Investigating Careers
Module 2 introduces students to the
concept of job investigation – the general job categories that are useful for
job-seekers. Then, learners complete a career investigation. The first will be
a general overview, and the second will be an in-depth study. They will match
possible major fields of study (for their chosen career) with educational
institutions that will support the educational training required. Finally, they
will input their jobs data into a google.doc, and use its searching capability.
Become familiar with the contents of this module by reading through the activities and exploring the exercises before starting Module 2.
Become familiar with the contents of this module by reading through the activities and exploring the exercises before starting Module 2.
Job Categories or Clusters
In order to make the enormous task of
career exploration more manageable, it’s important to think of over-all
employment opportunities as jobs that fall into general ‘clusters’ or
categories. A ‘cluster’ can be defined as a group of occupations related to a
particular industry or field.
Whenever a job-seeker searches for
employment, they have to narrow down the search by selecting an area,
‘cluster,’ or sub-category of similar skills, educational background, and
responsibilities. Usually, there are about two dozen clusters that are commonly
provided on job-search sites.
For example, here’s one typical listing
of 14 major career ‘clusters’ that appear on one job website. Specific jobs are
then located within or assigned to each of these ‘clusters.’
1.
Agriculture and
Natural Resources
2.
Art, Media and
Communications
3.
Building and
Construction
4.
Business,
Management and Finance
5.
Educational
Services
6.
Engineering,
Science and Technologies
7.
Health Services
8.
Legal, Social and
Recreation Services
9.
Manufacturing and
Processing
10.
Marketing, Sales
and Promotion
11.
Mechanical Repair
and Precision Crafts
12.
Personal and
Commercial Services
13.
Protective
Services
14.
Transportation
Exercise
2.1: Choosing the Fifteen Most Common Job Clusters
Using the websites below, find what the three specific
job cluster your career path falls into. List more than one career path and
cluster if you interested in a career path that has several levels of interest.
Job Listings: The Riley Guide
http://www.rileyguide.com/jobs.html
Scroll down to see various categories of jobs, beginning with “Engineering, Science, and Manufacturing.”
http://www.rileyguide.com/jobs.html
Scroll down to see various categories of jobs, beginning with “Engineering, Science, and Manufacturing.”
O*NET Online: Find Occupations
http://online.onetcenter.org/gen_search_page
Use the drop-down menu to access job categories.
http://online.onetcenter.org/gen_search_page
Use the drop-down menu to access job categories.
The information from this exercise should be added to your Module II Folder.
EXAMPLE:
Selected Jobs
(from the recommendations in Exercise 1.1) |
Cluster Group
Identification
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1.
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Teacher
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Educational
Services
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2.
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Exercise
2.2: Job-Career Exploration – General Overview
You will now briefly gather information about your career choices
that were recommended and based upon the results of your dream job,
and online career assessment (in Module 1). Learners will be obtaining details
about their recommended job, including job description, education required, and
salary range (average annual). A sample is provided below:
Exercise
2.2: Your Career Possibilities
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Job Title: Loan Officer
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Brief Job Description: Evaluate
the credit of an individual or business applying for a loan; authorize loans
or advise borrowers.
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Education
Required: Two years, community college minimum; normally a
Bachelor’s Degree required
|
This is only an introductory exercise. Looking ahead
toward the next exercise, Exercise 2.2, learners will be doing for a more in-depth
analysis.
Below are recommended website resource
links that will assist the learners in obtaining summary information about each
of the career that they will be describing in their charts. Learners should use
more than one of the following website resources in order to complete the
exercise:
US Department of Labor: Occupational Outlook Handbook
http://www.bls.gov/oco/
Provides information on hundreds of jobs.
http://www.bls.gov/oco/
Provides information on hundreds of jobs.
The Princeton Review: Find Careers and
Internships
http://www.princetonreview.com/cte/search/careerSearch.asp
Search for descriptions of different careers and available internships.
http://www.princetonreview.com/cte/search/careerSearch.asp
Search for descriptions of different careers and available internships.
ICPAC: Career Profiles Index
http://icpac.indiana.edu/careers/career_profiles/
Provides profiles for 480 different careers. (If necessary, click on non-Indiana user).
http://icpac.indiana.edu/careers/career_profiles/
Provides profiles for 480 different careers. (If necessary, click on non-Indiana user).
Career Briefs
http://www.soicc.state.nc.us/soicc/info/briefs.htm
Provides summary information on hundreds of career choices. Careers are grouped by clusters.
http://www.soicc.state.nc.us/soicc/info/briefs.htm
Provides summary information on hundreds of career choices. Careers are grouped by clusters.
