe that early career exploration is the key to avoiding unwanted changes such as these and are encouraging adults to help stimulate the career interests of young people.
"Choosing a career is one of the most important decisions in a young person's life. Young people who explore their career options now will be better prepared to make good decisions later," say the Editors at JIST Publishing, authors of the new book Young Person's Occupational Outlook Handbook (YPOOH), Sixth Edition.
Often, young people who look into a variety of job options are better able to determine which jobs suit their interests and abilities and which ones do not when they are faced with career choices. This ability helps them prevent the education and job changes that plague so many people's plans and work life. More importantly, early career exploration helps young people choose their class schedules and extracurricular activities to better prepare them for a job later in their adult life.
In the YPOOH the Editors at JIST also stress that career exploration isn't just about finding jobs that a person may enjoy doing. It's also about researching a job and understanding what impact it will have on a person. To do this the YPOOH encourages young people to seek information about a job's education and training requirements, earnings, working conditions, outlook, related jobs, daily responsibilities, and more--all the information that's critical to help young people decide whether or not a particular career path is the right fit for them.
The Young Person's Occupational Outlook Handbook, Sixth Edition, is available from the publisher (www.jist.com or 1.800.648.JIST). To speak with the authors, contact Natalie Ostrom.
JIST, America's Career Publisher, is the leading publisher of job search, career, occupational information, life skills and character education books, workbooks, assessments, videos and software.
Press Contact: Natalie Ostrom
Company Name: JIST Publishing
Email: email protected from spam bots
Phone: 1-877-454-7877
Website: http://www.jist.com/ypooh.htm