How Parents Can Support Their Child’s Career and University Choices

Parents are among the biggest influences on a teenager’s career and university decisions. That influence can open doors, or it can add pressure. The good news is that small, consistent actions make a big difference. Here are practical ways to support your child’s career choice while helping them own the decision.

1. Listen before you advise

Ask open questions and give your child time to answer: What do you enjoy most at school? What kind of problems do you like solving? What do you picture yourself doing in ten years? Listening first shows that their opinion matters, and it gives you real information to work with.

2. Separate your hopes from theirs

It is natural to hope your child will follow a path you value, such as medicine, law or engineering. But students who choose a field mainly to please their parents often struggle to stay motivated. Share your experience and your concerns honestly, then let your child’s interests lead.

3. Explore careers together

• Ask friends and relatives to talk about what their jobs are really like.
• Visit workplaces, campuses and career events together.
• Encourage summer activities, volunteering or short internships.
• Talk about how technology is changing careers and creating new ones.
• Browse careers together on free sites such as My Next Move.

4. Encourage a career assessment

A career assessment gives your family a neutral starting point for conversations about strengths and interests. Read our guide to career assessments for high school students to understand how they work and how to use the results.

5. Learn how admissions work today

University systems change quickly, and the process your child faces may be very different from your own experience. Attend information evenings and university open days together, and read up on university admission in Türkiye or studying abroad after high school.

6. Talk about the budget early

Be open about what the family can afford, including tuition, accommodation and living costs. Knowing the budget early helps your child build a realistic list of universities and look for scholarships in time.

7. Keep the pressure healthy

Exams and applications are stressful. Help your child plan their time, celebrate effort as well as results and remind them that there is more than one good path. If the first plan does not work out, a well-prepared plan B is not a failure.

A good question to ask every few months: “What have you learned about yourself recently?” The answers often say more than any test.

Questions to ask the school to support your child’s career choice

• How does the school support career and university guidance, and from which grade?
• Will my child take a career assessment?
• Will my child meet professionals and university representatives?
• Is there one-to-one guidance in Grades 11 and 12?
• How are parents kept informed?

How ILEAP supports students and families

In ILEAP partner schools, students follow a structured career and university guidance program, from career coaching and a detailed assessment to field experts, university awareness sessions and University Open Days, with one-to-one counseling included in every package. If your child’s school is not an ILEAP partner yet, tell us about it.

Frequently asked questions

What if my child has no idea what they want to do?

That is very common. Start with their interests and strengths, try a career assessment and explore several fields through talks, visits and short experiences. Clarity usually comes from doing, not only from thinking.

Should I support a major I am not sure about?

Share your concerns honestly and look at the facts together: what the work involves, the job prospects, the requirements and the costs. In the end, students tend to do best in fields they chose themselves.

When should we start planning for university?

Conversations can start in Grade 9. Serious research and test preparation usually begin in Grade 11.