A Career Guide for Working in Young People's Education

When you are looking for a highly rewarding and important career path, education comes as one of the top options. Working in education means shaping the future of those around you, aiding your community and helping others to learn and develop. This is true of any educational role, but it is especially important when you are working with young people. 

When your job role sees you being a positive learning influence on young people, you are playing a vital role in helping them achieve the future they want and become the people they want to be. With this in mind, young people's education as a career can be even more rewarding, and especially if you are pursuing a career which concentrates on child development, such as an online masters in school counseling or other compassionate roles. 

Should You Work with Children and Young People? 5 Signs This Career Path is Right for You

When you are exploring those rewarding career paths, you may want for your future and considering education as an option, and you may be wondering whether young people's education is the right step for you. Or it could be that you're already qualified and have experience in this role and wondering about taking the next career steps, such as pursuing an online masters in school counseling or a masters in another professional role. This may lead you to think about whether this is the right career path long-term for you, and you want to be sure whether you want to commit to the next masters level. 

Either way, it is important to understand the signs that this career path is the best option for you and suited to your personality and career goals. Here are just a few signs that young people's education is a good match for you. 

You Like Children 

This may seem like an obvious one, but it is a vital part of your career foundation to actually like the children and young people you'll be working with. Some people love being around children, work well with children and gain satisfaction from spending time with them. This is an important feature of your personality to have, as it will help you to better enjoy what you are doing. 

It is also important to think about whether you can handle children even when they are difficult. If you have only ever been around children who are behaving and who you get along with, it's easy to think you love being around them, but in an educational environment, you may be faced with difficult young people or problems with children you've never faced before. So make sure you like children enough to want to spend time with them through the positives and the negatives, including challenging situations.

You Want to Make a Positive Difference

There are many jobs and career industries which will allow you to make a positive difference, but educating young people or helping to support young people in an educational environment is one of the most important places to make a positive difference. This is because you are helping to shape young people's futures and provide a compassionate difference to their lives. Especially with career pursuits like an online masters in school counseling, you are setting yourself up to play a vital part in a child's development and emotional support system.

You are a Very Patient Person 

Even on the best of days, working with children and young people can be very demanding. You may be working with a large group of young people with behavioral difficulties who are trying your patience or who are struggling. Especially if you are working within a counseling or psychological-support role, like having an online masters in school counseling, you will need to be able to remain patient and calm during trying times.

Having patience and being able to control your emotions is key for working with young people, so if this comes naturally to you, that is a great sign this career could work for you.

You are a Great Communicator

When working within an educational environment, communication is always key. Not only does this mean with the young people you are working with, but your colleagues, too, to ensure effective running of your working routine. When working within a capacity that supports and educates young people, you need to communicate effectively. 

This is especially crucial if you are working within a school role after achieving an online masters in school counseling, as this position means you need to effectively converse with students who need your support and explain solutions and suggestions clearly. 

This also works both ways, as a great communicator will also be able to listen; in an educational role, it's important to listen to your students and colleagues, and if achieving a qualification like an online masters in school counseling, listening to the people you are supporting will be vital.

Specific Education-Focused Roles Have Always Appealed to You

Maybe you have never even considered working with children, but your career aspects have always been centered around the type of environment where young people would be an ideal fit. If you have considered job roles such as teaching or counseling before, maybe you'd like to achieve an online masters in school counseling or teach young people specifically. If you have a passion for these sort of career roles, then it only follows that you might find it extremely rewarding working with young people, too, to maximize your job role potential and make a positive difference.

Which Job Role Would Be Right for You?

Of course, deciding that you would like to work with children in an educational environment is only half the battle, as you then need to consider what the ideal role would be for you and your own career aspirations. As education is such a huge industry, many rewarding roles will see you either working on the frontlines with young people or working within a building or for a company that deals with young people's education. 

Finding the right job role is important for your own career fulfillment, and so you can make the most out of any position you attain. Therefore, you may want to start by asking yourself the following questions and exploring your responses. 

Do You Already Have a Relevant Qualification? 

This is a good place to start because it means you won't have to start from scratch if you're looking for a career change or trying a new job role. If you already have a relevant qualification that can be applied to an educational environment or young people's education specifically, this is a great foundation to work upon and take the next step. This could be looking for a promotion to a new role or even returning to education to earn your next qualification, like a masters degree. If you are already qualified as a school counselor, for example, you may want to then attain an online masters in school counseling to broaden your knowledge and open up new job opportunities.

What Element of a Young Person's Life Do You Want to Support? 

Working in a young person's educational environment does not have to mean teaching automatically, and if this doesn't appeal to you, it's important to think about the other options open to you. So, consider what kind of support you want to offer a young person within your job role. For example, does frontline teaching appeal to you to educate them and shape their future? Or are you looking to support young people on a more emotional or psychological level outside of a direct teaching role, such as with an online masters in school counseling? Maybe you are interested in healthcare, already have a qualification as a nurse, and would love to become a school nurse. Perhaps a classroom assistant role would greatly appeal to you. 

Think about the type of interactions you want to have with young people within your job role to think about those positions which best match your needs. 

What Would Be Your Ideal Working Environment?

This is an important question because it will affect your working pattern and mood every day. If there are certain environments you know you would hate to work within daily, then these are best avoided to make sure you can always achieve a positive working routine. 

When working within young people's education, it is important to think about the type of environment which would be best for you and your career goals. 

Would you be happy with a classroom environment, in one building, every day? Do you like the idea of working in an office or building every day, such as having your own office to be a school counselor after achieving your online masters in school counseling? Or would you prefer something that allows you to get up and out a little more, such as a role that would allow you to travel out in the community or even private tutoring in a young person's home? 

How Much Time Can You Commit to Learning and Training? 

It might be that the right job role for you depends on how long it would take to qualify and train. You may have an ideal timeframe you are looking for, or maybe other life commitments mean you need a new job role as soon as possible without excessive years of study or training. 

By knowing how much time you can commit to qualifications and training, you can then look into the job roles that best match. Some jobs may require more training than others, and lots of job roles have development potential for further qualifications, like an online masters in school counseling if you want to take the next learning step. 

How Much Future Development Potential Do You Want?

Some jobs are the same as soon as you have qualified, with no real development opportunities or expansion of the role. This can be perfect if that is what you are looking for out of a career and would prefer to maintain the same role consistently. Nevertheless, some people want to know that their chosen career field has lots of development potential, promotion opportunities, or further learning opportunities. 

So, it is important to know what you want to choose the job role that best offers the kind of future development you are looking for. 

Job roles like counseling mean you can take it one step further with an online masters in school counseling if you want to develop your expertise. On the other hand, teaching roles, once qualified, may mean that there is no further to go unless you were looking for a higher position within a school, such as a principal school role. 

Think about what your ideal future looks like when it comes to your career. For example, how much further learning or training are you willing to commit to, or would you prefer not to have that choice? 

Final Thoughts

There are many great job options for working within young people's education, and any role will have a high reward potential if you are changing young people's lives and shaping their future. While it is important to want to make a positive difference in the lives of others and for the community with your daily work, it's also important to take care of yourself and your own aspirations by making sure you choose the right role for yourself. 

You may want to look into gaining work experience in some job roles if there are a few that you think appeals to you. This can be a good idea if you would like to experience a particular type of working environment first hand. Or maybe you have never worked with children or young people before and would like to see what it's like daily before you commit. On the other hand, the classroom environment can be very demanding and overwhelming, so if teaching in this capacity does not appeal to you, there are many other great options as discussed, such as school counseling or school healthcare.