SHIFTHEADS: Summer Jobs Aren't a Waste of Your Time. They're Free Education

Career myths convince people they get one shot at everything: wrong major, wrong first job, and that's the whole story decided. Candy Ho, a CERIC board member, makes the case that a summer job is closer to free training than a paycheque, and stacking the right experience early can change what happens next. Retail floors and customer service counters turn out to teach the stuff no course does: staying calm under pressure, solving problems on the spot, reading people fast. CERIC's free Career Mythbuster tool, live since last November, offers a way to test whether one wrong move really does end a career path before it starts. There's a case for volunteering too, not as time given away but as another form of unpaid education, plus a couple of career fantasies that never quite happened for either person in the room. Topics: career myths, summer jobs, CERIC, transferable skills, career mythbuster tool GUEST: Candy Ho | http://careermythbuster.ca/ Originally aired on 2026-07-08