High School Career Discovery
Your future career is likely something you’ve dreamed about since you were a child. Now it’s time to turn that dream into a reality! In this course, you will explore your own strengths, interests, and preferences and use that information to uncover the best career for you! You will explore 17 career clusters, learn about the skills needed to work in different industries, and choose a path to pursue. You’ll build a plan to get you from high school to your first day on the job, and craft a strong portfolio to land your perfect job. You’ve dreamed about your future career. Now it’s time to create a plan and turn that dream into a goal!
Units at a Glance
Unit 1: Learning More About You
What do you want to be? A professor? A pilot? A pet groomer? Maybe. But there are plenty of other career options you probably haven’t even heard of! We’ll dive into your personality, interests, values, and preferences to think about career paths that could be great for you. From considering your workplace preferences to constructing a career portfolio, you’ll find yourself well on your way to determining your dream job.
What will you learn in this unit?
- Describe options to think about and prepare for possible future careers
- Explain the purpose of a self-inventory and how it can be applied to assist with decision making
- Develop an understanding of yourself to build a positive self-concept and link your desires to career possibilities
- Identify ways in which a career portfolio can help you progress professionally
- Create and maintain a career portfolio
Unit 2: Assessing Your Skills and Researching Career Options
There are an astronomical number of possible careers. So, how do you select your perfect career? You’ll need to spend some time reflecting on what’s important to you, but you’ll also need a method to research careers and organize the data that you find to compare against your desired future. From educational requirements to salary, you’ll need to consider plenty of factors. We’ll learn where to find this information, how to organize it, and how to narrow down your options into just a few careers that could be a great fit.
What will you learn in this unit?
- Describe the Holland Code and how Holland Code results can be used to guide career decisions
- Identify different types of skills and how they impact career and academic success
- Explain the basic characteristics of each of the career clusters
- Research basic data about a range of careers and compare this data to desired career attributes
- Understand how to use self-assessment results, career data, and further research to find a good career fit and make plans to enter the desired career field.
Unit 3: Discovering Creative Careers
Are you creative and curious about art-related careers? Would careers in hospitality or tourism float your boat? Have you thought about what you’ll get out of such a career other than a salary? You’ll learn the answers to these questions and more! We’ll explore careers in three career clusters, learning about the skills required in a variety of careers, as well as the working conditions, salaries, and job prospects you might expect. We’ll wrap up by thinking about the importance of benefit packages.
What will you learn in this unit?
- Describe the Arts, Audio/Video Technology, and Communications career cluster and list related careers and their requirements
- Discuss what the Hospitality and Tourism career cluster is, and list related careers and their requirements
- Explain what the Marketing, Sales, and Service career cluster is, and list related careers and their requirements
- Identify the importance of benefits packages and explain common benefits included in these packages
Unit 4: Examining Analytical Careers
Are you interested in connecting your skills with a career in Information Technology? Perhaps a future in Finance looks outstanding to you? Maybe you want to discover or save a species as part of the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics career cluster. No matter what interests you’ve listed on your career planning document or spreadsheet, you’ll find something in these career clusters to spark deeper thought!
What will you learn in this unit?
- Describe the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics career cluster and list related careers and their requirements
- Summarize what the Information Technology career cluster is and list related careers and their requirements
- Explain what the Architecture and Construction career cluster is and list related careers and their requirements
- Identify the Business Management and Administration career cluster and list related careers and their requirements
- Discuss the Finance career cluster and list related careers and their requirements
Unit 5: Exploring Careers That Help Others
Is helping other people a priority for you? If so, working to save lives with a career in Health Science may be right for you! Or maybe teaching children as part of the Education and Training career cluster is where you’re meant to be. You could also sign up for a career full of forging relationships with people from different backgrounds in the Government and Public Administration cluster. We’re going to cover tons of career options in the helping clusters, so get ready to add lots of new ideas to your career planning document or spreadsheet!
What will you learn in this unit?
- Describe the Health Science career cluster and list related careers and their requirements
- Explain what the Human Services career cluster is and list related careers and their requirements
- Define the Education and Training career cluster and list related careers and their requirements
- Understand what the Law, Public Safety, Corrections, and Security career cluster is and list related careers and their requirements
- Identify the Government and Public Administration career cluster and list related careers and their requirements
Unit 6: Entertaining and Exploring: Enhancing Our Downtime
Unit 6: Investigating Careers that Benefit the Community
We’re wrapping up our career cluster exploration with a trek through the Madagascar jungle, a sunrise view from the top of a wind turbine, and some creative work with molten glass. The careers in Manufacturing; Energy; Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources; and Transportation, Distribution, and Logistics may not be what you expected! You’ll definitely have more to squeeze onto your career planning document or spreadsheet before we’re done. Let’s dive in!
What will you learn in this unit?
- Describe the Manufacturing career cluster and list related careers and their requirements
- Explain what the Energy career cluster is and list related careers and their requirements
- Define the Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources career cluster and list related careers and their requirements
- Summarize the Transportation, Distribution, and Logistics career cluster and list related careers and their requirements
Unit 7: Making Decisions and Setting Goals
This is it! You’ve learned a lot about the career clusters and you’re ready to select your dream career! You’ll put the pieces together by using all of the information you’ve collected on your career planning document or spreadsheet to chart a course for your future. Using a handy decision-making process that you can apply to all areas of your life, you’ll settle on a single best-fit career and create a detailed step-by-step plan to get you there. Whether you’re going to become a carpenter or a geneticist, the tips and tools you’ll encounter here will help you achieve what you want out of life.
What will you learn in this unit?
- Describe different types of goals and their uses
- Explain the steps you can take to help achieve your goals
- Use a decision-making process to select a career to focus on and build a career plan
- Discuss resources or sources of support you can access to help you reach your goals
Unit 8: Preparing for and Pursuing Your Future
Now that you’ve set a target for your future career, you’re ready to start looking at the materials you’ll need to actually land the job and advance in your chosen field. From writing your first resume to doing the research to craft an impressive cover letter, you’ll find all the pointers and advice you need to succeed. But it’s not all about plans and documents, you’ll also need to cultivate a resilient mindset. Fasten your seatbelts—we’re coming to the end of your career preparation journey!
What will you learn in this unit?
- Define a career ladder and describe steps you might take to advance
- Describe the steps to craft career materials, such as a resume and cover letter
- Identify ways to give a strong first impression during the job application and interview process
- Understand how other aspects of preparedness, such as personal finance knowledge and a resiliency mindset, contribute to success
Required Materials
Physical
- Video recording device
Software
- Word processing software
- Presentation software
- Spreadsheet software
Other
- Advertisement or other marketing piece
Optional
- Art supplies
- Camera
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