89% of graduates who participated in Monster’s 2026 Graduate AI Readiness Report say they’re concerned AI could replace entry-level jobs, from 64% last year.
At the same time:
Check out the full report for more information.
As a high school counselor, you come into contact with students who have a wide range of skills. That’s a very good thing, but it can also make your job harder. Where do you direct all of this talent and potential? That’s the question.
The answer may reside in sometimes obscure career paths.
In this article, we take a look at how to handle those situations as a high school counselor. Let’s get into it.
First, What is a Non-Traditional Career Path?
The definition is admittedly a little abstract. For example, is law enforcement a non-traditional career path? It’s a staple of the community, obviously, but also a job that appeals to only a small segment of the population. You’ll find that there isn’t necessarily a neat definition. It could just be a job that no one else in the school is paying serious attention to.
Whatever the case, sometimes it might be a form of self-employment—entrepreneurship, freelancing, consulting, etc. Other times, it could be a creative field: writing, painting, film. In still more cases, it could be an emerging industry, like artificial intelligence.
Ultimately, the industry itself is not important. Here’s the salient fact: kids who are coming to you with an interest in an obscure career are probably feeling nervous and uncertain. They’re seeking your guidance with the knowledge that what they want to do is different. There’s a lot of pressure and responsibility in that.
Here’s how you can help them do it well.
Be Open-Minded
It’s first important to avoid, as best as possible, influencing their thoughts on a career path with your assumptions. That doesn’t mean filling them with unrealistically high expectations. We’ll describe in a later heading how you can tactfully express the risks of certain obscure career choices while still being respectful and encouraging.
Right now, we’re simply discussing the way you handle the initial conversation. If someone says that they want to be a musician, the first words out of your mouth don’t need to be, “Well, it’s very difficult to make a living like that.” There may be truth to that sentiment, and it’s probably something they should hear, though rest assured, they have almost surely heard it already.
Your initial responsibility is to hear them out, understand where they are coming from, and advise them as well as you’re able to. There’s room to express concern, but if you do so right out of the gate, it may have a damaging effect on the potential productivity of the conversation. It may also be needlessly discouraging for them.
Point Out Educational Avenues
Once you’ve heard the student out, your next job is to direct them as best you can toward a path that can provide them a way into a career they’re interested in. You’re not making any guarantees about their likelihood of success simply by pointing out that there are excellent music programs or even film schools in the country.
You may even be able to support them further by indicating low-cost options, like online universities or programs that allow the student to gain hands-on experience as they learn the trade. For example, even smaller cities may have shadowing opportunities for film programs that can be a good way in. For aspiring filmmakers who don’t feel ready to transplant themselves out to California, this can be an especially practical step.
If their area of interest is not entirely education-dependent—for example, if they’re interested in starting a business—you may find more success with a mentorship opportunity. Almost certainly, your school has produced successful local entrepreneurs, some of whom may come in for career day programming or other events. Setting up a meeting in a safe, controlled environment is a strong next step for providing support.
The move will always be situation-dependent, of course, but remember that even unconventional jobs often have some kind of credentialing process. If not that, then at least a way for newcomers to cut their teeth before fully entering the field.
A Degree of Caution is Acceptable
If someone comes into your office saying that their ambition is to be a rock star, it is acceptable, even responsible, to articulate the odds. However, you shouldn’t do it only as a form of discouragement. You can also describe adjacent alternatives.
It’s difficult to make a living as a novelist. While you work on it, you could be a journalist, a copywriter, or a freelance writer. It’s difficult to become a rock star. While you work on it, you could teach music or work at a venue.
Yes, there are some jobs that are highly sought after and difficult to get. Most of them do have a more attainable alternative, or at least a traditional job that involves comparable skills. Your role is not to funnel them toward a more traditional career, but simply to help them understand that the skills they have, or are interested in developing, can be monetized in more than one way.
At no point should you discourage them from following their dreams. It’s simply about ensuring they understand all of the options and opportunities available to them.
There’s Nothing to Fear in Non-Traditional Careers
Remember that the job market is constantly changing. You may be continuously surprised by the kinds of ambitions students bring into your office. Remember that your job is not necessarily to fully understand everything, but simply to help them see the path forward.
It’s not always going to be easy, but at the end of the day, it’s an exciting, even privileged, aspect of what you do.
One of the best and biggest things a counselor can do is get the students who come into your room to understand their own potential and feel excitement about their future. It’s an incredibly high calling.
