Log College Middle School

Thinking about the Future: Career-Planning

ASCA Domain: Career
ASCA Competencies Addressed:
C:A1.1 Develop skills to locate, evaluate and interpret career information
C:A1.2 learn about the variety of traditional and nontraditional occupations
C:B1.2 identify personal skills, interests and abilities, and relate them to current career
choices
C:B1.5 use research and information resources to obtain career information
C:B1.6 learn to use the internet to access career-planning information
C:B2.1 demonstrate awareness of the education and training needed to achieve career goals

GRADE LEVEL: 8
OBJECTIVES:

Students will identify their interests

Students will learn about possible careers which match their interests
Students will learn to use an internet tool to research different careers and the
education required for those careers
Students will become aware of the correlation between their high school education
and future career choices

MATERIALS:

Laptops, computers
Educationplanner.org and Career Clusters Activity
Salary chart

LESSONS:

Who are we and why are we here?

Have each student introduce themselves and ask them if they know what they want to
do for a career? (Just yes or no) Let the students know it is okay if they do not know
what they want to do~ it is a process and sometimes you may change careers several
times!

However, it is important to begin thinking about what you want to do as a career now. I
know it may seem very far away, but it will be here sooner than you think! Since you are
entering high school, it is helpful to think about what you are interested in, what you like
to do, what you may want to do after high school. The classes you select in high school
are important!
Do any of you know what you want to do after high school?
Are some of you thinking about going to college?
Do some of you want to start working right after high school?
Maybe some of you are thinking about attending the tech school to learn a trade, such as
plumbing or construction?

What do I like doing?

Ask the students to raise their hands when I mention something they enjoy.

Do you like working with your hands?

Do you like being with people?
Do you like working outdoors?
Are you organized?

These are just a few questions to help figure out what you like doing and what you are
good at. Now we are going to complete a quick on-line research tool which will
determine what careers you may enjoy and may be successful in.

http://www.educationplanner.org/students/career-planning/findcareers/career-clusters-activity.shtml

Have students complete the Career Clusters Activity. Once the students complete, it will
provide the top five career clusters. Students will select one or two career clusters and
explore the different careers. Job responsibilities, technology used, skills, knowledge
education required is provided. Have each student select one job that they have interest
in and what education and skills are required and share with group.

What do I need to focus on in high school?

Based upon the initial findings of the career clusters activity, what kind of classes do you
think are important to take in high school? What courses in high school are important for
all careers? Have any of you considered MBIT? After completing high school and with
some of the programs at MBIT, you may have a certification and be able to begin your
career right after graduation!

Salaries

Just so you can begin to understand the connection between education and salary level,
here is a chart. This is just to show the importance of completing your education! So,
what do you think this means? (the more education you receive, the higher the salary
you may get!) However, this does not mean you HAVE to go to college. There are a lot
of other options, too, like professional certifications you can get from MBIT or other trade
schools.