How early should students start thinking about career choices?

In April 2011, when I was close to finishing my ebook, "A Cornell Carol," I came across the NY Times Article, Helping Students Find the Right Path.  The article discusses how Maria Rodriguez, an associate professor of psychology at Hunter College, provides academic, career and personal counseling to economically disadvantaged students.  Her own personal career path is also inspiring.  The article gave me a confidence boost as to why I was writing "A Cornell Carol."  One of my reasons was to reach high school and college students who were struggling with making career choices after graduation.

The part of the article that struck a chord with me was Professor Roderiguez's comment on how high school students think about choosing careers: "A lot of students just out of high school are influenced by externals. They come to me and say, 'Tell me what’s popular, and tell me what to do to make a lot of money.' This is a difficult job climate; the hot occupation is nursing and health care, but it may not be the right choice. Yes, there’s a need, but students need to consider if that’s the field they really want. They need to think about what they have to offer. Too many students look at a job advertisement and try to match themselves to it."

I agree with her comments and would say they also describe how many college students think about choosing careers.  In fact, when I have had the opportunity to mentor colleges students on choosing careers, they have stated similar sentiments as to why they have chosen a particular career path.  I believe that college students, starting in their freshmen year, would benefit from a career counselor or a structured mandatory program while in college to help them choose a career.  (A similar program for high school students would be beneficial.)  However, as many colleges and universities offer these services and programs on a voluntary basis, it is up to the students themselves to be pro-active and make this a priority while in college.  Students that are proactive can be made aware of common career pitfalls rather than learning about them five years into a career path and being unhappy with their choice.

For those students who aren't lucky enough to have someone like Professor Roderiguez advise them, I wrote "A Cornell Carol" as a creative way to inspire high school and college students to think about choosing their career path and getting the most out of their high school and college experiences.  I hope this blog also serves as a resource and forum for students, parents and others about these issues.

Do you think it would be helpful for college students to be assigned a career counselor and attend mandatory career programs?  Is it best to leave college and university career services voluntary?  Is high school too young to start thinking about career choices?  I would love to hear your thoughts.