2. 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

3. Main Idea
Exploring careers will help you find the employment possibilities that best match your interests, values, and personal needs.

4. Key Concepts
Researching Career Options
Learning from Experience

5. Key Terms
career clusters
exploratory interview
temp work
cooperative program
job shadowing
internship
service learning

6. Researching Career Options
The U.S. Department of Education has organized careers into 16 different career clusters.
career clusters
groups of related occupations

7. The U.S. Department of Education Career Clusters
Figure 3.1
The U.S. Department of Education Career Clusters

8. The U.S. Department of Education Career Clusters
Figure 3.1
The U.S. Department of Education Career Clusters

9. Researching Career Options
To research career options, you need to know how to find sources of information.
Primary Source
Secondary Source
Information that other people have gathered
Original information

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

11. Informal Search
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?

12. 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.

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

14. Formal Research
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.

15. Formal Research
As you find information, you will need to determine how credible the sources are.
Check the information against other sources you have found.

16. Formal Research Sources in Libraries Reference books Magazines CDs
DVDs
Librarians

17. Formal Research Sources in Books The Occupational Outlook Handbook
The Guide for Occupational Exploration

18. Formal Research Additional Resources
The Reader’s Guide to Periodical Literature
Business magazines such as Wired and Business Week
The Occupational Outlook Quarterly
Labor organizations
Industry service groups

19. Formal Research Internet Career Resources
Employment or job skill Web sites
Online bulletin boards
Local, national, and international job posting sites
Specific company or organization Web sites
Government sites such as O*NET

20. 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.

21. Formal Research
Since anyone can post information on the Internet, you need to make sure the information you use is from a credible source.

22. 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.
exploratory interview
a short, informal talk with someone who works in a career that appeals to you

23. Exploratory Interviews
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?

24. Exploratory Interviews
After an exploratory interview, write your reflections down in a folder labeled Career Resource File.
You can place this file in your Personal Academic and Career Portfolio.

25. 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.

26. Learning from Experience
Temp work gives an opportunity to develop job skills, learn about different work environments, and develop contacts.
temp work
temporary work

27. Work Experience Programs
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

28. Job Shadowing
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

29. Volunteering, Internships, and Community Work
Volunteer work is work you do without receiving pay.
Volunteers gain valuable experience that can help them make career decisions.

30. Volunteering, Internships, and Community Work
An internship can sometimes lead to full-time, paying positions.
internship
a short-term job or work project that usually requires formal commitment

31. Volunteering, Internships, and Community Work
Many communities and schools offer service learning programs as a way to explore careers.
service learning
connecting academic work with community service, allowing students to explore issues discussed in the classroom through personal experiences and community work

32. When the game is finished, close the Quick Quiz window and click here for the next slide >>

33. Describe one informal method of researching careers.
Section After You Read
Describe one informal method of researching careers.
Talking to people and using media resources can be seen as informal methods of research when they are used simply to generate ideas rather than gather specific information for a report.

34. Section After You Read
Distinguish between types of information you would find using the O*NET and the Guide for Occupational Exploration.
Though they are both government resources, the O*Net provides worker attributes and job characteristics, while the Guide for Occupational Exploration groups careers by category and describes occupations within each category.

35. Explain how unpaid volunteer work might help you choose a career.
Section After You Read
Explain how unpaid volunteer work might help you choose a career.
Possible answers include being able to observe a career from the inside, gaining experience, developing contacts, and learning what employers want.

36. End of