Read to Learn
How to use formal and informal
methods to research careers
How to evaluate sources of career
information
How to identify work experience that
can help you explore careers
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Main Idea
Exploring careers will help you find the
employment possibilities that best
match your interests, values, and
personal needs.
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Key Concepts
Researching Career Options
Learning from Experience
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Key Terms
career clusters
exploratory interview
temp work
cooperative program
job shadowing
internship
service learning
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Researching Career Options
The U.S. Department
of Education has
organized careers
into 16 different
career clusters.
career clusters
groups of related
occupations
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Figure 3.1
The U.S. Department of Education Career Clusters
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Figure 3.1
The U.S. Department of Education Career Clusters
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Researching Career Options
To research career options, you
need to know how to find sources
of information.
Primary Source
Secondary Source
Original
information
Information that
other people have
gathered
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Informal Search
You can discover some of what the
world has to offer simply by keeping
your eyes and ears open.
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Informal Search
Interview people you know about their
career experiences and ask the
following questions:
What was your favorite job?
What was your least favorite job?
What was your most unusual job?
How do you like your current job?
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Finding Career Inspiration
You can find inspiration by observing
and interacting with individuals.
You can also find inspiration through
characters portrayed in visual, print,
and digital media.
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Formal Research
Formal research is fully developed,
formally presented, and gives you
enough information to act on your
ideas.
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Formal Research
As you research, keep a log of what
you find.
When you find a source, write the
author or name of the organization that
put the information together.
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Formal Research
As you find information, you will need
to determine how credible the sources
are.
Check the information against other
sources you have found.
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Formal Research
Sources in Libraries
Reference books
Magazines
CDs
DVDs
Librarians
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Formal Research
Sources in Books
The Occupational Outlook Handbook
The Guide for Occupational Exploration
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Formal Research
Additional Resources
The Reader’s Guide to Periodical Literature
Business magazines such as
Wired and Business Week
The Occupational Outlook Quarterly
Labor organizations
Industry service groups
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Formal Research
Internet Career Resources
Employment or job skill Web sites
Online bulletin boards
Local, national, and international
job posting sites
Specific company or organization Web sites
Government sites such as O*NET
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Formal Research
Most career Web sites list job
opportunities according to industry title,
key duties, location, and other criteria.
When searching online, choose specific
search terms.
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Formal Research
Since anyone can post information on
the Internet, you need to make sure the
information you use is from a credible
source.
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Exploratory Interviews
Build a list of people
who work in careers
that you find
interesting.
Call someone on the
list and set up an
exploratory
interview.
exploratory
interview
a short, informal talk
with someone who
works in a career
that appeals to you
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Exploratory Interviews
Exploratory Interview Questions
How did you start your career?
What education and training did it
require?
What do you like about your job?
What do you do during a typical
workday?
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Exploratory Interviews
After an exploratory interview, write
your reflections down in a folder
labeled Career Resource File.
You can place this file in your Personal
Academic and Career Portfolio.
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Learning from Experience
By working part-time, you will gain
experience, make personal contacts,
and put some money in your pocket at
the same time.
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Learning from Experience
Temp work gives an
opportunity to develop
job skills, learn about
different work
environments, and
develop contacts.
temp work
temporary work
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Work Experience Programs
A cooperative
program can give you
a chance to learn job
skills while you are
still in high school.
cooperative
program
an arrangement in
which local
businesses team up
with schools, hiring
students to perform
jobs that use
knowledge and skills
taught in their school
classes
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Job Shadowing
Job shadowing can
help you learn
firsthand what it would
be like to work in a
particular field.
job shadowing
following a worker on
the job for a few days
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Volunteering, Internships, and
Community Work
Volunteer work is work you do without
receiving pay.
Volunteers gain valuable experience
that can help them make career
decisions.
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Volunteering, Internships, and
Community Work
An internship can
sometimes lead to
full-time, paying
positions.
internship
a short-term job or
work project that
usually requires
formal commitment
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Volunteering, Internships, and
Community Work
Many communities
and schools offer
service learning
programs as a way to
explore careers.
service learning
connecting academic
work with community
service, allowing
students to explore
issues discussed in
the classroom
through personal
experiences and
community work
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Section 3.1 After You Read
1. Describe one informal method of
researching careers.
Talking to people and using media
resources can be seen as informal
methods of research when they are
used simply to generate ideas rather
than gather specific information for a
report.
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Section 3.1 After You Read
2. Distinguish between types of
information you would find using
the O*NET and the Guide for
Occupational Exploration.
Though they are both government
resources, the O*Net provides worker
attributes and job characteristics,
while the Guide for Occupational
Exploration groups careers by
category and describes occupations
within each category.
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Section 3.1 After You Read
3. Explain how unpaid volunteer
work might help you choose a
career.
Possible answers include being able
to observe a career from the inside,
gaining experience, developing
contacts, and learning what employers
want.
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