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Teen Life May 15, 2026

Is it really fair to expect 16-year-olds to choose a career?

Nobody talks about the crushing pressure on teenagers to pick a career at 16 - but they really should. It's like we're expected to have all the answers before we've even finished high school. I mean, I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life back then, but everyone around me seemed to know exactly what they were going to be studying in college.

I was the only one in my class who didn't have a clear idea of my future, and let's just say it was...awkward, to say the least. My friends were all talking about their college plans and I was just over here trying to pass my mid-term exams. It's like we're put on this huge timeline to achieve success, without really being given the tools or support to figure it out.

Are we really setting our teenagers up for failure by expecting them to make life-altering decisions at such a young age? What do you think?

Diego Ramirez

8 Circle replies

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13 replies

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Discussion (13)

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EM Emeka Kamara 2 weeks, 5 days ago

no thoughts detected

HI Hiroshi Abe 2 weeks, 5 days ago

Yeah but like what if they dont even know what they like yet what if they just pick something because its easy or because their parents said so and then theyre stuck for years 😅

KL Klaus Zimmermann 2 weeks, 5 days ago

skill issue

NA Natasha Morozov 2 weeks, 5 days ago

Not sure about this – people always talk about how kids these days are pressured to have their whole life sorted out by sixteen but what about the ones who genuinely love exploring and trying out different things before committing to something

HA Hana Ito 2 weeks, 5 days ago

valid I guess

MI Min Guo 2 weeks, 5 days ago

where's the support Emeka we're just assuming 16yo kids can magically choose a career without any guidance or info they're already under pressure to do well in school now u want to put the weight of their futures on their shoulders plus most kids at taht age have no idea what they're passionate about or what they're even good at

IS Isabella Smith 2 weeks, 5 days ago

Apparently, we trust 16-year-olds to recieve receive* how to spend their college money, where to live after graduation... but picking a career is a big leap 👀

SA Sade Ogundimu 2 weeks, 5 days ago

no thoughts head empty

SO Sophie Dupont 2 weeks, 5 days ago

Ok but what about the whole concept of figuring out who you are and what you want to do with your life in high school is pretty overwhelming and not exactly conducive to making a well-informed decision

EM Emeka Kamara 2 weeks, 5 days ago

didn't read lol *(edited)*

AN Antoine Fontaine 2 weeks, 5 days ago

the bar was on the floor and you still managed to trip

SO Sophie Dupont 2 weeks, 5 days ago

glad I scrolled down far enough to find this

FA Fares Aziz 2 weeks, 5 days ago

this needs more upvotes

AN Andi Susanto 2 weeks, 5 days ago

^ what they said

HA Hana Ito 2 weeks, 5 days ago

actually though

BO Bo Wu 2 weeks, 5 days ago

um isn't that basically what college is supposed to be for anyway *(edited)*

AN Antoine Fontaine 2 weeks, 5 days ago

sheesh *(edited)*

JU Julia Hartmann 2 weeks, 5 days ago

16yo me was still figuring out I liked pizza 😭

LU Luis Ortiz 2 weeks, 5 days ago

Yeah, because nothing says "well-rounded individual" like a 16-year-old who's 100% sure they're gonna spend the next 40 years staring at a computer screen. when i was 16, my 'career goal' was to not get lost on the way home from school. things changed quickly after that

JE Jean Martin 2 weeks, 5 days ago

they should focus on self-discovery imo 😂

LU Luis Ortiz 2 weeks, 5 days ago

kids are just guessing anyway.

GA Gabriela Torres 2 weeks, 5 days ago

schools should prioritize life skills

KL Klaus Zimmermann 2 weeks, 5 days ago

No idea what they're getting in to worked at a startup with 4 people still in high school

KA Kaito Yamamoto 2 weeks, 5 days ago

People acting like 16-year-olds just magically know what their dream career is are completely overlooking the fact that even most adults can barely figure it out by then. I had no idea what i wanted to study in college, let alone career-wise at 16 - it took me three majors and two failed internships to stumble upon something that sort of vaguely feels right. We need to start talking about how many of us figure it out way past that age, not pretending its a skill 16-year-olds inherently have *(edited)*

MI Min Guo 2 weeks, 5 days ago

What's wrong with expecting 16-year-olds to explore their interests is that they often dont know what options are out there or what it takes to succeed in those fields lowkey

CE Cem Bulut 2 weeks, 5 days ago

Idk kaito i think the issue isnt that 16 yr olds magically know what they want its that were asking them to make life-altering decisions without giving them the space to try stuff out and change their minds

BO Bo Wu 2 weeks, 5 days ago

they're taught to take the sat at 16 but they cant choose a career that's fair not gonna lie

BO Bo Wu 2 weeks, 5 days ago

Yeah no the problem is nobody expects actual career guidance from schools before they're shipped off to choose a major in college let alone a career path at 16 most people i know who are my age are still trying to figure out how to navigate college majors and course selection nevermind a whole lifetime of work

LU Luis Ortiz 2 weeks, 5 days ago

Career guidance isnt the problem

SO Sophia Thomas 2 weeks, 5 days ago

schools aren't teaching basic life skills lol

NO Noura Othman 2 weeks, 5 days ago

the way I nodded reading this

MI Minjun Sun 2 weeks, 5 days ago

Wait BUT like what even is "actual career guidance" then if not helping 16yo figure out what they might wanna do 💀💀

CE Cem Bulut 2 weeks, 5 days ago

idk man people are framing it like these 16 year olds are even being asked to decide on a lifelong career path thats not what happens in REALITY most of the time lowkey *(edited)*

SO Sophie Dupont 2 weeks, 5 days ago

wait isnt teh issue that most people change their minds multiple times by the time they're 25 let alone 16 its not that 16 yr olds "magically" know what they want its just most people dont really figure it out until way later why not give them some more time to experiment before putting that kind of pressure on them

AN Antoine Fontaine 2 weeks, 5 days ago

first time posting but I've noticed a lot of pressure to pick a "major" or "career path" before even attending college can be overwhelming for some kids. my younger sibling is 16 and was almost convinced they had to choose a "forever" job based on a 5-minute chat w/ their guidance counselor.

KA Kaito Yamamoto 2 weeks, 5 days ago

and people wonder why this platform is dying

AN Antoine Fontaine 2 weeks, 5 days ago

But what about the ones who don’t?

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Diego Ramirez

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