Handout 2.22: Career Research Card and Pathways (student copy), Life Skills Arcade

Name: ______________________ Date: __________ Period: ______

Part 1: Six paths after high school

Directions: As we go through the slide, write one sentence about each path and one job that usually takes it.

Path	How long it usually takes	Who pays
A job with on-the-job training	Days to months	The employer pays you while you learn
Apprenticeship	3 to 5 years	You are paid to learn; little or no tuition
Certificate program	Weeks to about a year	You (or an employer); usually the cheapest school
Two-year degree (associate)	2 years	You; community college costs less than a four-year school
Four-year degree (bachelor's)	4 years	You; the most expensive path, often with loans
Military	4 to 8 years of service	The military pays you and trains you; college help after

The do now answers:

Nurse: ______________________
Electrician: ______________________
Teacher: ______________________

The rule: More school is not automatically better or worse. It is a trade of ______________ and ______________ for the job you want.

Part 2: Worked example (read this first)

A fictional student, Devon, has S and I as his two interest letters and Health Science in his top three. His card looks like this.

Field	Devon's answer
Career	Dental hygienist
Cluster number and name	8, Health Science
Three main tasks	1. Cleans teeth and removes plaque. 2. Takes X-rays and checks gums. 3. Teaches patients how to brush and floss.
Path after high school	Two-year degree (associate) plus a state license
Pay range and the year of the source	Write the low and high figure from your source and the year. Devon wrote: "about $__ to $__ a year, source dated 20__."
A day in the life (three lines)	Sees a patient every hour. Stands most of the day. Talks to nervous kids and adults all day long.
Source (name it)	Occupational Outlook Handbook, bls.gov/ooh, "Dental Hygienists" page
Verdict: does it fit my top three, my two letters, and my values?	Yes for my top three (Health Science) and my two letters (S: talks to people all day; I: reads X-rays). For: I like helping people feel better. Against: standing all day and being inside a mouth is not for everyone, and I need to find out if I can handle that.

Part 3: My career research card

Directions: Pick one career from one of your top three clusters (your match sheet from Lesson 2.21). Open the career resource. Fill every field. Write the year of your source next to the pay range; no year, no points.

Field	My answer
Career
Cluster number and name (must be one of my top three)
Three main tasks	1. 2. 3.
Path after high school (one of the six from Part 1)
Pay range and the year of the source	Low: $________ High: $________ Source year: ________
A day in the life (three lines: where, who with, what the day feels like)
Source (name the site or sheet)
Verdict: does it fit my top three, my two letters (______ ______), and my values? Circle: Yes / Partly / No	For: Against:

Grade 8 stretch: Two other careers on the same path: ______________________, ______________________. The first step I could take before high school ends: ________________________________.

Part 4: Checklist (how this card is scored)

The career research card is the formal check for Topic 2.5. Score: 0 to 4.

Point	Earned when
1	The career is from one of my top three clusters and the cluster number is written.
1	Three tasks, the path, and the pay range with a source year are filled from a named source, not guessed.
1	A day in the life has three lines that say where, who with, and what the day feels like.
1	The verdict names my two letters or my values and gives one reason for and one reason against.

Grade 6 support: two tasks and one "day in the life" line; the verdict is one sentence.

Exit line (on a sticky note on this card)

The thing from this unit I will use first is ________________________________.