What if your teen’s future includes a career they’ve never even heard of?
Choosing a career can feel overwhelming when the possibilities seem limited to the jobs we already know. But what happens when students discover careers they didn’t know existed and realize their future could be bigger than they imagined?
In this bonus episode of Majors, Minors & Maybes, Dr. W. welcomes Dr. Kelly Teague, the First-Gen College Coach, for a conversation about helping parents and teens explore career paths beyond the familiar. Together, they uncover how family expectations, limited exposure, and uncertainty about college or career pathways can shape a student’s choices. They also discuss how curiosity, mentorship, and access to information can open new doors.
Whether your teen is saying, “I have no idea what I want to do,” or your family is navigating the college journey for the first time, this episode offers practical ways to start exploring possibilities without needing all the answers.
In this episode discover:
· Why teens can’t aspire to careers they’ve never been introduced to.
· How parents can support career exploration even if they haven’t navigated college themselves.
· Why choosing a college major doesn’t have to be the starting point of every career conversation.
· How first-generation students can find mentors, resources, and opportunities.
· A simple 15-minute Career Detective Challenge to help your teen investigate an unfamiliar career.
🎧 Tune in, get curious, and help your teen discover careers they never knew to ask about.
Subscribe to Majors, Minors & Maybes for unexpected careers, curious discoveries, and fresh perspectives on what’s possible. And share this episode with a parent, teacher, or student who could use a bigger map of the future.
Dr. Kelly Teague, the First-Gen College Coach, helps parents and teens navigate college and career possibilities through coaching, mentorship, and exposure to opportunities beyond the familiar.
Email: kelly@firstgencollegecoach.com
Instagram: @first.gen.college.coach
TikTok: @firstgencollegecoach
Facebook: First Gen College Coach
Website: https://linktr.ee/firstgencollegecoach
Other useful resources:
The Quasi Box Brainery www.thequasibox.com : A career exploration platform for 8th-12th graders that gives students hands-on ways to explore real STEAM careers so they discover what they love before choosing a college major.
Majors Minors & Maybes: www.thequasibox.com/majorsminorsmaybes
Show Notes:
Beyond ‘I Don’t Know’: Helping Teens and First-Gen Families Discover Careers They’ve Never Heard Of
Dr. W hosts Majors, Minors, and Maybes in a special episode focused on how parents and teens can expand career exploration beyond familiar job titles, especially for first-generation students. Guest Kelly Teague, a former educator and college/career readiness coach, explains how she began supporting first-gen students after noticing a major access gap in information, exposure, and guidance. Together they challenge common limiting assumptions “college or nothing,” needing a single passion, grades predicting success, choosing a path once, and reframe “I don’t know” as the start of investigation. Kelly offers practical strategies: start with interests and what teens don’t want, use day-in-the-life videos, talk with working adults, and take small next steps. They highlight unfamiliar careers like medical dosimetrist, wind turbine technician, elevator/escalator repairer, and museum conservator, and end with a 15-minute career detective challenge and resources to find support.