Have stress in your life? I’ll tell you what’s stressful. You’re 16 and your parents ask: “So what do you want to be when you grow up? If you don’t want to go to college that’s OK, but you still have to decide how you’re going to earn a living. We’re not spending $20,000 a year for a liberal arts degree and then you can’t find a job. So make a decision, what are you going to do?”

Now that’s stressful!

I just had an “Aha Moment” and realized that what I’ve described are circumstances my generation encountered. It doesn’t necessarily reflect the challenges of today’s teenagers. It’s an understatement to say things have changed. In 1980 General Motors employed approximately 350,000 and today it’s closer to 200,000. I grew up in Buffalo when Bethlehem Steel was the largest employer in Western New York and today it’s out of business. Forbes magazine recently reported that Facebook is now valued at $300 billion (Yes, billions not millions) and employs 7,000. Today’s job market is nothing like the landscape we inherited, and I think we need a better strategy to support our kids on this journey.

My parents never described my career as a journey. The attitude was, simply, choose a career and get on with it. I believe today’s young adults need to assume the job they have today may not be there tomorrow and they must continually expand their skill set so they will be employable in the future. Sounds reasonable until you realize we’re not even sure what the job market will look like in 2025?

I did some research on this and discovered that even the experts can’t agree on what’s ahead. What’s obvious is that technology and automation will continue to eliminate jobs. The self-service checkout at the supermarket wasn’t busy last year and this past weekend I had to wait in line for an empty machine. Bookstores have closed because everyone is ordering online. Macy’s, Sears and many other retailers are closing stores for the same reason. Strip malls seem to becoming more popular because people shop for very specific items and they aren’t interested in walking the mall.

When it comes to career planning, I have great empathy for today’s younger generation. Even if they land a good job they must immediately start planning for what’s ahead because if they don’t, they could be left behind with obsolete skills.

Here’s my suggestions for parents, grandparents and teachers who are doing the best we can to support our kids: Exploring careers needs to start in the elementary grades. It’s not something that can be deferred until high school. Capture the teachable moments and make career conversations a positive experience. Maybe you’ve heard the cliché it’s all about attitude, and we need to make career exploration a life skill that is exciting and a high priority in our children’s education.

I keep using the phrase “Career conversations” for a reason. We know teenagers don’t appreciate lectures. Despite our best intentions, they don’t want to hear what we did when we were teenagers or what we think they should be doing now. One way to promote a more authentic dialogue is to share our own struggles and anxiety with our own career challenges. Teenagers sometimes feel that once they make a career choice and find their first job the process is over. Sharing our stories may help them see that career planning is a life-long process and even grandparents are exploring employment options after they retire.

What I’m promoting is empathy. When I was in college, a classmate asked the professor for some career advice, and I was shocked by his response. “I’ve got my job, that’s your problem.”

I’m going to suggest that you share this column with your children, grandchildren and spouse. Share any anxieties you might have about your career and tell them how you feel.

Ask them how they feel? The future is exciting and there will be opportunities we never imagined. If this column generates even one family conversation, I’ll sleep well tonight.

Kaminski is president of Stone Associates Training. He is an HR consultant with 35 years of experience in the employment field, teaching managers the art of hiring great employees. He also is an adjunct instructor at Keuka College. You can contact him with your questions, suggestions and comments at bill@stoneassociatestraining.com.