Expert advice from international school counsellors to guide your child through career options in a productive, supportive way.
“What do you want to be when you grow up?” is a common question children might hear and is intended to be inspiring.
These days however, when the goal is not necessarily one dedicated career choice for life, it can feel quite outdated. Instead, we should be asking young people what they enjoy doing and what they want to do more of – helping them to discover more about themselves, the skills they need to grow, and connecting this to the world around them.
At International Schools Partnership (ISP), we focus on providing the information, guidance and resources to help students and their families make an informed decision about their future pathways.
‘Future pathways’ refer to the choices students take when they leave school – whether that be university, an internship, a gap year, or another route.
We nurture students to develop the skills, confidence and agency to reach their destination of choice and build resilience to evolve as the world changes. We also work closely with parents and carers to help discussions about careers and future pathways continue beyond the school gates.
A Future Pathways Adviser is a careers counsellor embedded within an ISP school who guides students and families through their choices beyond school – whether that be university, an apprenticeship, gap year or directly into a career. Our trained advisers have collated the following recommendations for supporting parents and children to explore career paths and the changing nature of work, together.
1. Explore reliable careers insights together
Each talk is grounded in trends from the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2025, making it a useful starting point for conversations with teenagers about where the world of work is heading.
As we all know, career paths do not always follow linear progression. In the US, the average person has held 12 different jobs by the time they are 55, while employees in the UK believe they will hold, on average, seven different roles in their lifetime. Many adults today are building transferable skills and experience to pivot to rapidly emerging new opportunities, known as a ‘portfolio’ or ‘jigsaw’ career.
Once you have explored career paths and education routes together, encourage your child to do some of their own research. Doing so will show that you trust them to make informed decisions.
2. Begin career discussions with areas of interest
Thinking about career paths can feel far removed from the reality of many students’ lives, especially for those who are not in their final years of school.
By opening the conversation to talk about the subjects they enjoy, and their interests outside of school, such as sports, art, music or nature, discussions can feel more tangible and accessible. Explore which subjects or areas they feel they struggle with or don’t relate to as much and why. This approach grounds them in the present moment.
Vinitha, Career Counsellor at CS Academy in Coimbatore, India, often talks to parents about this:
“One of the most helpful things parents can do when children are young is to prioritise exposure over early specialisation. At CS Academy, we encourage families to think in terms of range before depth. When children try a variety of activities such as sports, arts, reading, STEM clubs, music or public speaking, they slowly begin to understand what genuinely excites them. This early exposure helps career conversations feel more natural later, because students start recognising patterns in their own interests and strengths.”
At ISP, our innovative learning approach – Learning.First™ – means that students are a partner in their learning journey. We help children build self-awareness so they can identify and play to their strengths. Talking about those strengths and how to apply their life skills to certain careers is an encouraging way to begin.
Embracing opportunities through our international programmes can also enable your child to pursue interests outside of school such as filmmaking and debating. Exploring these possibilities is another way to broaden their pathways.
3. Focus on the first few years after school
A teenager may not be able to picture themselves aged 25, but many will be excited about where they could be in the next three years. Help your child set realistic goals for those years and look together at how to achieve them.
As well as talking about types of study and work, consider life outside of those areas, such as where they might like to live and the level of independence they strive to achieve.
It is important to be open to their personal preferences. A purely academic path does not suit everyone, and there are many other options. Some students are aiming for global universities whereas others are seeking to enter the workplace straight after school through internships or securing a permanent role in their chosen field. Enquiring about career support and counselling is one of the most important questions to ask on a school visit to find out how the school supports a personalised pathway for each child.
The key is supporting students to make the right decision for them. 93% of students who graduated from an ISP school in 2025 reached one of their top three destinations of choice, whether that be university, an apprenticeship, a gap year or another pathway.
For those who would like to pursue higher education, ISP has over 150 global partnerships that can help you and your child access information on universities around the world, while scholarship opportunities provide families with discounted tuition fees. Our schools also host university fairs, bringing together a wide range of local and global universities so that students and parents can meet representatives and understand the opportunities they offer.
*From 52 schools reporting.
4. Share your own professional development experiences
What do parents bring to career conversations? Recent research shows that 70% of Gen Zs sought their parents’ help during their job search. Your experience can be valuable in helping your child navigate new hurdles, such as applications and interviews. Being open about your own career path and decisions you made can also show your child that they are not alone.
In this changing world of work, you may not have all the answers to your child’s questions. Extensive research can be overwhelming, so navigating the research together can help you both consider all options and the ways in which fields of interest might evolve.
And you don’t need to do all the research yourselves – trained Future Pathways Advisers at ISP schools are here to help you and your child understand career routes and next steps.
It can be helpful to bring an open mind to the conversation. Your child may have a very different experience from your own and the career they would like to pursue could be newly emerging.
5. Make career talks a natural part of family life
It is important to make talking about careers less daunting, but not less important.
Talking regularly with your child about their favourite subjects, interests and career possibilities can help the topic feel more normalised. This approach will also allow you to build on the conversation and give your child time to share their ideas, making it two-way.
At ISP schools Future Pathways Advisers are there to help you and your child make an informed decision about the future. Based in schools across our global network, they are accredited careers counsellors, participating in a bespoke professional learning programme designed by ISP, which includes the Times Higher Education Counsellor Accreditation.
Our counsellors have direct access to over 150 global university partnerships and great knowledge of university pathways, apprenticeships and emerging career routes worldwide. Unlike external careers services, they are embedded in your child’s school, which means they know your child, their strengths and their ambitions. They bring the expertise, so you don’t have to have all the answers.
Last year, with the help of our counsellors, 76% of our students said they felt confident they had made an informed decision about next steps, and 83% of parents felt their child had the support and resources they needed to pursue their next steps.
Speak to your school’s Future Pathways Adviser about personalised careers guidance for your child. Not yet part of an ISP school? Find your nearest school.
