Where Will You Go From Here?

A Career Exploration Webquest for Eighth Graders

Introduction

• What kinds of jobs do or did your grandparents have?
• What kinds of jobs do your parents have?
• What kind of job do you think you’ll have?
• Was there a connection between your parents' education and their jobs?
• Do you think there is a relationship between what youwill be learning this year and your future job?
• What do you think you might choose as your career?

The Task

Through "Where Will You Go From Here?" you will research various careers, select one which seems appropriate to you, look for information about that career, and learn what you must do to enter the career field of your choice.

Resources

• Begin with an assessment of your career interests, aptitudes and experience at the Michigan Occupational Information System Self-Assessment Career Survey.
• Investigate the first place career cluster recommended at the MOIS Career Information page by selecting some of the careers in the cluster and reading the miniscript about those careers at Michigan Occupational Information System Careers by Cluster.
• As a print alternative to Internet access, examine some of the careers in your recommended cluster from MOIS in the Career Discovery Encyclopedia, a six-volume career exploration reference arranged alphabetically.
• Find more detailed information about your career choice through a keyword search in the "Occupational Outlook Handbook." The Bureau of Labor Statistics' "Occupational Outlook Handbook" is a nationally recognized source of career information. It describes what workers do on the job, working conditions, the training and education needed, earnings, and expected job prospects in a wide range of occupations.
• To make sure your choice in careers will be a career that has opportunities for future growth, check out "Job Market Info" at the America's Job Bank site. America's Job Bank is a computerized national employment referral network that links all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and Guam.
• Each year, the Military hires over 365,000 new enlisted and officer personnel, so opportunities (technical and nontechnical) are always plentiful. The five Services offer over 300 schools and 10,000 courses of instruction. This free training, and the experience that follows, give the Military veteran a real advantage in the civilian world. The Military Career Guide Online is the leading career information resource for the military world of work. It gives you details on 152 enlisted and officer occupations, one by one.
  

The Process

1. Complete a brief survey of career interests through an on-line assessment from the Michigan Occupational Information System
2. Based on the results of your assessment, select one of the careers and find the following information about that career field: collect information about the nature of the work, working conditions, training requirements, job outlook, and earnings. Do not forget about the possiblity of a career in the military.
3. Research the fastest growing occupations for the next 7 years, analyze the growth rates in relationship to the amount of education required, and projected job openings.

Through your analysis of educational requirements, job availability, salary, and job requirements, select a career.

On a separate form provided by your teacher, list your career choice, the educational requirements, and four major steps you will need to take to achieve your career goal. For information on two- and four-year colleges and vocational and technical schools, visit the Peterson Education and Career Center site.

Learning Advice

You may experience some difficulty in using the career title from Michigan Occupational Information System to find information in America’s Job Bank. You will need to develop some keywords based on the description of your career to search for the appropriate career name.

Another website helpful if you are already thinking about colleges is the education page from Yahoo. Simply type in the "Search" box the name of the school or college you want information about.

When you have jumped to a website through a hyperlink in this document, simply click on the back arrow in the upper lefthand corner to return to this document.

Conclusion

After completing this project, did you discover a career that seems interesting to you?

Will the information you acquired about your career cluster help you choose your high school courses next year?

Did you discover a relationship between what you are doing today and what you will be doing in the future?

Teacher's Note

This WebQuest is designed to teach competencies for elementary grades included in National Career Development Guidelines:

This page written by Jane Perzyk
Last updated August 21, 1997

This page was adapted from Bernie Dodge 's WebQuest_Template1.html by Tom March