The sky’s the limit for Chemainus Secondary School’s 2018 graduates.
They have grown up and become accustomed to an ever-changing society, unlike parents and grandparents who’ve obviously had to learn a whole lot about the Internet and emerging technologies on the fly.
Several fields are wide open for the grads to choose the career path that best suits them. Many will surely filter into the expanding tech sector, but the old-fashioned areas of expertise such as medical professions and trades will require a considerable influx of young people to fill vacant positions as many Baby Boomers head into their retirement years.
As Chemainus Secondary principal Lori Hryniuk noted during grad ceremonies Friday night, it’s interesting that analysts predict today’s grads can expect to have five to six different careers during their lifetimes. That’s not five or six jobs, but five or six different careers.
Most of today’s adults in their 60s and 50s may have had only one or two different careers, so that’s a big change.
It’s astounding most of the current grads won’t be retiring until 2065 or thereabouts.
What changes will be store for everyone in the world by then is anybody’s guess. But there will most certainly be even more huge differences.
In fact, Hryniuk points out research also indicates a considerable number of grads could wind up in occupations that don’t even exist yet.
But that’s certainly getting well ahead of things for the present class that’s just heading out to discover so many new things about the big world.
This is no time to be in a rush. It may not sound like it now, but those years will pass quickly enough.
The main thing now for grads is to enjoy the ride.