College, Career & Life Planning 1 College Student Career Planning Orientation

College, Career & Life Planning 2 The Stakes Have Never Been Higher The Tools are Available The Challenge is to Inform & Motivate Career Planning Dilemma

College, Career & Life Planning 3 Internet Outsourcing Global Marketplace No Safety Net Higher Stakes – It Is A Different World

College, Career & Life Planning 4 Internet Consumers have more information about product pricing, quality, availability, etc. than ever before. Increases consumer power to demand low cost/ high quality products, efficiency and speed. Only those companies that meet these higher consumer expectations will survive. Companies require the best people and processes. Increasingly competitive workplace. Higher Stakes – It Is A Different World

College, Career & Life Planning 5 Outsourcing Companies no longer perform all functions. Functions such as manufacturing, product design, payroll, software development, customer service, engineering, etc. are being “outsourced” to other firms (frequently in China, India, etc.) Higher Stakes – It Is A Different World

College, Career & Life Planning 6 Global Marketplace/Workplace Fewer trade barriers. More global/multi-national companies Falling communication cost has made the world much smaller. Our young people must compete in a “global workplace”. Higher Stakes – It Is A Different World

College, Career & Life Planning 7 Retire Early? Consider These Challenges 1.Few employers offer traditional “defined benefit” company pensions and the number is shrinking. In a March, 2005 Survey by Bureau of Labor Statistics only 22% of workers in private industry had access to “Defined Benefit” retirement programs. 2.Social Security’s future is uncertain. 3.Life expectancy continues to rise (49 yrs. in 1900 vs. 75 yrs. in 1990). You may live to be 90 or 100 years old. 4.Recently many household costs (i.e., housing, electricity, insurance, gas, health care) have risen much faster than family incomes. 5.Major obligations (e.g., kid’s college, parent care) place additional strain on financial resources and may limit savings.

College, Career & Life Planning 8 Retire Early? Consider These Challenges 6. Future investment returns are generally expected to be much lower than the levels experienced in the recent past. Average returns for U.S. stocks exceeded 15% in the 1980’s & 1990’s. Future estimates vary, buy many analysts think average annual returns of 6-8% are more likely. 7. To be confident of not running out of money, you’ll likely need about $300,000 in appreciating assets (i.e., stocks, bonds, real estate) for every $10,000 per year you need to spend in retirement.

College, Career & Life Planning 9 1.How you spend most of your "awake" hours for the next 40 years? 2.Your opportunities for personal satisfaction and growth? 3.Your ability to meet your family's needs (e.g. housing, medical, college)? 4.Your ability to eventually retire with the financial resources to enjoy it? Career Decision Determines

College, Career & Life Planning 10 Lifetime Value of Education

College, Career & Life Planning 11 Hours Invested

College, Career & Life Planning 12 Awake Hours

College, Career & Life Planning 13 How Much Income Do I Need?

College, Career & Life Planning 14 How Much Will A House Cost?

College, Career & Life Planning 15 People Often Invest More Time Planning Their Vacation Than Planning Their Career. Think About It

College, Career & Life Planning 16 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. Why Motivating Youth is Difficult

College, Career & Life Planning 17 “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.” Result: Poor Choices, Waste and Frustration

College, Career & Life Planning 18 “Typical” Resources Used to Pick a Career 1.TV => There is a big difference between TV drama and “real life”. 2.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. 3.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? 4.Parent => A great source, if your parent’s career happens to be “the right one” out of several hundred possibilities for you.

College, Career & Life Planning 19 Better Resources to Pick a Career “Free” on-line resources 1.To clarify your interest/fit with various careers 2.To compare your personal skills/strengths against those required by various careers 3.To determine which careers offer the most opportunity 4.To develop your list of careers for consideration 5.To learn about the nature of work, education requirements, job outlook, earnings, etc.

College, Career & Life Planning 20 Better Resources to Pick a Career Talk to People in Careers of Interest 1.Parent’s Friends 2.Friend’s Parents 3.Acquaintances from “Life’s Interactions” (e.g. teachers, dentists, store managers) 4.Career Day Presenters 5.Volunteering, Internships, Job Shadowing

College, Career & Life Planning 21 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.

College, Career & Life Planning 22 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.

College, Career & Life Planning 23 Your Interests (e.g., people, math, science) Identify Career Possibilities Your Strengths (e.g., creativity, leadership, writing) Your Needs (e.g., income, growth, personal fulfillment) Occupational Outlook Summaries CareerOneStop Job Summaries & Videos Networking, Internships, Job Shadowing, Volunteering Evaluate/Select a Career Career Planning Process

College, Career & Life Planning 24 1.Get motivated 2.Self Analysis 3.Develop a list of jobs to consider 4.Get on-line information for evaluation 5.Evaluate job options 6.Prepare a job comparison summary 7.Talk to people in occupations of strong interest. 8.Choose the “right” industry and company. Career Planning Process

College, Career & Life Planning 25 Career Planning Tools Self-assessment Identify Careers Prospects Retrieve Required Information Evaluate Careers Company/Industry Information Evaluate Companies/Industries Job Basics Web Site Tool Demo

College, Career & Life Planning 26 BUILDING NET WORTH How much you make Your income taxes How you spend/save Key Determinants Investment Returns Factors Impacting Career Chosen Industry/Company Chosen Career Success, Promotions, etc. Single or Dual Income Family Mix: Ordinary Income vs. Capital Gain City & State Income Tax Rate Tax Shelters (e.g. Mortgage interest, depreciation) Buy what you need vs. what you want Pay full price vs. shop for bargains/discounts Disciplined savings vs. Heavy Credit Card debt Purchases Increase (e.g. House) or Decrease (e.g. boat, car, clothes) in value over time. Educated Investing vs. Gambling (Roll the Dice) Mix: Conservative vs. Aggressive Investments Diversification: Stocks, Real Estate, CD, Bonds Tax: Ordinary Income vs. Capital Gain

College, Career & Life Planning 27 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