Forget prestige...follow your true strengths in education and training

Post-school education...forget prestige and look to your strengths.

In a generation of instant gratification, this is a hard sell as a Careers Advisor and Educator.

I pull no punches in explaining that all ‘101’ subjects (first year subjects) are boring!

They are foundational, High School like, and will not become specialized until 2nd or 3rd year onwards. 

For that reason alone, you cannot look at starting Uni as if it is a taster plate. That will cost HECS, and depending on your next goal, subject credit may be unlikely. If you are attracted to courses with high ATAR or professional reputation, ask yourself why. Is it aligned with what you want for the next 10, 20 or 50 years?

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What are your strengths? I work with students on a deeper level, knowing that a strength is not always what you are best at, rather, it is what energizes you! If you do not fully understand your own strengths check out Australia’s leading strength coach Linda Lenord because she changed my life. 

What I share in my training would never have been possible without understanding what drives me. I was terrible in management despite my knowledge and experience. I avoided leadership as a criminal investigator because I wanted to solve serious crime. As a teacher I dabbled in leadership but felt constrained, relishing the creativity of the classroom. So when Linda Lenord, a senior executive teacher at the time was coaching staff through their strengths I was intrigued. After taking the assessment we sat in her office and my jaw dropped to the floor. As she read the abstract of my top five Clifton Strengths it was like hearing my biography and psychology report rolled into one. It explained my past frustrations, decisions and rewards. It clearly showed me why I had felt restricted in the conformity of the Police Force and equally unleashed as a creative teacher. Our school invested heavily in strengths and it revealed, primarily, and understanding of self, and each other. This allowed greater connection and understanding. We then turned the attention to our senior students. I was able to recognise students who were driven by the strength of ‘competition’, who paradoxically avoided competing when they didn’t think they could win. Students with ‘achiever’ would surpass them because they relished the challenge and judged themselves differently. In myself, I recognised that “ideation” was a key driver and is the basis behind Crime Story. Understanding others is easier when you know yourself.

I have guided many students into fields which may be above their ATAR, but have seen them accepted and succeed because their passion was far stronger than the cookie-cutter subject alignment of the HSC.

My approach was always a bit different. I started with Economics, dropped out and became a Detective! Then became an English Teacher and now run a business that works with students in capacities such as RIEP (Regional Industry Education Program) where we work with kids to match skills, futures and training and with employers and industries. They learn their real strengths in critical thinking, and outside the pigeon hole of school subjects.

Students who are strong at Math are often guided to Financial courses. But what if they were strong at strategy and identifying patterns?  Maybe the school system only allows this strength to shine in that one subject? Maybe they could be a weapons technician in the NAVY, study Law and be a CEO of a major company?

It took me 20 years to understand that my love of investigating high school history, English and economics allowed me to be a Detective, rather than an economist. If you are passionate about a career, knowledgeable about what drives you, then you are far more likely to survive and thrive in post-school education. 

“To know thyself is the beginning of wisdom”, Socrates.