Creating a Presentation on Comparing
Choices for your Career – Student Guide
Assignment Summary
In this assignment, using reference materials and Internet sites, you will research two careers of your
choice and the annual salaries for these careers. You should include a general overview of the careers,
such as education needed, training, future outlook, etc. Next, you will need the possible salaries of the
careers, include the cost of living of the area in which you would like to live. In addition, how does this
salary and/or career choice affect your lifetime income? You will show your findings in a multimedia
presentation. Useful references for gathering this information are in the resource list at the end of this
guide.
Your presentation should include seven to nine slides. The slides should include: a title slide; a slide
containing your two career picks and why you chose them; a slide containing career option 1 and then
slides for option 2; and finally, one to two slides with concluding information on the comparisons of the
options, as well as which career is the best option for you, and why. The final slide should include your
works cited.
Assignment Instructions
Step 1: Gather materials and necessary information.
a) Take a career interest quiz on the internet. Use a search engine to find one and record
results.
b) Based on the results, pick two careers to explore.
c) Research these two careers using the Occupational Outlook Handbook on the U.S.
Bureau of Labor Statistics website. Find the following for each career.


Define the career.
o
What is the occupation (describe in detail)?
o
What are the typical duties?
o
Are there any specialties within this occupation?
Work environment
o
What is the work setting, including potential hazards and physical, emotional, or
mental demands?
o
What are the work schedules, including information on hours worked and seasonality
of work?

Education/training
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o
What are the typical entry-level education requirements, on-the-job training, licenses,
certifications, work experience, and advancements?
o


What are some important qualities that are helpful in performing this work?
Pay
o
What was the 2019 median annual salary and hourly wages?
o
What were the top and bottom 10 percent in wages earned?
o
What types of benefits are usually included in this career?
o
Use the median pay to calculate your lifetime income for 40 years.
Job Outlook
o
What is the projected change in level and percentage of employment availability?
o
What are some of the factors affecting occupational employment?
d) What is the expected level of competition, number of applicants versus number of positions
available, and any factors that may improve these job prospects? Keep a list of your
references so that you can cite them later.
e) Ask your teacher where you should save your presentation as you work on it. Your teacher
may also have specific guidelines about the file name you should use.
Step 2: Create your title slide.
a) Begin by creating the title slide. On this slide, include your choices of careers in large font, an
image of your choice, your name, your teacher’s name, and the due date of the presentation.
b) Remember to save your work as you go.
Step 3: Identify career choices.
a) Create a slide titled My Career Choices.
b) On this slide, discuss how and why you chose these careers.
c) Place text in the notes section below the slide that explains the information presented on the
slide. This text will act as the script for your presentation.
d) Remember to save your work as you go.
Step 4: Discuss in detail your first choice.
a) Create a slide titled My First Choice: [insert career].
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b) On this slide, add the following information about your first career choice.

nature of the work

working conditions (location)

training and educational requirements

earning potential (salary-entry to experienced)

benefits

lifetime income options

an image or two of the career aspects
c) Place text in the notes section below the slide that explains the information presented on the
slide. This text will act as the script for your presentation.
d) Remember to save your work as you go.
Now repeat step 4 for your second career choice.
Step 5: Conclude your research.
a) Create a slide titled My Best Choice: [insert career].
b) On this slide, add the following information about your best career choice:

List the reasons you selected this choice while comparing them to your other choice
o
How does the salary for the careers compare in different locations of the country?
Where would you like to live and work after knowing this information?
o
Compare the lifetime incomes of the careers.
o
How do the education and/or training affect your lifetime income in the careers?
o
What are some of the disadvantages of both careers, and how do you feel you will
overcome or manage these disadvantages for your career choice?
o
How do you think the future cost of living will affect your lifetime income? Do you
think that there are enough advancement opportunities with your career choice to
compensate for this cost of living?
o

What other benefits will contribute to your lifetime income that led you to your choice?
Add comments reflecting on what you learned from this project
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c) Place text in the notes section below the slide that explains the information presented on
the slide. This text will act as the script for your presentation.
d) Remember to save your work as you go.
Step 6: Cite your sources.
a) Create a slide titled Works Cited.
b) On this slide, create a list of the resources you used to complete your research. A simple list
of website titles and addresses (URLs) is acceptable. If you used print sources, list the title,
author, publisher, city, and date.
Step 7: Evaluate your work using this guide and the rubric.
a) Make sure you have used spell-check and saved your document correctly.
b) Grade yourself by going through the provided rubric.
c) Trade presentations with another student, and go over each other’s work. Talk about what
you can do to improve your presentations.
d) Go through the checklist below.
Yes
No
Evaluation Question
Does your presentation use visuals effectively?
Does your presentation use correct punctuation and grammar?
Does your presentation present information in ways that will engage your audience?
Does your presentation contain language that is appropriate to your audience and format?
Does your presentation capture the interest of the audience?
Does your presentation include important details, statistics, facts, and images?
Does your presentation include all of the required elements described above?
If you can go through this guide and you are satisfied where your presentation will fall in the rubric, you
are ready to submit your presentation.
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Step 8: Revise and submit your presentation.
a) If you were unable to check off all of the requirements on this student guide, revise your
presentation with the help of the improvement suggestions you obtained, and save it before
submitting.
b) When you have completed your presentation, return to the virtual classroom and use the
“Browse for file” option to locate and submit your assignment. Congratulations! You have
created your multimedia career presentation.
c) Ask your teacher for further instructions about showing your presentation to an audience of
your peers.
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