Developed by:  Kathy Russell
Revised: Spring 2002

Level:  9-12 

My Ideal Life

Standards
 

Learning
Expectations

 This activity will help students acquire competencies which relate to the following standard: 
4.0 Career Awareness and Employment Readiness Skills
The student will:
4.1 apply knowledge of personal abilities, work habits, skills interests, and values to career choices.

General Approach		 The general approach will be to have the counselor distribute a worksheet to each student.  The students will fill out the questionnaire about what they will want to be when they are 35.  After completing the questionnaire, the counselor or teacher will inform the students that they can take an  assessment online that will help them find the kinds of jobs that will interest them and that they will be good at.  Then the counselor will point out the web address for the "CareerZone" and have the students take the test based on John Holland's RIASEC.  The students will pick four of the jobs they appear to be suited for and list them on the chart in the worksheet.  Then each student will go to the Occupational Outlook Handbook and answer questions about training, job outlook, and earnings for each job.  Subsequently, students will go to the Riley Guide web site and use the Cost Calculator to discover how much it costs to live in the particular area they have chosen.  The final analysis is computing hourly wages and cost of living to see how much money each student needs to make, and how much education he/she needs to acquire, in order to approximate the ideal life he/she developed on the original questionnaire.  The students will share their findings with one another.

Activity Steps

 Pass out the learning packet.
Lead the students in a discussion as follows:

High school is the time to dream about the future.  What do you want your life to look like when you are 35 years old?  If you don't start to plan NOW, you won't have what you want then.  Look at the list of questions before you.  Check the answers "yes" that apply to your dreams.

When they have finished the questionnaire:

There are many ways to find out how our interests and skills match with the jobs we may want to do.  Today we are going to use a questionnaire on line that will help you discover what kinds of jobs fit with your interests and skills.  Please answer the questions, view the jobs that are listed for your letter code, and write four of them that particularly interest you in the table provided.

Now you are going to have the opportunity to find out what these jobs are REALLY all about.  Type in the next web address (Occupational Outlook Handbook) and type in the category of the occupation you chose (teacher, doctor, construction worker, etc.).  Then click on training, job outlook, and earnings to complete the table.

Now that you know what the prospects are of your job still being around when you are 35, and how much more training you need, and how much money you are going to make, let's see what it costs to live in the city of your choice.  Type in the next web address on your worksheet and follow the directions.  Fill out the next table in your worksheet. 

Are you done?  Let's figure out if what you want and what you are willing to work for are a good fit.  Study the chart of monthly costs and the explanation beneath it.  Then look at the chart showing how much you have to make in comparison with many hourly job rates today.  Does the job you want provide
enough money for you to have what you want?  Are you willing to get the education that you will need to have the kind of job you want?

Look over the four jobs you investigated.  Which one of them gives you the most of what you want when you are 35 years old? (Allow time for class discussion.) Write that at the bottom of your page.  You now have a goal to aim for.  Today is the first day of the rest of your life--GO FOR IT!!!

Time Required

 This activity will require three 40-50 minute class sessions.  The first session will be used for discussion, completion of the questionnaire and the online cursory version of John Holland's SDS.  The second session will consist of viewing the various jobs, picking four to investigate, and doing so in the Occupational Outlook Handbook. During the third session the students will calculate costs, decide what job and education are best for them, and discuss this information with other class members.  Hopefully, they will all come to a greater understanding of the job they are going to need to live the lifestyle they want to live.

Resources Needed

Performance
Indicators		 The student will understand that the choices he/she makes now will affect the rest of his/her life.

The student will review career goals based on the "ideal life" questionnaire, the interests questionnaire, research in the Occupational Outlook Handbook, and research in the Cost Calculator of the Riley Guide.

The student will analyze some of his/her skills and interests.

The student will realistically evaluate wages and cost of living.

The student will use technological resources to discover things about their personal skills and interests, and jobs that interest them.