Career Matters: All Careers
http://www.ilc.org/cfmx/CM/Careers/cm_career_list.cfm
Provides an alphabetical listing of hundreds of possible job-careers, from the Independent Learning Centre inOntario ,
Canada
http://www.ilc.org/cfmx/CM/Careers/cm_career_list.cfm
Provides an alphabetical listing of hundreds of possible job-careers, from the Independent Learning Centre in
Monster.com: Job Profiles
http://jobprofiles.monster.com/
Contains interesting and colorful descriptions for 120 different kinds of jobs.
http://jobprofiles.monster.com/
Contains interesting and colorful descriptions for 120 different kinds of jobs.
Career-Explorer: Find a Job
http://www.careerexplorer.net/careers.asp
Click on the job categories to obtain summary information on a career.
http://www.careerexplorer.net/careers.asp
Click on the job categories to obtain summary information on a career.
§ In-depth Career Research
This entire project is structured so
that learners proceed from a general overview of their career interests, to a
much more detailed, in-depth analysis of what they are interested in for their
future career. Therefore, this next exercise requires that you further
investigate a specific career interest.
Exercise
2.3: Researching a Career
Now research the future prospects for
your career choices. Use the same websites as before to add the following
information to your table.
Skills Needed:
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Future Outlook:
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Related Job Titles:
|
Use the websites below to assist you in researching
information on your career The
sites below may also be of assistance in their research:
Jobs and Careers Web
Directory
http://www.careers.org/
Information and description of a variety of jobs and careers.
http://www.careers.org/
Information and description of a variety of jobs and careers.
Career Journal by Wall
Street Journal
http://www.careerjournal.com/
Descriptions of a variety of jobs and careers.
http://www.careerjournal.com/
Descriptions of a variety of jobs and careers.
Connexions: Career Database
http://www.connexions-direct.com/careersDatabase.cfm
A British website, with a series of drop-down menus that step-by-step narrows down career information, and provides a short description.
http://www.connexions-direct.com/careersDatabase.cfm
A British website, with a series of drop-down menus that step-by-step narrows down career information, and provides a short description.
Career InfoNet
http://www.acinet.org/acinet/
Information on the general job market outlook, wages, educational training.
http://www.acinet.org/acinet/
Information on the general job market outlook, wages, educational training.
Career Preparation and Training
Anywhere in the world, employers are
looking for the same kinds of things from applicants: the skills, background,
and ability to do the job. Another concern of learners as they look ahead is
how to properly prepare educationally for a specific job interest. For example,
a budding archaeologist may wish to know more about courses, major areas of
study, level of education, types of degree programs, and training requirements
that would be necessary to prepare for a career in that field. Likewise, a
current interest in being a physical education coach prompts the question: what
do I need to know now to help me become a better informed and educated person
as I seek a rewarding career in coaching?
Exercise
2.4: Researching Educational Training to Support a Specific Career Choice
You should use the suggested web sites
below to match possible majors with educational institutions that will support
the educational training required to pursue their specific career interest.
Create a fictional budget for all your educational needs.
The Princeton
Review: Find Careers and Internships
http://www.princetonreview.com/cte/search/careerSearch.asp
Use the alphabetic menu provided to select a career or internship, and read about what a particular job would be like. Then click the Majors tab to see a list of suggested college majors that would be required for that chosen occupation. To investigate further, click on one of the items in the list of college majors, and then click on the “Schools Offering the Major” tab to see a list of matching schools.
http://www.princetonreview.com/cte/search/careerSearch.asp
Use the alphabetic menu provided to select a career or internship, and read about what a particular job would be like. Then click the Majors tab to see a list of suggested college majors that would be required for that chosen occupation. To investigate further, click on one of the items in the list of college majors, and then click on the “Schools Offering the Major” tab to see a list of matching schools.
Career-Explorer:
Find a Job
http://careerexplorer.net/
Use the drop-down menu below the map to select a career category, then click the “GO” button. A list of educational institutions that offer training for the career choice will appear.
http://careerexplorer.net/
Use the drop-down menu below the map to select a career category, then click the “GO” button. A list of educational institutions that offer training for the career choice will appear.
A Short Introduction to Career
Databases
Throughout this entire project, you
have been visiting websites that are essentially career databases which contain
detailed information about a variety of careers. Essentially, a database is a
collection of data arranged for ease and speed of sorting and reporting. You
will store your information in a data base on google.doc
Exercise 2.4: Entering Information into a Google.Doc
The valuable results of the your career research will be collected, categorized and sorted within
categories of career path for this assignment.
Fields (of data) for each of the records in the
document:
Job Cluster
- a suggested
set of clusters or categories
Job Title
Job Summary
Education Requirements
- Four
suggested levels: High School diploma, Associates Degree, Bachelor’s
Degree, Masters or Higher
Training Requirements
- Two suggested
requirements: Certification, License
Skills Needed
Average Annual Salary
- Provided in
two ranges: Low Salary, High Salary
Future Outlook
- Three
suggested levels: Below Average, Average, Above Average
Related Job Titles
- a suggested
set of job titles
This document database will be composed of
career-choice information gathered from previous exercises.
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