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What should come first for students: concrete plans for college or concrete plans for career?
Finding the best answer to that question is part of a huge reckoning in education right now.
More states and the federal government are rolling out workforce readiness programs, and in some cases they’re placing less emphasis on having K-12 education prepare kids to go directly to college. At the same time, a 2025 survey found that nearly half of Gen Z respondents aspired to be “professional content creators.” That suggests many don’t see a diverse set of career pathways they could pursue as they reach adulthood.
A new report out Tuesday argues that those less-varied ambitions among young people signal schools need to play a bigger role in helping students navigate an often confusing and chaotic postsecondary landscape.
The report from FutureEd, a think tank based at Georgetown University, finds that K-12 schools haven’t focused enough on helping students plan for and navigate future careers. That failure has meant that students graduate without a real idea of what to do next beyond just college. The reasons behind this shortcoming include a persistent school counselor shortage, an inadequate system to help lead students to information about potential careers, a crowded credential market, and the widely adopted “college for all” mindset in public schools, the report found.
“The assumption kind of has been that kids will figure out in college what they’re going to do with the rest of their lives,” said Anne Kim, the author of the report and a senior fellow at FutureEd. “Students really need to have a better idea of what they’re going to do in college before they even get there.”
Even with education increasingly focusing on workforce development, the FutureEd report found a “confusing and chaotic” marketplace of certification programs, and other short-term credential programs, with 1.8 million credentials offered by 134,000 providers nationwide. Changes from the Trump administration are also prioritizing workforce development over college for some federally funded programs, although some members of Congress have questioned that approach.
These shifts are taking place as students frequently say they feel adrift in navigating the world after high school. For example, 75% of recent graduates surveyed in 2022 by YouScience — an education company — said that they felt “moderately, slightly, or not at all prepared” for college and career. That vacuum can lead students to aspire to what are often unrealistic expectations, like becoming a professional athlete or social media influencer.
Kim said that instead, students need to hear that “there are other careers in your neighborhood, in your community that are much more reliable paths to a solid middle-class life that will get you places.”
The FutureEd report identifies wind turbine service technicians, solar panel installers, nurse practitioners, and actuaries as some of the fastest growing professions in the country.
Kim said a shortage of school counselors to shepherd students to career paths doesn’t help. Nationwide, there are 372 students for every one counselor, a far cry from the American School Counselors Association recommended ratio of 250:1.
Solutions range from embedding career coaches in middle and high schools to incorporating career education into curriculum, even for kindergarten-age students.
The report highlights one California school district’s “World of Work” curriculum as an example of a district integrating career prep into students’ lives. In the Cajon Valley Union School district, first graders learn about civil engineering by planning a virtual city. And one high school’s students spend 40% of their time doing work-based learning.
Kika Gutierrez, a first grade teacher in the district who is quoted in FutureEd’s report, said activities like starting a student-run flower help students understand how education can prepare for their future career.
“Exposing them at an early age gets them interested and makes the connection that there’s a reason behind all of this,” she said. “There’s a reason why my teacher is asking me to share with a buddy who I might not necessarily gel with because that’s real life.”
Some advocacy organizations have feared that shifting efforts away from preparing students for college could disproportionately limit the ability of students of color or other historically disadvantaged students’ will enroll in college. Schools sometimes have tracked these students into vocational education, limiting their opportunities.
Kim said the fear of tracking is a legitimate one. But career navigation doesn’t have to conflict with college enrollment, she said. And the broader problem is that people believe college is a one-and-done experience meant to happen right after high school, instead of embracing education as a lifelong pursuit, FutureEd’s report argues.
“We have to get away from this assumption that there is a lesser-than path, and that lesser-than path is not going to college, because it’s pretty clear at this point also that work and higher education are blending and blurring,” Kim said.
Lily Altavena is a national reporter at Chalkbeat. Contact Lily at laltavena@chalkbeat.org.
Lily Altavena 2026-06-16 04:01:00
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