By Devin Morrissey
Careers for homeschoolers. This a valid topic for two primary reasons. The first is that homeschoolers spend an inordinate amount of time just attempting to establish the fact that we are not socially or intellectually inept. And for the most part, that’s okay. Dialogue is always beneficial.
But we would be remiss if we found ourselves so oriented around those dialogues that we failed to recognize we aren’t just on par; in some areas of life, we’re especially equipped to excel.
The second reason it matters is because it makes sense. It’s important to think about the future before you get there. It doesn’t matter if you’re a homeschooler with an above average GPA if you’re unwilling to take the skills that got you there and apply them to your future.
So without further ado, here are 4 career fields wherein the job prospects are bright, and a homeschooler’s propensity to fit the need is even brighter.
For The Techie
While certainly not true across the board, in general most modern homeschoolers are utilizing a serious amount of tech to get their education. Students who only utilize traditional textbook curriculum are becoming increasingly rare.
Additionally, there is a new breed of homeschooling parents who themselves work in the tech industry and are using their resources to stay home and educate their kids.
As Samantha Matalone Cook told Wired, “The world is changing. It’s looking for people who are creative and entrepreneurial, and that’s not going to happen in a system that tells kids what to do all day. So how do you do that? Well if the system won’t allow it, as the saying goes: If you want something done right, do it yourself.”
The bottom line is that the cache of careers for homeschoolers who want to pursue technology-related fields like cybersecurity or coding is rich, and not only that, there’s a lot of it. There’s a growing tech gap wherein tech skills are needed in virtually every industry, and those industries are struggling to man the jobs.
For The Self-Driven
One of the foundational strengths of homeschooling is that it is a platform for students to become champions of their own education. Not only is there often little micromanaging in terms of their education, they themselves propel it forward by taking the time needed to understand subjects that are more difficult and to fully flesh out those they are most passionate about.
Homeschooling is a place where creativity and quirkiness are not punished. And again, homeschoolers are typically instilled with a distinct sense of responsibility in relation to their education. This makes entrepreneurial careers for homeschoolers a logical next step.
According to the business professionals at Arizona State University, “Alongside a can-do attitude and professional pride, entrepreneurship gives you the independence and flexibility to cultivate an idea you’re passionate about.”
Thus, homeschoolers are prime candidates to become future entrepreneurs and small business owners and to do it successfully. As Dillon Kivo wrote for Entrepreneur, “Becoming an Entrepreneur Is Easy but Succeeding as an Entrepreneur Is Not”. And the things that set those who succeed apart from those who don’t? Passion. Determination. And an understanding of what it means to get the work done when no else is there to tell you to do it.
For The Analytic Minded
Despite the stereotypes, homeschoolers are top-notch students, consistently performing above average. The ironic thing about students who experience non-standardized education is that they do well at standardized testing. Homeschoolers know how to approach subjects so that they become knowledgeable about them and can articulate their understanding in a variety of contexts.
This extends itself to careers for homeschoolers wherein analysing information efficiently and effectively is of the utmost importance. Most notably, those in healthcare are required to do so.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports massive job growth in healthcare, in the millions. So much so that for the first time in history, healthcare is the largest American source of employment.
Homeschoolers who have grown up becoming information processing leaders are primed for those roles. Especially given the fact that paths like nursing have many possible career fields even outside the hospital. Again, it’s a field full of potential wherein homeschoolers have the skills to pay the bills.
For The Nurturer
Homeschooling isn’t just a space for students to feel safe being themselves — however unique they are — homeschooling is a classroom wherein one learns to extend that same brand of empathy towards others. Homeschoolers are distinctly positioned to recognize how being accepted and encouraged in the right direction can change the trajectory of one’s life.
Individuals who pursue the field of social work are those who take that empathy and pair it with knowledge so that they are distinctly equipped to help others. Much like healthcare, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the field of social work is primed to grow much faster than other fields.
Social work takes a core philosophy that revolves around impacting people for the better, but it has many different facets. The social work experts of Regis College note possible fields include child welfare, school work, mental health and substance abuse, and health care and medicine.
One of the things my dad always said was that achieving things is a result of working backwards. You decide where you want to end up, and you work backwards from there. That way every step you take is important, no wasted time or energy. It’s counsel that has never served me wrong.
Homeschoolers have a unique set of skills at their disposal, and when those skills are paired with career fields that are in need of qualified individuals, big things are sure to happen. Not the least of which is homeschoolers demonstrating to wider communities the value of their educational background and the individuals who make it up.