Career Planning: June 26, 2026

Jay Culkin, MA, YPA-C, NYCPS

Youth Peer Advocates are in a unique position in that there is an age limit. After a YPA’s 31st Birthday, their credential will automatically expire. This poses a concern for YPAs and their supervisors alike since the service’s ability to be reimbursed by Medicaid relies on the person providing services holding an active credential. Even Family Peer Advocates, who also receive credentials from Families Together in NYS and have a similar role, do not need to concern themselves with age-based expiration. The question in many of our heads…​ “What happens next?” 

It’s never too early to plan

Make planning a continuous part of your YPA activities. Whether you are 18 years old with your first 30 years old and less than a year away from aging out, keeping your next steps in mind will be is essential. Taking the time to think about your career beyond being a YPA should be considered just as important as the rest of your professional development activities as a hired YPA.   

Explore your interests and goals using your position as a YPA as the scaffolding  

Once you have established a sense of security in your position as a YPA find ways to get involved in other parts of your community. Finding volunteer opportunities, community events, college events, career fairs, Department of Labor events, and more. Utilize your supervisor for some advice or some events they may know of. Your supervisor may even be able to connect you to other individuals in your agency that can provide insight or resources for your exploration. Some examples of some interests you may want to explore might include direct services and clinical, administrative work, business/consulting, medical, policy and law, community organizing, and others.  

Consider different career directions  

Once you’ve figured out your interests, focus on what career paths might exist within your interests. For example, if you are interested in clinical work, you may want to apply for a bachelor’s or master’s program for psychology or social work. If you’re interested in policy work, you may want to apply to internships with local politicians or volunteer for local political campaigns.  

Establish some career goals

Once you’ve decided on a career direction, learn the steps that it takes to start that career. List steps like applications to fill out, degrees or certificates needed, training needed, job boards to check, and others. If the steps seem overwhelming, create a reasonable timeline.  

Create your professional network 

Enlist your current network (such as coworkers, colleagues, FTNYS youth staff, etc.) to help you come up with your timeline, manage your tasks towards your goal, etc. Use tools like LinkedIn to create an online portfolio that shows who you are. Attend local, statewide, and virtual events to show your name and face.  

*Remember, most people enjoy helping and uplifting others. Just introducing yourself at an event and talking a little bit about yourself can go a long way! 

Become allied with your supervisor  

Use supervision time to talk about your career planning objectives with your supervisor. Try to hold meaningful conversation about what skills and professional opportunities you have within your role that might help. Your supervisor might be able to advocate for you to attend a conference on agency time or help you obtain a second role in a different department.  

If the YPA career planning process still feels overwhelming, FTNYS is here to support you! We offer technical assistance, continuing education training, affinity spaces where you can speak to other YPAs, and more! Send us an email at ypacredential@ftnys.org or plan to attend one of our upcoming events.