What to do after high school ? The question of orientation haunts many high school students (and their parents). While registrations on Parcoursup close on March 9, the Thionville Information and Orientation Center (CIO) receives many high school students in the grip of doubt.
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Today at 06:30
“There is always a risk of not being accepted anywhere with Parcoursup. Having a backup plan is being careful. The formations that are not on the platform, for example those of certain private schools, are an essential parachute, whether you are a good student or not. Smiling and above all reassuring, Philippe Baran immediately puts the teenagers who come to see him at ease to find out what job they are going to do, or rather what direction they are going to choose after their baccalaureate. “I help young people form a project at an age when we are changing. With tests and different tools, I help them to get to know each other, to see where their taste lies, their interest, where they like to evolve…”
Whether or not you know what you want to do later, continuing your studies is not the only option after high school. “You can do a gap year abroad, do civic service, universal national service, work… It allows you to build your personality, grow, test and validate certain centers of interest and then embark on studies in having a precise idea of the field that interests us”, explains Philippe Baran.
High school students stormed the meeting slots of the Thionville orientation center during the February 2023 holidays. Photo RL / Cloe VANONI
“The anxiety of high school students for their future is more present than before”
Find what you want to do. This little sentence weighs heavily on the shoulders of Clara, 17, a final year student at Saint-Pierre-Chanel high school in Thionville. “I wanted to be a lawyer, so I majored in economics and humanity. From now on, I want to work in events or fashion. When I told my parents, they hardly accepted it. On top of that, I didn’t take the right specialties to do what I wanted. “No need to panic on this last point, according to the psychologist expert in orientation: “Private schools and generalist training are less careful about the choice of specialties. Afterwards, of course, if you want to do selective training like the BCPST preparation to be an engineer, you have to have taken maths, physics and SVT. »
For the National Education psychologist who has rolled his bump for forty years, the anxiety of high school students in relation to their future has been felt more in recent years. “There is a great fear of failure, of not being up to it. However, we have the right to be wrong, to not have made the right choice for ourselves. What you have to keep in mind is that you don’t “lose” a year anymore. There are staggered entries and bridges between courses. »
Five tips to help your child find their way
Here is the advice he gives to parents so that they can best support their child in this important period. “Be attentive to his desires and needs. Do not have too many prejudices about the different trades. Encourage him to get informed and get informed as well. Go to information sessions on Parcoursup organized by the school. Hold open days. What matters in the end is finding the right balance between interests, academic abilities and job prospects. For teenagers, his list is shorter: “17 is young. You have the right not to know what you want to do and to be wrong. »
