Take Your Child to Work Day: A New Meaning

Remember being in elementary, sitting in a chair at your parent’s office, using a coloring book while they did their work? At that point, a job looks like it mostly consists of drinking coffee and answering phones. Now you’re in high school, looking at maybe going to college and “Take Your Child to Work Day” has a different meaning. It’s an opportunity to get a look into the “real world” before you get thrown in full-time. It’s important to consider going even if you’re “too old”. You don’t have to follow in your parents’ footsteps. If your dad is a banker and you want to be a makeup artist, that’s fine. The point isn’t to force a career path on you; it’s about observing a workspace.

You’ll get to see that most jobs are about solving problems, communicating with people,
and managing time. Skills that apply to every career under the sun. You’ll notice that a company isn’t just one type of person. There’s IT, HR, designers, writers, logistics, all in one building. Take NASA, for example, you don’t need to want to do something in STEM to work at NASA. It shows a variety of paths you can take. If you’re worried about being bored there’s a few things you can do. If you spend the
whole day on your phone, you’re missing the point. You’re meant to observe. If you’re interested in tech, ask to see the server room. If you’re interested in marketing, ask to sit in on a meeting. Most people are happy to show a curious high schooler around.

Mateo Garcia, 10th Grade, “I honestly thought I was going to be sitting in a corner on my
phone while my dad did paperwork. But I actually asked someone what they were
working on, it turned out to be pretty cool”

Sofia Perez, 11th Grade, “My mom works at a hospital, I always thought it was just
doctors and nurses. But I saw engineers, IT, and even lawyers”

Diego Rodriguez, 10th Grade, “I got lunch with some of my dad’s coworkers, and they
were super chill. One guy was telling me about how he started in sales and ended up in
data analytics. It made me realize you don’t have to have your life perfectly planned out
the second you graduate”

You don’t have to love your parents’ job, and you don’t have to commit to anything. But
it’s a free pass to get a peek at adult life. You might as well take it, who knows, it might
even help in a few years