Click here for Worksheet (.pdf)
Television might introduce students to occupations and even lead to further career exploration. But to get beyond the introductions, they will need to turn off the TV and tune into the real world. Providing students with accurate career information from reliable sources is the primary goal of California Community College Career Centers. Students need to know where to go to gather the job facts and statistics so they can expand their options and uncover the "real" truth about different careers. Fortunately, there are sites loaded with the information students need. Here are five important sites and some ideas of how you might use them.
- California Career Zone offers on-line Self-Assessments, an Industry Exploration Section, and a Reality Check Exercise. All and all, this site provides incredible resources with state specific information on 900 occupations. Students can find out about wages, demand, and current job availability. Attached to this email, is a student worksheet that will help you introduce students to the site and how to use it.
- Career Voyages is the US Department of Labor Career Site. This web site identifies and profiles jobs in 13 high demand industries-many of which do not require a college education. The site is designed for multiple audiences, students, parents, career changers, and career advisors. The four-minute video tutorial is a good place to begin your research.
- The Occupational Outlook Quarterly contains timely career information. Make use of this publication to keep students informed about subjects such as the, Job Outlook for People Who Don’t Have a College Degree.
- California’s New Labor Market Information Site has city and county specific information to help employees, employers and students.
- Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2006-2007, available online, describes the nature of work, working conditions, employment, training requirements, earnings and outlook in more than 270 occupational statements, covering 90% of the jobs in the economy.
In Demand Magazine is worth printing for your Career Center. New editions will become available as they are completed. This is a very clever approach from Virginia: Ten Great Careers for People Who Want to Be... For more about the "dough", check out international salary survey information on PayScale.Com
Learning about an occupation from watching a TV show is like learning how to parent kids by watching sitcoms. Robert Thompson