Career Planning for Gifted and Talented Youth (continued)

College students and young adults: These young people make an early, but not hasty or arbitrary, choice of career or major. They often show a desire for completion of a training period in order to "get on with work," seek out mentors, continue intense focus, and often neglect social and extracurricular activities.
Adulthood: Adults may continue their intense focus, desire eminence or excellence in the talent area, and possibly forego or delay other aspects of adult development such as marriage, nurturing of a younger generation, social and community involvement, and personal development.

Possible intervention strategies for early emergers at different educational levels include the following:

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
*Provide for early identification of unusual talent or area of precocity.
*Consult with experts on the nature and nurture of particular gifts or talents.
*Consult with the school on ways of nurturing the talent or gift.
*Encourage fantasies through reading of biographies and playing of work roles.
*Provide opportunities to learn about eminent people in the talent area (attend a concert; visit an inventor's workshop; attend a math professor's class).
*Relate necessary basic skills to the area of interest.
*Provide opportunities to socialize with children with similar, intense interests through such activities as music camps, computer camps, and Junior Great Books.
*Strike a careful balance between encouragement and laissez-faire; provide support for the strong interest along with freedom to change direction. Do not become so invested in the child's talent or interest that you fail to notice that the child has changed interests. (Early emergers most often change to a closely related interest; that is, they switch musical instruments or transfer an interest in mathematics to an interest in theoretical physics).

JUNIOR HIGH
*Provide support and encouragement during the intensive training that often begins at this point.
*Allow for plenty of time alone.
*Seek opportunities for job "shadowing" (following a professional throughout the working day) in area of interest.
*Seek opportunities for light volunteer work in area of interest.
*Avoid pressuring the student into social activities.

SENIOR HIGH
*Continue support, encouragement, and time alone.
*Seek opportunities for internships and work experiences in the areas of interest (internship on archaeological dig; job as camp counselor at a fine arts camp; coaching younger people in musical or athletic skill).
*Seek career guidance from a guidance counselor who is familiar with the talent area or from a professional in that field.
*Make a detailed plan of training and education leading toward the chosen career goal, including financial arrangements.
*Explore higher education or postsecondary training early and thoroughly, with contacts and visits.
*Help the student establish a relationship with a mentor in the area of interest. Early emergers often fare better in a less prestigious institution where they have access to an enthusiastic mentor than in an Ivy League or high status institution where they do not.

COLLEGE STUDENTS AND YOUNG ADULTS*Help provide support for extended education and training.
*Encourage the development of knowledge of career ladders in the area of interest (auditions, gallery shows, inventor's conventions, etc.).
*Encourage a continuing relationship with a career counseling or guidance professional for support in decision making and problem solving.

The career development problems discussed here are nearly opposite one another: The multipotential student seems unfocused, delaying, and indecisive, whereas the early emerger is focused, driven, and almost too decisive. Both types carry with them dangers and opportunities. Skillful career education and guidance can help ensure that neither multipotentiality nor early emergence leads to difficulty in career planning and development.

CAREER PLANNING FOR SPECIAL POPULATIONS

Minority Gifted Students:
Minority gifted students have special career planning needs as well as needs related to multipotentiality or early emergence. Minority students from Black, Hispanic, and American Indian backgrounds are less likely to have been selected for gifted education programs and less likely to perform well on standardized achievement tests than their nonminority peers. In addition, they may have lower career aspirations because of lower societal expectations. Nevertheless, the patterns of leadership and out-of-class accomplishments of gifted minority students are very similar to those of nonminority gifted students (Kerr, Colangelo, Maxey, & Christensen, 1989). Minority gifted students are active leaders in other communities. Therefore, career counseling for these students may be most effective when it focuses on raising career aspirations and emphasizes out-of-class accomplishments as indicators of possible career directions. Career planning must also go hand in hand with building a strong ethnic identity if later conflict between ethnic identity and achievement in majority society is to be avoided. Colangelo and LaFrenz (1981) have provided suggestions for how this can be accomplished.