I recently did an outreach activity with a group of Girl Scouts, and at the end, we asked the girls if they had any questions for us. I was amazed by both the quality of the questions and the enthusiasm with which the future Engirlneers asked them.
It got me thinking about how important asking questions is to developing a great career as an Engirlneer. I always hated asking others questions when I was younger; I felt like I was prying into their personal life, their choices, but as I’ve gotten older, I’ve jumped at every opportunity possible to ask others questions so I can learn how they got to where they were, and whether or not they enjoy their position.
Encourage your Engirlneer to speak up, and ask questions when she is given the opportunity to discuss potential careers or opinions from people with a career she think she might want. Some great questions to ask are:
- What education did you need to get the job you have?
- Do you need an internship or any experience to get your first full-time job?
- What would you do if you weren’t a (fill in the blank)?
- What does a typical day in that career entail?
- What’s the progression of someone in your career?
- What’s one thing you really dislike about your career?
- What’s one thing you really like about your career?
- What do you wish you had known before you chose your career?
In addition to helping your Engirlneer find out about her career aspirations, learning to ask insightful questions can benefit her in other ways, as well.
You can help your Engirlneer by encouraging her to ask “Why” every day. Many parents and educators find the constant influx of questions tedious, often bordering on annoying, but by stifling a child’s curiosity, you can be stifling their ability to think critically, reason, and form their own thoughts.
Learning to ask “why” and question is not a skill that comes naturally to most. It is a skill which takes practice to hone and perfect. The next time your Engirlneer throws a barrage of questions at you, instead of thinking of all the things you should be doing, take the time to walk your Engirlneer through her progression of questions. You might find yourself surprised at where her mind travels, and along the way you will help to instill the value of questioning in her, which can benefit her greatly throughout her career and life.