MIDVALE, Utah — Hillcrest High’s annual job shadowing program is helping students explore future career paths by giving them firsthand experience in real workplaces.
Job shadowing gives students the opportunity to step outside the classroom and see what different careers are really like. “Job shadowing is when students go to a work site for a couple of hours during the school year to get a one-on-one look at a career,” said Shannon Cher Burbank. She explained that students tour the facility and observe professionals during a normal work day, helping them understand what the job actually involves.
Burbank said job shadowing allows students to experience careers in a more realistic way. “It’s really just what it sounds like, shadowing someone to see what their job is actually like,” she said. This experience helps students go beyond reading job descriptions online and instead learn through first-hand observation.
Students are also able to explore many different types of careers through the program. “In the state of Utah, we have 13 different career clusters,” Burbank said. These clusters include a wide range of fields such as business, healthcare, technology, and other industry students may be interested in.
Job shadowing opportunities are designed to match those clusters. “We tried to base our job shadowing opportunities around those career clusters,” Burbank said. She added that the program works with district business partners and community organizations to give students access to both traditional and non-traditional career paths.
The biggest benefits of job shadowing is helping students decide whether a career is right for them. “Sometimes a job looks really good on paper or on the internet,” Burbank said, “but then students actually go in and experience it and realize they could never do it.”
She explained that this realization can be just as important as finding a career students enjoy. “Job shadowing doesn’t just help students find what they want to do,” Burbank said. “It also helps them figure out what might not be right for them.” This can save students time and effort later in college or career training.
The goal of the job shadowing program is to help students explore careers in a meaningful way. “Our goal is to help students explore careers beyond just the classroom or the internet,” Burbank said. She explained that students practice important skills like talking with professionals, making eye contact, and learning workplace expectations.
Burbank said job shadowing can also open doors for future opportunities. “It can be a foot in the door for a summer job or something down the road,” she said. Through job shadowing, students gain real world experience that helps prepare them for Life After High School