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The Exploring Anxiety Discussion Questions worksheet educates students about anxiety and encourages group discussion on triggers, reactions, and coping skills. This is a nice tool you might want to use with students that are having anxiety issues. Here is a link: https://www.psychpoint.com/worksheets/documents/exploring-anxiety-discussion-questions.pdf
There are some great Facebook HS Counselor Groups/Communities that have daily discussions and posts about topics of interest. Here is a good list with links:
High School Counselor Connection
Private · 15K members · 3 posts a day
School Counselors Connect 🌟🎓🗣️
Public · 17K members · 10+ posts a day
Private · 10K members
High School Counselors’ Network
Private · 16K members · Member since July 2019
Public · 2.9K members · 8 posts a day
Private · 51K members · 20+ posts a day
School Counselors Connect [Official]
Private · 36K members · 5 posts a day
Private · 28K members · 2 posts a day
Caught In The Middle School Counselors
Private · 25K members · 3 posts a day
Public · 2.7K members · 6 posts a day
Public · 2.4K members
Solution-Focused School Counseling
Public · 11K members
Public · 2.7K members
The Learning Lab: Support for New School Counselors
Private · 3.6K members
Public · 3.3K members
School Counselor Educators’ Discussion group
Private · 551 members
Public · 774 members
Public · 2.2K members · 4 posts a day
Private · 5.5K members
Counselor Tips, Tricks, & Resources
Private · 2.2K members
Private · 172 members
Private · 5.8K members
National Boards Support Group for School Counselors
Private · 2K
National Association of Christian Counselors
Public · 5K members
Private · 53 members
Christian Counselors and Therapists Network
Private · 4.4K members · 10+ posts a day
Counselors in Substance Abuse – Support & Information
Public · 13K members · 30 posts a day
LMHC Licensed Mental Health Counselors and LPC Central
Public · 24K members · 9 posts a day
Public · 4K members · 9 posts a day
Private · 2 members
Resources for Mental Health Counselors & Social Workers
Private · 7.4K members · 5 posts a day
Public · 2.6K members · 8 posts a day
Public · 170 members
Drug & Substance Abuse Counselors
Public · 693 members · 2 posts a day
Counselors & Family therapists page.
Public · 799 members · 3 posts a day
Spring, despite the inescapable beauty and rebirth all around us, can be a hard time in public education. I’ve got some seniors that I have struggled to get through to and their graduation remains in doubt. I’m planting seeds, I hope, some of which may take years to sprout. The job requires an enormous amount of energy, which I hope I will always be able to offer, but it does not always provide the validation and obvious results that help us to appreciate the rewards of what we’re trying to achieve. It can be hard to see concrete results as we grind away, especially late in the school year.
My first job was working on my dad’s landscaping crew. I was around it from early childhood and eventually graduated to an actual paycheck. Problem was, I was not very good at it. I never could plant a tree straight enough to please Daddy and if I planted more than two, they surely were not aligned. But that job absolutely offered concrete evidence of a hard day’s work every day. We would show up in the morning and attack the red dirt and scraggly beds and by the end of the day, those yards would sparkle with elegant shrubs, immaculately spread mulch, and perfectly spaced trees (especially if somebody else planted them). It was satisfying and there was a clear beginning to the journey and a definitive conclusion at the end as we cleaned up.
My second job, of course, had to call my first job prior to hiring me. I worried that they would be skeptical of anything my previous boss told them because he was my dad. Worse, I worried that he might not have anything good to say about my performance because I just wasn’t that good a landscaper.
My new boss called me into his office on the first day and said, “Talked to your dad.”
Oh, boy. Here we go.
“He said that when you started working with the crew, he didn’t know anything about any of the people you were working with. By the end of the first day, you knew their life histories and they seemed to like coming to work more after you joined. He also said that you showed up every day and worked hard.”
It was one of the great compliments I’ve ever gotten and I was profoundly relieved that Daddy apparently hadn’t mentioned my penchant for planting trees in looping arcs.
After a uniquely challenging day at the high school today, I was starting to wonder if I’m as effective as I need to be at my current job. I never question my effort, but sometimes the results (or the apparent lack thereof) can really get to me.
I decided to join a disc golf tournament being run by a colorful traveling entrepreneur at one of our local courses. His name is Scott Stokely. Look him up. He was among the pioneers of the sport and now he travels the country, Johnny Appleseed style, in his van, spreading the gospel of the sport and selling his own brand of disc. Surely it would be a good departure from my intrusive thoughts to engage with one of the luminaries of the most laid back sport ever invented.
My elbow has been nagging at me, but I figured I would be careful and just enjoy the round, while leaving my concerns about my kids’ attendance and failing grades for tomorrow morning. Like many activities in which I participate, I’m not particularly good at disc golf, but I really enjoy being in the woods, communing with people, and, eventually, getting my flying chunk of round plastic to crash against the chains.
The first couple of holes went ok.
