Lattimore Harry 
Choosing a career is an important decision that could determine the fate of one’s remaining years on earth. The youthful age comes with a lot of erroneous decisions.
High school students usually age between 14 and 18, while college and university students could be between 18 and 21 years old.
With the guidance of adults and professionals, these students can be helped to select a career that befits their knowledge and skills.
What is career guidance?
Career guidance is an unbiased assessment of an individual’s strengths and weaknesses to help them decide the most suitable career choices. It is a service that can guide individuals to make the right educational, training, and occupational choices that will set them on a path to success at different stages of their careers.
Without formal sources of career guidance, students may resort to family and friends for advice. This source of advice heavily relies on personal experience, which, most of the time, does not apply to everyone.
Plus, the world is fast changing. Today, there are many job opportunities and careers non-existence years ago.
How career guidance works
Career guidance does not necessarily recommend careers for individuals; it instead provides the necessary information to help make an informed career decision. The guidance service may also include counseling, networking, skills such as job search, and advice to excel at the chosen career.
10 reasons career guidance is important for students
1. Evaluate strengths and weaknesses
Personality influences how a person acts and reacts to situations. When choosing an ideal career, weaknesses and strengths need to be considered as they could be used to predict how the individual will attend to tasks and relate with others.
For instance, introverted and inquisitive students might find a career as a scientist exciting and fulfilling. This may not be true for those who are sociable and love to party. Such students may be better as business managers, functioning in roles that require convincing stakeholders and raising funds from investors.
2. Wide career options
Students are mostly exposed to the jobs done by their parents, friends, and other people around them. It is not unusual for these students to pick any of the people around them to model and hence choose the same career.
They are not aware of the wide variety of career options that now exist. Career guidance presents students with the various career options they can pursue.
3. Exploration
More than ever, to stand out and be successful in any chosen career, an individual must be able to think outside the box.
Career guidance encourages students to see different opportunities and allows them to explore.
4. Boost self-esteem
Many students, upon gaining admission, are not confident in their career path. According to a survey, two-thirds of students feel overwhelmed by the process of selecting a major.
Career guidance can help these students decide beforehand and only study courses that interest them.
5. Reduces chances of switching jobs in the future
In a survey by NBCNews, 33 percent of high school students agree they will switch jobs multiple times in the future, while 31 percent neither agree nor disagree.
6. Job satisfaction
It is not mandatory to only work at a job that strongly aligns with one’s passion. However, studies have shown that harmonious work passion positively affects career commitment.
Unfortunately, 50 percent of workers in the US are stressed at their jobs daily, 41% are worried, 22% are sad, and 18% are angry.
Career guidance aids students in identifying a career they are interested in and would give them satisfaction.
7. Mitigation of future risks
Many careers today are redundant because there are no job opportunities for them. The coronavirus pandemic forced many companies and professionals to adopt technology usage.
Career guidance has proven efficient in predicting future trends and advising students accordingly to help mitigate future risks that impact their careers.
8. Reduce the cost of degrees and certifications
Students with no definite career path will likely dabble in different degrees and certifications, which they may never need.
On the other hand, students with career guidance can choose a career, and they only invest in degrees and certifications related to their chosen careers.
This significantly reduces the cost of degrees and certifications.
9. Prevent delayed graduation
Once students can select a career of their choice with the recommendation of career guidance, it is easier for them to focus on their studies.
Such students are unlikely to experience delayed graduation.
10. Keeping track of career progress
Career guidance helps students take a periodical evaluation of their activities and how they affect their careers.
