High School Student Career Planning Orientation

Questions for Students How many hours have you invested in school between grades 1-12? Why do you go to school? Is it smart to select a HS extracurricular activity at random? A career? What is the best career in the world? When are you required to decide on your career?

Think About It People Often Invest More Time Planning Their Vacation Than Planning Their Career.

Career Decision Determines How you spend most of your "awake" hours for the next 40 years? Your opportunities for personal satisfaction and growth? Your ability to meet your family's needs (e.g. housing, medical, college)? Your ability to eventually retire with the financial resources to enjoy it?

Career Planning Dilemma The Stakes Have Never Been Higher The Tools are Available The Challenge is to Inform & Motivate

Lifetime Value of Education

Hours Invested

How Much Income Do I Need?

How Much Will A House Cost?

Why Motivating Youth is Difficult Easy to procrastinate. Parents “fell into their jobs”. Too scary to think about. Too busy. No more homework! Don’t know where to begin. Don’t see the value.

Result: Poor Choices, Waste and Frustration “My son just graduated from college. He doesn’t have a clue what he wants to do. Maybe forensics. Maybe art.” “My daughter is a sophomore in college and she hates her major (accounting). She is changing majors, but doesn’t know what to choose. That means at least one more year of college that we cannot afford. “Now that I have a college degree, I need to think about a career. I majored in Marketing, but I’m not sure that’s what I want to do.” “I hate my major, but switching involves two more years of college. My parents would kill me. I’ll gut it out. Maybe I’ll learn to like it.” “I wish I had known four years ago what I know now. I would have taken career and college planning more seriously. My major was easy and fun, but now I cannot get a decent job.”

“Typical” Resources Used to Pick a Career TV => There is a big difference between TV drama and “real life”.  Friends => They’ll know what sounds “cool”, but unless they have proactively used the career /college tools available, they are probably not a knowledgeable source of information. Life’s Interactions => OK, you have used the services of Dentists, Pharmacists, Teachers, etc. but… Do you really know what it is like to do their job? Parent => A great source, if your parent’s career happens to be “the right one” out of several hundred possibilities for you.

Better Resources to Pick a Career “Free” on-line resources To clarify your interest/fit with various careers To compare your personal skills/strengths against those required by various careers To determine which careers offer the most opportunity To develop your list of careers for consideration To learn about the nature of work, education requirements, job outlook, earnings, etc.

Better Resources to Pick a Career Talk to People in Careers of Interest Parent’s Friends Friend’s Parents Acquaintances from “Life’s Interactions” (e.g. teachers, dentists, store managers) Career Day Presenters Volunteering, Internships, Job Shadowing

Suggestions Before Starting Don't select a career based solely on $$$. Do pick a career for which jobs are available with income levels adequate to meet your family's financial needs. Don't expect a quick, easy answer.  The career planning process requires time and effort.  Invest the time to identify/evaluate careers that "fit" your needs, interests and abilities. Do use a variety of tools and talk to several people in each career of interest. Don't get discouraged or discredit the process when some “obviously” unacceptable careers appear on a list generated by an interest assessment tool (they will).  Career planning is not a precise science.  Reason and judgment must be applied.

Suggestions Before Starting Do think about the process as a way to significantly improve your odds (with no guarantee) of selecting a great career.  The following table is my rough estimate of how your odds for choosing a great or "perfect" career improve by making an informed decision.                                           Random            Gut               Informed                                      Decision          Feel                Decision           Perfect Career           1%                   5%                    20%         Great Career             4%                 20%                    50%         Acceptable Career    60%               50%                    20%         Terrible Career         35%              25%                    10%     For example, I estimate that your probability of selecting a "perfect career“ is about 1% if you make a random decision vs. 20% if you make an informed decision.

Career Planning Process Your Strengths (e.g., creativity, leadership, writing) Your Interests (e.g., people, math, science) Your Needs (e.g., income, growth, personal fulfillment) Identify Career Possibilities Occupational Outlook Summaries Networking, Internships, Job Shadowing, Volunteering CareerOneStop Job Summaries & Videos Evaluate/Select a Career

Career Planning Process Get motivated Self Analysis Develop a list of jobs to consider Get on-line information for evaluation Evaluate job options Prepare a job comparison summary Talk to people in occupations of strong interest. Choose the “right” industry and company.

Web Site Tool Demo www.collegecareerlifeplanning.com Tools College Planning Tools (Selecting, Applying & Financing) Career Planning Tools (Self-assessment, Identify Careers Prospects, Retrieve Required Information, Evaluate Careers, Company/Industry Information, Evaluate Companies/Industries, Job Basics)

Your Future Depends On It The Door is Open. Will You Enter? Invest time to review/use the tools to make informed decisions. Tell others who might benefit (friends, cousins, neighbors, siblings) Your Future Depends On It