For this unit, you will register and sign-up for Big Future, an online college search source from College Board. Look through the section on College majors, especially if you hsve no idea what you want to be when you grow up... use the College Search to select three schools for further contact (Letter Format Information). investigate possible career opportunities examine your interests, aptitudes, PLAN and PSAT test scores produce a group portfolio write a research essay about a possible career

Download these assignments in Word.

Group Portfolio	Ten Traits Employers Need
Career Quotations	Career Links
Career Essay	Download Group Portfolio Checklist and Career Essay Checklist.

Back to Assignments.

Your group will produce a packet or portfolio of activities. Everyone in the group must participate in the work, and you must indicate who did which assignments. For some activities listed as cooperative work, the entire group should collaborate on each activity. For other activities listed as individual contributions, you will divide the work, with one member doing each assignment. There will also be individual activities each student should complete and include in the group portfolio. Read over all directions carefully and plan your use of time. Download Group Portfolio Grading Checklist.

For these activities, the entire group should collaborate on each activity, working together during class time.

1. Brainstorming. Your group will brainstorm a list of jobs which use the skills learned in the four core academic areas. Remember to consider electives in these areas which might broaden your possibilities. Include at least 15 occupations for each area.

• List jobs that require the skills learned in language arts classes.
• List jobs that require the skills learned in math classes.
• List jobs that require the skills learned in science classes.
• List jobs that require the skills learned in social studies classes.

2. Is That All There Is? For the above activity you concentrated on the required classes. Now consider all the electives. Brainstorm a list of at least four elective classes, and list at least three jobs that require the skills learned in those elective classes.

3. More Brainstorming! Now develop a list of jobs that do not require skills which could be learned in the classes you've considered for the other assignments. Think hard!

4. Career Alphabet. Think of and list at least one job or occupation for each letter of the alphabet. For some letters, you can easily think of dozens. For others, you may need to use a dictionary. The more the better!

5. Looking Ahead and Changing Times. These are two related activities. Look to the future and make a list of fifteen jobs that may be needed in the future, such as underwater farmers. Come contemporary jobs may still be important; but, they will have changed to reflect the times. You may include such jobs, and their changes. Also, think back to the past. Some jobs have become much less or much more important with the changing times. In the last century, blacksmiths and coopers were in demand. Make a list of fifteen jobs which have changed or become obsolete with new technology and demands.

For these activities you will divide the work, with one member doing each assignment. You will need to use time outside class for much of this.

1. Map a Block. Draw a map of a full square block on businesses. You may choose a block of Main or Lindsay Streets, or a shopping center with at least ten businesses. Draw boxes for the businesses. Indicate in each the occupation represented. Be sure to label the streets. Make your map attractive to the eye, and provide a legend.

2. What's in It For You? Make a chart or graph comparing at least fifteen different occupations and their yearly salaries and benefits. Be sure to include a paragraph in which you interpret your graph.

3. Job Questionnaire. Make up a job questionnaire and interview at least ten people about their jobs. Include at least ten questions in your questionnaire. Suggestions: job title, tools and equipment, special training, favorite and least favorite parts of the job.

4. Design a Cover. Prepare an interesting design for the cover of your portfolio, including a title related to careers.

5. I Guess We All Dream. Interview at least ten adults to find out what they wanted to be when they were children. Then, interview at least ten children to find out what they want to be. Compile your information and present visually. Write a paragraph comparing the information you learned.

6. Interview Your Classmates. Ask at least twenty classmates what their parents do for a living. Prepare a chart showing the results of your research. Organize your information using any of the job clusters we have read about.

7. Poster. Design a poster highlighting any information from the unit. Use standard poster board, but cut it to half size. Be certain that your poster is visually pleasing, and teaches information.

Each member of the group needs to complete the following assignments and include them in the Group Portfolio. There will be multiple examples in each portfolio.

1. Recipes. Write a symbolic recipe for your chosen career or the career you have researched. You should include education, training, character traits, etc. You should highlight the positive aspects of your career. For example:

2. Situation Wanted Ad. Prepare a classified ad describing your career. The object of this ad is to highlight your training and qualifications for your chosen career. You want to attract an employer with your qualifications.

3. Career Research Paper. You will write a paper describing the results of your research into one possible career.

• Career Interview. Interview someone in the career, or in a related career who can give you first-hand information. Find out how that person chose the career, the positives and negatives of the career. Ask for advice. This can be an online or email interview.
• Career Letter. Compose a letter to some organization specifically related to your career. Include a stamped addressed envelope. Follow correct format.
• Career Essay. Requirements for the essay are as follows:

Final Steps. Organize the portfolio. Use a title page with the names of your group members, the period, and the date due. Include a table of contents and number of pages. Indicate which members completed which assignments.

Along with these activities, you will complete other assignments. Stay on top of your work in this unit, and you will earn excellent grades, and hopefully learn important and relevant information.

Quotations about Careers

"Always take a job that is too big for you." --Harry Emerson Fosdick	"We work not only to produce; but, to give value to time." --Eugene Delacroix
"There in no future in any job. The future lies in the man who holds the job." --George Crane	"Every calling is great when greatly pursued." --Oliver Wendell Holmes
"Nothing splendid has ever been achieved except by those who dared to believe that something inside them was superior to circumstance." --Bruce Barton	"Money often costs too much." --Ralph Waldo Emerson
"We are told that talent creates its own opportunity. But it sometimes seems that intense desire creates not only its own opportunities but its own talents." --Eric Hoffer	"Each honest calling, each walk of life, has its own elite, its own aristocracy based upon excellence of performance." --James Bryant Conant

Back to the top.

Ten Traits Employers Need*

Soon you will be in the working world full time. Start now to build a strong foundation of skills to be employable in an ever-changing world. Notice how many of these skills are also valued in the classroom.

1. Listening Skills - The ability to listen to conversations or presentations to understand the content, as well as the ability to follow instructions, is basic to success at any job.

2. Teamwork - Businesses rely heavily on harmony and cooperation among their employees.

3. Dependability - Show up on time. You can't do the job if you're not there.

4. Goal-setting Skills - Setting and accomplishing goals and getting others to help you accomplish those goals are skills much sought after in the working world.

5. Lifetime Learning - Understand how you learn best and constantly seek new opportunities to learn additional skills.

6. Communication Skills - Reading and comprehending instructions, writing reports about your job, and explaining to others what they need to do are all part of communication skills that are essential to success.

7. Problem-solving Ability - Jobs of the future will require you to figure out what the problem is and to solve it in creative ways.

8. Independent Worker - No one wants to stand over you to make sure you do your job. In fact, no one will. If you can't do the job, you'll be gone.

9. Computer Literacy - The computer is here to stay. Become familiar with what you can do on one and how one works.

10. Math Skills - The ability to use common mathematical concepts related to your field of work is important for continued success in any career.


Think about how many of these skills you can learn, practice, and master in school - for no tuition, and earning credits toward graduation. Are you taking advantage of this opportunity?

* Adapted from Career Gallery, Oklahoma Department of Vocational and Technical Education.

Back to the top.

Career Links

Occupational Outlook Handbook
CareerBuilder.com
CareerOneStop
Career Outlook
Monster Board
MyFuture.com