I was in a foursome and my partner was significantly better than I, but fortunately for him, my bad throws did not prevent him from making good ones. He was my age and recovering from a recent heart attack, but he said that the game had helped him regain his health. One member of the other pair was a very talented young engineer from Vermont who was just visiting his family in town and decided to play in our tournament. His partner was the father of one of my former students who is due to graduate from college in a few weeks. He greeted me warmly and even took a selfie to send to his son. Things were already looking up!
On the fourth hole, something clicked in my elbow and not in a good way. We had used a few of my throws up to that point, but I was now a shell of my former, barely mediocre self. I could feel my spirit sinking a bit, but I was still enjoying the comradery and my partner was very good natured about the reality that he was carrying our team.
At the fifth hole, there was a dead body.
I’m not kidding.
The police had set up their yellow tape and they were standing over a prone figure on the side of the creek.
This was obviously disconcerting and I was a little bit worried that my next errant throw might inexcusably land on the wrong side of the tape. We were all stunned, of course, and we played in silence for a bit.
I have long believed that no matter what struggles we face, it can be life altering if we just know that there is one person who cares about us and believes in our value. I found myself hoping that someone had cared. And tried to help.
My sore elbow and pitiful score didn’t mean much at that point.
There was a scheduled talk after the tournament during which the progenitor of the event planned to share his story and a bit about the history of the game. When our game finally, mercifully concluded, I was headed to my car, thinking that I really needed the ride home to ponder and process all that I had seen.
Scott intercepted me and asked if I was going to stick around for his talk. Every part of my being wanted to tell him that I just needed to go home, but there was a light in his eyes that I just could not bear to diminish. I told him that I was just putting my bag in my car and I would be right there. He said, “Good, ‘cause I wanted to ask you how in the hell you prepare kids for adulthood in this day and age when the world is crazy and AI is gonna take all the jobs anyway!”
I get questions like this a lot and I don’t have a stock answer. In trying to answer him, I was also convincing myself.
I told him that the job is to help kids figure out who the best version of themselves is going to be and that my goal is to ensure that they know their value and the importance of coming to their own conclusions about the mysteries of the world. He asked some great questions and was actively listening to me in the kind of way that I hope my students would recognize. As we walked to the spot where he would give his presentation, he said, “I bet you’re damned good at it.”
His talk was fabulous! He told the story of his latch key childhood in California when he felt raised by a bunch of hippies on one of the original courses. They weren’t perfect foster parents, but he knew they cared, they kept him safe, and they gave him a foundation in life that he is still building on.
I was so glad I remained.
As I was walking out, that father I had been playing with approached and said, “I need to tell you, you really saved my son’s life. You got him out of his room and I’m not sure he ever would have come out if you hadn’t shown up when you did.”
The universe has a way of tipping her hat to us when we need it most.
Sometimes, life requires looping arcs as we find our way.
But you gotta show up.
Thanks to all the Counselors that took the LINK for Counselors Spring issue readership survey conducted by Paramount Research. The results really help us tailor content to topics you would like to see in future issues. They also help our advertisers get valuable feedback and reinforce their investment in LINK for Counselors (which is why you are able to receive our content free).
Here are the 10 winners of a $10 Amazon Gift Card:
Michelle S Blackburn – Bellmont High School – Counselor – Indiana
Chris Bonneau – Pacific Academy – California
Jessica Baker – Plainview – Old Bethpage JFK High School – Counselor – New York
Bernice Dallas – Urbana School District – College and Career Specialist – Illinois
Heidi Guy Hays- Cherry Creek School District – HS Counselor – Colorado
Carolyn Ortiz – Windham High School – Counselor – New Hampshire
Rose Wu – Lake Washington School – College & Career Guidance Specialist – Washington
Traci Flowers – Deerfield High School – Counselor – Illinois
Jennifer Thibodeaux – Catholic High School – Counselor – Louisiana
Alison Belkin – Bergen County Academies – Counselor – New Jersey
Congrats again to all the winners!
Here are some nice worksheets that can be used by your students on topics of mental health that are offered free by My Group Guide.
Do your students want to start at a job with a $50K minimum salary? How about the ability to work remotely? To help younger workers, FlexJobs shared 10 entry-level, remote-friendly jobs in demand with competitive pay. The below list was created based on an analysis of 60,000 companies in its database and includes active* job listings with starting salaries above $50K+.
10 Entry-Level Jobs Hiring with Competitive Pay & Remote Work
A Counselor made these for her Counseling team and has made them available to purchase for any other Counselors that would like one. Here is the link to order: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd09zuX3c1VhTudB9hNnSvOzrzaJTVZEHNN60Eo_auV_vbBIw/viewform?fbclid=IwY2xjawREpO5leHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeuWNl4-vLRQePEuaE_hEYvMWEGhCzcxlRjK7tjzFf_zC-vNJ8pAQZJz6-PXo_aem_sYubIe9Z78PAS1Le-b5N3w&pli=1
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