Are we the enemy to having career dreams?

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As I continue to work will our Preble County youth on their career thoughts, choices, and dreams I am often amazed at two findings. One finding is the number of students who many times are unsure of their parents’ or guardians’ place of work and who are not sure at all what their caregivers do at their daily work.

I find that both interesting and quite concerning.

With our daily work being an important part of our adult life, shouldn’t we share: What we do at work? How do we progress and get promoted? How do we deal with challenges? Who our work partners and friends are while earning a living?

I remember spending time with my Dad when he worked at an automotive body shop a few times each summer while on break from school. During those formative years, I was introduced to getting up early on those days, packing a lunch, and being amazed at all the tools he was able to use. These experiences and many others as we started our family construction business helped to formulate my eventual career goals and developed many skills that were complementary and supportive of the work I have taken on in my career.

So, how can we adults help to mentor our youth whether they are our own children, grandchildren, or even our neighbors? I hope you will give that considerable thought after you finish reading this article. If you are one of our Preble County youth reading this article I hope that you will take it upon yourself to ask many questions about the work the adults around you are completing at their place of employment. I bet you will be surprised.

The second item that has captured my mind is the amount of negativism we seem to concentrate on or share with our youth and those around us concerning our daily work. While I am sure we all have challenging days or events at the workplace, I have to believe that there are many rewards we could also share if we concentrate on the purpose of our work to others in our society and how it allows us to have a purpose in our lives and provides for our wellbeing.

Personally, I know that I have been fortunate in my career choice as it was a perfect fit for me. In my education and training career, I have regularly enjoyed having the opportunity to help others grow their minds and talents. Again, while this career choice has been a good fit for me, I tell students I could also see myself using the skills I learned early on with my Dad as a carpenter. When I do have the opportunity to use those hands-on skills, I enjoy seeing the work that I have completed at the end of that particular day.

So, how can we learn to share all of those positives in our daily work so that our youth are better encouraged to look forward to the rewards provided in accomplishing a good day’s work? I propose that we all take a moment and think about our learned skills, our work friendships, and the contributions we make in the workplace…and then share those with others, especially our youth.

Having a productive and enjoyable career is a part of that American Dream and having pride in that “Made In America” concept needs to be shared here and now…in Preble County.

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By Harold Niehaus

Career Connections Director

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