A few month’s back, I wrote a post, An Average Day in My Life and mentioned my work as an Academic Advisor. In today’s post, I want to expand on how I work with students.
Each student is in a different stage of their academic journey, so each advising session is very different. On any random day, I could be working with two students transferring to different universities while working with a few incoming freshmen on test-taking and study skills late morning, and by the end of the day I could be working with a few non-traditional students on securing scholarship funding for their final semester at the college. Each day is a little different.
Advising College Students
Often times when I first meet with a student who has plans on transferring, I ask a series of questions, so that I can get to know them and their academic and career plans.
For example, I will ask, “What is your major? and “What career do you intend to have with your major?”
I receive a variety of answers in terms of majors and careers. For example, I may hear that a student aspires to have a traditional career such as an Elementary School Teacher or Dentist. On the contrary, I may have a student with something very unique, such as working to become a Chimney Scientist.
In each situation, the steps would be very similar. I would ask them everything that they know about the path that it takes to reach that goal. Once they have explained all that they know. I advise a career assessment to expand upon career options within that major.
We would also have a look at duties required in that particular position, the salary, and the education that it takes to accomplish that career goal.
Do You Have Experience?
I also ask if they have experience in the field that they are pursuing; whether it was paid work or volunteer work. If not, I advise them to work with Career Services on finding possible opportunities. If not, an alternative would be for them to create their own opportunities from networking on their own.
For example, let’s say I am working with the student who wants to become a Dentist and the student plans to move to Houston because they have a parent who lives there.
Thinking about Dentistry? Learn More Today
I would advise that student to search for an internship in a local dentist office or job shadow whenever they are visiting their parent to be sure that is what he or she truly wants to pursue.
The student could simply Google, “Discover Dental Houston Dental Clinic Near Me” to find dental offices in that area they he or she could inquire about job shadow and internship opportunities.
Don’t Waste Your Resources
I’ve worked with so many students who choose a major and career based on what they thought the position was only to find out it wasn’t what they expected, which led to them changing their major; ultimately losing time and money.
Don’t be one of those students.
Ending the Advising Session
After some pretty intention conversing, a least an hour has passed and it’s time to wrap things up. But, that doesn’t mean that the advising has ended. We simply schedule another appointment a few weeks later to continue our discussion, so they we can create a successful academic plan.
Sometimes, the student is excited about the path that it takes to get to their chosen career, while others decide upon something different. Either way, we work together throughout the semesters until the student has ultimately reached his or her educational goal at the community college level before transferring to a four year institution.
What has been your experience working with Academic Advisors?
