A collection of online resources for career education has to begin with the Occupational Outlook Handbook. This resource lists 4 out of 5 , including occupations–hundreds of listings in the resource. Information includes:
- description of the job
- education or training needed
- qualifications
- pay
- outlook for the job (by area)
- related occupations
- additional resources
Using the drop down menu, filter to the occupation or search for the criteria to research. The site is informative, easy to use, and an essential resource for a career study.
Click here for access to Occupational Handbook Online.
Career Outlook
The Career Outlook (also from the Bureau of Labor and Statistics includes feature articles looking at careers in depth, a look at unusual occupations (including some not included in the Occupational Handbook, interviews with workers, and info graphics presenting employment data.
Click here for Career Outlook.
Career Cluster Interest Inventory
A career inventory provided by Minnesota State takes 5-10 minutes and asks students about their interests and subject preferences. Following the survey, students are provided with career clusters which match the answers to their questions.
Click here to be redirected to the Careerwise Minnesota State Site.
Personality Test
There are multiple companies with personality inventories but this one is free and based on the Myers-Briggs. (There is a paid version with more detail, but the free version is quite adequate for most purposes. It gives students opportunity to look at their own individual traits and interests. Results include your preferred work style, top career interests, and some of the careers that match your interest with average earnings and projected growth. (Note: to be able to print you need to sign up for a free account, but there is no need to sign up to see results on screen).
Click here for a link to the Career Personality Profiler
Cost of Living Calculator
Kids often want to live in specific locations–but seldom think about the difference in cost of living. This quick calculator will compare the cost of living in two different cities with the push of a button.
Budgeting
So making $20. an hour sounds like a great deal, but what kind of lifestyle will that support? There are many free budgeting tools available online. One of them which is a spreadsheet and is shown below. Whatever tool you use, it Is important for students to see just how far their money will go.
Click here for free spreadsheet for tracking finances.
Looking at careers will give your students practice in decision making and perhaps motivate them to explore possibilities and link their education with their future desires.
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Looking for a unit ready for career exploration?
Check out this product available from Reading Specialty.
Ready to write a career research paper? Career exploration and a differentiated research paper for struggling, average, and high flying students, all ready to support your students looking toward their future.
Included in the unit download will be a black and white AND a color PDF of the following:
• Overview
• Book pass instructions and student form
• Instructions and graphic organizer for researching 3 careers
• Link to lifestyle survey and career inventory and result sheet
• Categorized note template
• Instructions for differentiated research paper including a “fill in the frame” paper for struggling students
• Scoring guide/rubric
Note: page count includes black and white and color version.