RESEARCHING CAREERS By David Agnew Arkansas State University

Objectives: n Explain why researching careers is important. n List the three main career resources published by the U. S. Government. n Demonstrate how to use guidance resources relating to CO n Identify instructional resources relating to Career Orientation n List nine pieces of information to review when researching careers n Identify the pitfalls of researching careers

Why Research Careers? n To teach them how to explore the different career options n To focus on the careers of interest n 20,000 jobs, 12,700, 700, 250 can not teach about all of them…. n To give them a tool to use on their own in the future.

What Research is Not……. n Hands-on Activities n Busy work n Rest/play time for the teacher n Just talking to someone in a specific job

What resources are available for researching careers? n Private publishers or vendors n Government Printing Office n State Dept. has some. n On-line resources (OOH) n People

Three Main References n Dictionary of Occupational Titles (D.O.T.) --- Contains occupational descriptions. Soon to be replaced by ONET, an online source. n Occupational Outlook Handbook (OOH) --- Describes 250 different occupations in detail. These 250 account for 80% of all jobs. It is up- dated every two years. n Guide for Occupational Exploration (GOE) --- based upon interest, 12 groups, called interst areas. A definition of each is given. How to Use Them (DOT, Occupation, AOEIS System, Holland Codes

DOT n A number is assigned to each occupational title. The DOT number is a lead to other sources. First three numbers are similar. n 9 digit code n People, Data, Things n n Will not be published again n ONET will take it’s place.

ONET

Types of information found in OOH n Nature of work n Working Conditions n Employment n Training, other qualifications, and advancement n Job outlook n Related Occupations n Sources of additional Information

OOH is one the web n

Type of information found in the GOE n Kind of work done. n The skills and abilities needed n How to decide if you could learn to do this kind of work n How to prepare for entry into the job area n Other factors to take into account when thinking about a job.

Additional sources for use in researching careers. n AOEIS is out --- Now new system is on the net n Career Briefs n Chronicle of Guidance n Career Briefs n Career World and Real World n Internet n People

Usually Procedure: n After the teacher helps students assess their own career interest and after the teacher has taught about one or more cluster, the students identify potential jobs of interest. Sometimes teachers will have students draw for careers in a cluster. n Students are given a review of the research resources and how to use them. n Students are given one worksheet to complete on a career. n Teacher grades and gives the worksheet back to the student for his/her personal file.

Nine points to checklist for researching careers n a.What is the nature of work and what will my duties be? n b.What are the working conditions? n c.What personal and physical qualities do I need for the job? n d.How much will I earn? n e.Are there advancement possibilities? n f.What training and education is required? n g. What is the career outlook? n h.What are some related jobs? n i.What are other sources of information?

Sample Worksheet for Researching Careers. n Name ________________ Job __________________ n 1.What is the nature of work and what will my duties be? n 2.What are the working conditions? n 3.What personal and physical qualities do I need for the job? n 4.How much will I earn? n 5.Are there advancement possibilities? n 6.What training and education is required? n 7. What is the career outlook? n 8.What are some related jobs? n 9.What are other sources of information?

Pitfalls to Research n Just doing worksheets from books is seldom enough. n Books or even the internet can be boring. n Students need to get the research report back for their file. n Research should not be copying what is in the book to a form. It should require students to think about and gain a deeper understanding of the job(s) being researched. n Forcing students to research careers of remote interest waste valuable time and turns students off to research. Jobs being researched should be somewhat focused on interest of the students n Thinking that there must be a research activity with every cluster.

Alternative Research Techniques n Personal interview (in person or on phone) n Writing to professional organizations n Using the internet n Use a variety of sources when researching careers. n CD Roms from Employment Security Office, have video clips n Research can be a group activity at times n Shadowing a working person is a form of research.

In Summary n Why do students need to research careers? n What resources are available for students to use in researching? n What kind of information are you seeking when researching? n What research is not and the pitfalls of researching careers.

The End