Juniors took a career inventory, which is a series of questions that evaluates students’ interests and determines possible career and college choices, on Friday Nov 2. With this being the second one, some students have started to question the value of career inventories.
“I feel like they’re kind of a waste of time,” said Colin Maloney, junior. “It felt like we were doing the exact same thing we did last year, so it’s kind of pointless to do it again this year.”
Maloney also thinks this attitude is shared among most students. “I saw a lot of kids who didn’t put a lot of effort into it, and a lot of kids missed that day which shows they probably don’t care,” Maloney said.
However, some students do think the career inventories provide value for them. “I like the [career inventories]. I think the information they give me is important and I often learn of possible careers as a result,” said Jeff Larson, junior.
Ms. Cindy Rodkin, a member of the guidance department that organizes the inventories, says that the inventory, while important, is left up to the students in terms of whether or not they want to take it seriously. “I think we provide an opportunity for students, and while some students may not have taken it seriously, we’re giving them the opportunity to do something that’s really productive,” Rodkin said. “Obviously we would prefer that they didn’t blow it off, but [the guidance department] can’t force a student to take it seriously.”
Rodkin also says that the two inventories from Nov 2 and last year, while similar, had a key difference. “The difference is how we’re going to implement them. They both do it, but the juniors focus more on the college end of it,” Rodkin said.
Even students who do take the inventories seriously, however, think there are some problems. “I don’t think anyone who already knows what they want to do should be forced to take it, as they’re the ones who are probably going to blow it off,” Larson said.
