Career Decisions In An Uncertain World – Jennifer Oaten
My son graduated from school, chose engineering because he got the marks needed and his friends were doing it. 6 weeks in he withdrew and enrolled in Architecture, got an internship and has not looked back. He is now off to travel and work, taking a year off from his studies.
My daughter started Agricultural Science but found statistics was not for her so changed Universities and enrolled in Criminology and Communications and loved the course. She deferred for 6 months and has been travelling and working overseas including a season at Camp America.
Every young person is different. Every young person will find their way and there are many different paths to get there, as I have witnessed as parent.
So what do you do when your daughter (or son) is sitting at the kitchen table with choices, university offers, job choices, career ideas, or no clear direction at all? My advice below may help the discussions every parent will have at some point in time.
Helping Her Find Her Own Direction
Help her ask better questions. Not “What career should I choose?” but “What problems do I care about?” “What makes me lose track of time?” “What do people ask me for help with?” These questions reveal far more than any test. Ask her what problem in the world really bothers her. Her answer will tell you more about her direction than any career quiz ever could.
Talk about skills, not job titles. Her first job title matters less than you think. What truly matters is whether she is developing skills that align with her strengths — communication, problem-solving and collaboration. These skills will serve her in any career. Focus on what she enjoys most and where her strengths naturally shine.
Value experience as much as grades. When she volunteers, takes on leadership roles, or participates in work experience, she is building evidence of what she can do. Every young person can be proactive in seeking experiences that confirm their passions or help them realise what is not for them. Internships, part-time work and exchanges all provide valuable insight and great life experiences.
Normalise changing direction. Career paths are rarely straight lines anymore, and your daughter’s first choice does not have to be forever. Encourage her to explore, to change direction, and to try again. Her working life will be long, so help her focus on finding something she enjoys and feels passionate about. The fear of making the wrong choice is often worse than the choice itself. Few decisions are permanent; most can be adjusted along the way. Not every choice needs to be perfect; sometimes it just needs to be good enough to begin. Encourage her to take that first step, learn all she can, and if it is not quite right, she will discover what truly inspires her.
Anything is possible. With dedication, hard work and a dream, she can achieve great things. Encourage your daughter to believe in her potential and never let others limit what she can achieve. Each opportunity, no matter how small, helps her grow in confidence and discover what she is capable of. The key is to keep trying and to approach every experience with an open mind and a willingness to learn.
Keep values at the centre. Our Mercy Values are not just words we speak at school; they are a compass for life. Encourage your daughter to ask herself: How will this work allow me to serve others? Does it align with what I believe is fair? Can I do this with integrity? When life feels uncertain or confusing, it is her values that will guide her towards the right path.
Help her see AI as a tool, not a threat. It can feel daunting at first, but the students who will thrive are those who learn to use these tools wisely while staying focused on the human aspects of their work. The thinking, the creating, the connecting; that is where she will always make a difference. Encourage her to embrace technology with curiosity, but never lose sight of the values and empathy that make her unique.
The Confidence Your Daughter Carries
Your daughter has spent years watching women lead in every capacity. Every captain, every debate, every time someone stood up and took charge. She has seen women do it, and this is her normal.
She will walk into workplaces expecting to belong, expecting her voice to matter. She has asked questions without second-guessing herself. She has competed for leadership based on ability, not gender. Sometimes she was successful. Sometimes she was not. But she discovered that leadership is something she can go for. That confidence will serve her for decades.
What She Can Do Now
If your daughter is in Year 11: She has time. Help her use it. Talk to people in fields she finds interesting. Visit open days together. Look at TAFE options too. Help her notice what makes her curious. Support the conversations at home, but remember, this is your daughter’s decision.
If your daughter is in Year 12: Help her breathe. She does not need forty years mapped out, just the next decision. Pick something that interests her and keeps doors open, apply broadly, and remember her ATAR is one number, not her worth or her future.
What She Has Already Built
Think about what your daughter has actually been doing here for the past few years.
Those emPOWER projects? She was researching complex social issues, building cases, presenting to panels, and advocating for real funding. When she led that House event, she figured out how to organise people, handle conflict, and see things through. When she asked a hard question in class, she practised using her voice. When she dealt with someone not pulling their weight in a group project, she discovered how negotiation actually works.
These things matter more than she realises.
Our graduates are everywhere. Doctors, teachers, business owners, scientists, and technology experts. Many work in fields that did not exist when they left here.
Elisha Bethe graduated in 2017, started as a tax agent, but kept being drawn to technology. She did a postgraduate diploma in emerging tech law and now works for VGW in Perth in a global tech role. Her accounting degree opened the door, but her career came from noticing what interested her and being willing to change direction.
Ruth Hatherley graduated in 1995. Her favourite subjects were Theatre Arts and English Literature. Now she is CEO of a tech company. She spent twenty years in finance, saw a problem nobody else was solving, and built a company to fix it. She once said: “I am the least technical CEO of a tech company going around. But I understood the problem that needed solving, and I was brave enough with my vision to bring everyone on board.”
This is what real careers look like. Not straight lines, just people trying things, learning, and adjusting.
What I Know
I have watched hundreds of young women leave the College and build careers. What they have in common is not perfect choices, but a willingness to try, to learn, to adjust, and to lead with their values.
Your daughters can think, adapt, work with others, lead, and contribute something real. The world is waiting for that. They are ready. More ready than they feel right now.
Your job is not to have all the answers or protect them from uncertainty. Your job is to believe in them, support their decisions, and remind them that very few choices are permanent.
Trust them. They are more capable than they know.
- career pathways for students, changing study direction, Empowering Young Women, Featued, Featured, future careers and AI, leadership and resilience, Mercy Values In Action, parent advice for Year 12, Santa Maria College Perth, student wellbeing and confidence, university choices and gap years
Author: Santa Maria College
Santa Maria College is a vibrant girls school with a growing local presence and reputation. Our Mission is to educate young Mercy women who act with courage and compassion to enrich our world. Santa Maria College is located in Attadale in Western Australia, 16 km from the Perth CBD. We offer a Catholic education for girls in Years 5 – 12 and have 1300 students, including 152 boarders.
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