Reply To: Barriers and Overcoming Them

[ebmace@gmail.com]

This is a great barrier. Thanks David!
The way you’ve described I think this person understands an end-goal: per-se Doctor, [Civil|Elec|Mech] Engineer, Architect, Physical Therapist
They aren’t aware of the requirements, or comprehending the effort/time required to get there.
Maybe this is their own goal, or maybe their parents/friends/colleagues are pushing them to this goal, but at least there’s an end goal.
Can we title this one “Doesn’t understand effort to reach goal” – Students who have a specific career goal in mind but don’t fully grasp the effort, time, and requirements needed to achieve it.

I’d like to distinguish the above from the person who isn’t even really sure of their target end goal(s), just that they may be inclined to reach for something “STEAM-y”.
Perhaps they were into computer gaming, so want to do “maybe someting computer related”. Or they liked biology/chemistry in HS and want to help people so “maybe something medical related”. Or even so general that they say “I want to make enough money to live comfortable middle/upper class and I don’t like law or business”.
These folks need more help identifying their true passions, skills, and what career options (and compare/contrast salaries) are in these spaces before they even see the specific goals.
Can we title this one “Need help finding target career” – Students who have a general interest in STEM/STEAM but haven’t yet identified a specific career path.