Chapter 3.1Exploring Careers

Before you Read – Read to Learn

How to use formal and informal methods to research careers

How to evaluate sources of career information

How to identify work experience that can help you explore careers

Main Idea

Exploring Careers will help you find the employment possibilities that best match your interests, values and personal needs

Key Concepts

Researching Career OptionsLearning from Experience

Key Terms

Career ClustersExploratory InterviewTemp WorkCooperative ProgramJob ShadowingInternshipService Learning

Researching Career Options

The US Department of Education has organized careers into 16 different career clusters

Key Term: Career Clusters – groups of related occupations

Researching Career Options

To research career options, you need to know how to find sources of information.

Primary Source

Original Information

Secondary Source

Information that other people have

gathered

Informal Search

You can discover some of what the world has to offer simply by keeping your eyes and ears open

Interview people you know about their career experiences and ask the following questions:

What was your favorite job?What was your least favorite job?What was your most unusual job?

How do you like your current job?

Finding Career Inspiration

You can find inspiration by observing and interacting with individuals

You can also find inspiration through characters portrayed in visual, print, and digital media

Formal Research

Formal research is fully developed, formally presented, and gives you enough information to act on your ideas

As you research, keep a log of what you find

When you find a source, write the author or name of the organization that put the information together

As you find information, you will need to determine how credible the sources are

Check the information against other sources you have found

Formal Research

Sources in Libraries

Reference books: The Occupational Outlook Handbook The Guide for Occupational Exploration

Magazines Wired, Occupational Outlook Quarterly, and Business Week

CDsDVDsLibrarians

Formal Research

Internet Career ResourcesEmployment or job skill Web sitesOnline bulletin boardsLocal, national and international job posting sitesSpecific company or organization Web sitesGovernment sites such as O*Net

Formal Research

Most Career Web sites list job opportunities according to industry title, key duties, location, and other criteria. When searching online, choose specific search terms

Since anyone can post information on the Internet, you need to make sure the information you sue is from a credible source

Exploratory Interviews

Build a list of people who work in careers that you find interesting.

Call someone on the list and set up an exploratory interview

Key Term:

Exploratory Interview: a short, informal talk with someone who works in a career that appeals to you

Exploratory Interview Questions:

How did you start your career?What education and training did it require?What do you like about your job?What do you do during a typical workday?

Learning from Experience

By working part-time, you will gain experience, make personal contacts, and put some money in your pocket at the same time.

Temp work gives an opportunity to develop job skills, learn about different work environments, and develop contacts.

A Cooperative program can give you a chance to learn job skills while you are still in high school Cooperative Program: An arrangement in which local businesses team up with schools, hiring students to perform jobs that use knowledge and skills taught in their school classes

Job Shadowing can help you learn firsthand what it would be like to work in a particular field

Job shadowing: following a worker on the job for a few days

Learning from Experience Continued

Volunteer work is work you do without receiving pay

Volunteers gain valuable experience that can help them make career decisions

Volunteering, Internships, and Community WorkAn

Internship can sometimes lead to full-time, paying position.

An Internship is a short-term job or work project that usually requires formal commitment

Many communities and schools offer service learning programs as a way to explore careers

Service learning is connecting academic work with community service, allowing students to explore issues discussed in the classroom through personal experiences and community work

Exit Ticket

1) Describe one informal method of researching careers

2) Explain how unpaid volunteer work might help you choose a career

3) What is one question you may ask during an exploratory interview?

4) Name one formal method of researching careers

5) Name one of the 16 career clusters you are interested in

On Notebook Paper – Answer the following questions: