Developed by:  Debbie Humphreys
Revised: Spring 2002

Level:   6-8

Butcher, Baker, Candlestick Maker
...what will my next career be?

 


Standards


Learning
Expectations

This activity will help students acquire competencies which relate to the following standards:

5. Career information and career goals
6. Knowledge and skills to achieve career goals

The student will:

5.3 Identify how societal changes influence employment trends and future training.
6.6 Use technology and other sources to examine how career choices can help achieve personal goals.
6.8 Examine changing workplace and the necessity for lifelong learning and acquisition of new skills.


General
Approach

The general approach is that students will work in a team of four, evaluating interests and skills, and use this information to determine their personality type.  The student will use this information in a variety of activities designed to help choose a career. 


Activity Steps

Introduction adapted from Reference: http://www.internet4classrooms.com/career.htm)
     You have graduated from college and have been working on the same job for the last two years.  People who enter the workforce in 2010, like you did, will work for more than five different companies and will have more than ten different jobs before retiring.  Most people discover their talents and interests during the first ten years of their working lives, and sadly many of them find they are in the wrong job.  The company that you and your best friend work for has just been sold and it is time for both of you to find new jobs.  But, let's do it right this time.  If you are going to have more than one career in your lifetime, let's find out how to select a career.

Step 1. Complete the Personality Profile.
     Each student must determine their personality type by clicking on the web site Career Zone.  List the three letters of your personality type.  Make up an imaginary person; name, gender, and three letter personality type different from yours.  [For example:  if your personality type is AIS then you might choose CER as the personality type of the imaginary person].

Step 2.  Make and evaluate a list of careers that fit your personality type.
     Click on the Career Interests Game.  Scroll down to the six personality types. Click on your first choice and make a list of ten careers from the list.  Do the same thing for the imaginary friend you created.  From the list of Fastest Growing Occupations, find which careers on your list match this list.  Write a  two page report agreeing or disagreeing with the following statement:  "The most important consideration in choosing a career is whether the career is a fast growing career."

Step 3. Choose a career to investigate 
     Divide into groups of four.  From the following list select a career to investigate.  Each person in the group must choose a different occupation.  Use the links listed with your chosen career.  If you are unable to find enough information there, use only the links listed in the resources section to do further research.
* Architect

·  * Accounting

* Education

* Pharmacy

* Professional Athlete - Trainer

·  * Health Care

Step 4.  Investigate the career
     Collect information to prepare your part of the team report.  Your report should include information on the following topics:

  • training or education required for the career,
  • prospects for the future in this career,
  • expected salary range,
  • unexpected positive or negative aspects of the career.

In addition, each person should indicate their three letter personality type and whether the career they investigated would indicate their three letter personality type better or worse than the imaginary person they created.  Remember, your report is to be a multimedia report.  While you are collecting information about the career you chose, make sure you collect images which can be used in your report.

Step 5.  Make a group report
     Report to the class using posters, pictures, Power Point, Hyper Studio, or some other presentation software.  Your report must include information about four people.  Two should be real team members, and two should be the imaginary members.  Tell about the chosen career and explain why you think the career would be appropriate for the person.

Conclusion
     This activity was designed to give you the feel of how to use the Internet to research a new career.  Few people will work for the same employer their entire working career, and almost no one will work the same job until retirement.  For that reason, the skills you started to develop in this exercise will be vitally important to you as you plan a new career; no matter whether it is your first career or your tenth.  Some useful career sources to remember or revisit are:

     As fast as things are changing the career you will be in a decade from now may not have a description in any current catalog of careers. I hope each of your careers is challenging, rewarding, and a good fit with your personality! 


Time Required

     This activity will require at least five one-hour sessions.  It will depend on the number of computers available. This could easily be a six week project at one hour or more per week.


Resources Needed


Performance
Indicators

To be the CEO (grade of A)

  • Each person on your team referred to information found on the internet to support the choice expressed in their two page written report from step 2.
  • Each person on the team presented some portion of the multimedia report.
  • Careers for two real team members and two imaginary people were presented with justification for why the career fit or did not fit each person.
  • The Power Point presentation included more than one image from the Internet and more than one direct quote from the Internet.

To be a Vice President (grade of B)

  • Every team member wrote a report, but not everyone used information found on the Internet to support the choice expressed in their two page written report.
  • Each person on the team presented some portion of the multimedia report.
  • Careers for two real team members and two imaginary people were presented without justification for why each career fit each person.
  • The Power Point presentation included one image from the Internet and one direct quote from the Internet.

To be a Middle Manager (grade of C)

  • Every team member wrote a report, but no one used information found on the Internet to support the choice expressed in their two page written report.
  • More than one person presented some portion of the multimedia report.
  • Careers for four people were presented.
  • The Power Point presentation included one image from the Internet, or one direct quote from the Internet.

To be an Intern Trainee (grade of D)

  • Some of the team members did not write the written report assigned in step 2.
  • One person presented all of the multimedia report.
  • Careers for fewer than four people were presented.
  • The Power Point presentation did not include an image from the internet or a direct quote from the Internet.

To be out of work (grade of F)

  • No one in the group wrote the report assigned in step 2.
  • No multimedia report was presented
  • No careers were presented