Your Career: Doing What Matters Most

Job – provides you with the basics Career – chosen occupation Example: Currently your career is being a student Career Choice: Determines your life style Your values determine earning potential Personal Satisfaction

Most people spend about one-third of their waking hours at work The work you choose will affect your earning power, job opportunities, job satisfaction, and financial security

The 16 career clusters link material learned in school to specific career paths and their programs of study Within each cluster are subgroups called career pathways Pathways reflect associations among occupations that require similar knowledge and skills You will be drawn to one or more clusters based on your interests, aptitudes, and abilities By focusing on one career cluster and pathway, you can easily explore different occupations within your areas of interest

Each career pathway includes jobs from entry-level to management positions You can relate this information to a career ladder that shows how to progress from one level of learning to the next

After deciding on a field of interest, begin making a career plan.

A career plan includes required courses and training job-related experiences extracurricular activities and projects Career plans can be started as early as junior high school Career Plan: An outline of steps or action you can take to reach a career goal, including required courses and training, job-related experiences, and extracurricular activities or projects.

The type of work you’ll enjoy can be determined by your interest: Favorite hobbies, subjects, and extracurricular activities School subjects you’ve enjoyed Part-time jobs you liked

A look at your aptitudes and abilities will help you identify your strengths and talents When you can put interests, aptitudes, and abilities together into a job choice, you are likely to be successful on the job When thinking about job categories, it’s helpful to identify what you do well and what you like doing

Aptitudes - Natural Physical and Mental Talents Born with Skills High Verbal Skills (high test scores) Written or oral communication High Math Skills (high test scores) Work with numbers Abilities – Physical and mental talents you DEVELOP through learning, training, and practice Play a sport through well trough lots of practice

Consider how others would describe you - BE OBJECTIVE Your personality will provide clues to a job you would enjoy

Analyzing personal values and goals can help you make good career and job choices What is really important to you? What contribution do you want to make? What job or career will make you feel you are making a difference?

Organized Persistent Responsible Enthusiastic Honest Thorough Cautious Helpful Friendly Trustworthy Creative Imaginative Willing Determined Loyal Sensitive Hardworking

Sources of career and job information include OOH- Occupational Outlook Handbook career guides the Internet school guidance counselors libraries career events

Supply and demand in the job market varies greatly within fields of employment and in different parts of the country due to New technology Economic factors at home and around the world Demographic: Age, Sex, Education, etc

In a variety of fields, jobs using new technology require highly trained and skilled workers A college education or occupational training will be required for many jobs Untrained and unskilled workers will either be unemployed or remain at bottom-level, low-paying jobs You need to learn and relearn work skills over a lifetime

Higher education can be a costly investment, with returns of higher earnings, better job opportunities, and a fuller life Factors to consider include personal goals personal preferences your record and performance

Check out and compare programs of study faculty facilities environment geographic location and campus setting cost financial aid

Decide if you prefer a campus that is coed or single-sex religious or non-denominational small or large Sources of college information include the college’s Web site and printed materials, including catalogs college and career orientation programs visiting the college or its representatives current students and alumni

Internet education and training programs are called e- learning, which is a form of distance learning Do some research before enrolling for any form of distance learning The U.S. Distance Learning Association is a good source of information Research an online school’s prerequisites necessary equipment and supplies expectation of student computer skills reputation and reliability faculty qualifications cost

Check the school’s teaching and instructional methods degrees, certificates, and job-placement services

Keeping up-to-date in your field is an advantage in almost all occupations Continuing education includes individual courses to complete programs Helps those who want to advance in their career, qualify for employment in a new field, or gain personal satisfaction

Education is an investment in yourself Deciding how much you can afford to invest and how you will pay for it requires careful thought Financial aid comes in many forms and from many sources; search for options