 
 
 
 
 
 
MY IDEAL LIFE
High school is the time to dream about the future.  What do you want your life to look like when you are 35 years old?  If you don't start to plan NOW, you won't have what you want then.
Below is a list of questions to help you think about your future. Check yes or no to each question. 
  Yes No
Do I want to LIKE my job? O O
Do I want to make more than $30,000 a year? O O
Do I want to be married? O O
Do I want children? O O
Do I want to own my own home? O O
Do I want to have a nice car? O O
Do I want to take nice vacations? O O
Do I want to send my children to college? O O
Do I want to own my own business? O O
Do I want to work for a company or corporation? O O
Do I want to go into the military? O O
Do I want a college education? O O
Do I want to go to a technical school? O O
Hopefully, you answered yes to at least the first question, which was "Do I want to LIKE my job?"  Believe it or not, there are lots of ways to find out what kind of a job you are suited for, and one way is to fill out a simple questionnaire provided for you online.  This questionnaire can help you determine what kinds of things you like and don't like, and what kinds of things you'd be really good at.  So, let's find out what kinds of jobs could keep you happy for a lifetime!!

Type the following address into your computer
http://www.explore.cornell.edu/newcareerzone

When the "Career Zone" appears, click on
"Assess Yourself"
at the top of the screen.
Follow the instructions and then click on
"View Jobs"
Write down four jobs in the table below.
The next site you are going to visit will give you great information about whether or not you would REALLY want to do the jobs you picked.

http://www.bls.gov/oco/

Fill in the blanks in the table next to each of your job choices.
Find the answers by doing the following:
1.  Type in the category of occupation in the search box (i.e. teacher,
lawyer, doctor, construction, etc.)
2.  Click on the word "training" at the top.
3.  Click on the words "job outlook" at the top.
4. Click on the word "earnings" at the top.

 
Name of Job Training Job Outlook Earnings
1. 1. 1. 1.
2. 2. 2. 2.
3. 3. 3. 3.
4, 4. 4. 4.
Now you know what job you want to do, how much education you are going to have to get in order to do the job, and how much money you are going to make.

There's one more step.  How much is it going to cost you to live in your community?  Can you have the life you wanted when you filled out the "My Ideal LIfe" questionnaire, based on the job and education you just picked?

Type in the following web site address:
http://www.dbm.com/jobguide/

Scroll down until you come to the "A-Z" index.  Click on it.  Then Click on the letter "C"  Scroll down to "Cost of LIving and Demographics" and click.

Stay with me.  We're not done yet.  Now Click on "The Salary Calculator."

Fill in the city, state and zip code where you want to live.  For the second choice, fill in anything you choose, even if it is a neighboring city.  Click on "See Your Results."  Now fill in the following table!
 
Questions City 1 City 2
What is the average income? $ $
What % of the people make
$75,-$100,000 a year.
k means thousand		             %           %
What % of the people have a 
high school diploma or less?
(Hint:  add the first 3 categories)		             %            %
What is median rent?
(Remember:  These places might
not be as nice as you envision.)		 $ $
What % make less than $20,000?              %             %
What % make more than $100-$150,000?          %         %

 
Now you need to do the work of calculating your expenses.

 
Rent or House
Payment		 Car Payment
and Insurance		 Food Clothes Vacation
$300/month
 
 

3 year old car
$350/month

$300+$300=$600

$250/month for one person

$600+$250=$850

$75/month

$850+$50=$925

$100/month

$925+$100=
$1025


 
I tried to keep my estimates really low in the previous table.  Along with the $1025 that is listed, you would need at least another $500 a month for all the things I didn't list (like heat, lights, water, gasoline, fast food) as well as for unexpected repairs, gifts, etc.  So now you need at least $1525/month to have some of the things you may have wanted on the questionnaire at the beginning of this study.  Let's see how much you have to make an hour to make $1525/month.
$8.00/hr.-40 hrs.-50 weeks $15.00/hr.-40 hrs.-50 weeks $40,000/yr salary
$16,000/yr

$1,334/month BEFORE taxes
No children to feed or clothe		 $30,000/yr. 
$2500/month BEFORE taxes
No children to feed or clothe		 $3,333/month
BEFORE taxes
No children to feed or clothe
Look back over your questionnaire, your job search, and the information provided in the last two sections.  Do your dreams and reality match?  Can you live the way you want, with the amount of education you want, and the job you want to do?  These are questions every high school student has to ask him or herself.  What job was the best match for you?