career research worksheet for high school students

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Consider this a post-secondary survival kit.

The Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB ) Career Exploration Program (CEP) provides no-cost planning tools designed to help students in 10th grade and above make informed career decisions based on their skills and interests. The ASVAB is more than just a military test. It is an aptitude test that helps facilitate career exploration and predict future occupational success.  Bring it to your school!

Success looks different for every person. You can help your high schoolers figure out where to find career satisfaction by getting them the facts on the world of work, their post-secondary options, and their own skills and interests. It’s all about making informed decisions, but you need resources for that. Enter: these awesome career exploration worksheets.

What’s in the career exploration worksheets bundle?

• Career Exploration Note-Taking Sheet: Use a tool like the ASVAB CEP’s OCCU-Find to research different careers. Our worksheet includes space for students to take notes on three different careers. It includes spaces for how it fits their interests, how it aligns with their workplace preferences, average salary, and more.
• Comparing Post-Secondary Paths Tool: For this activity, students will research the cost of pursuing two different paths for a career, taking into consideration several different paths available to them. We recommend they select one of the careers they researched on the prior worksheet to outline two paths. (For example: If a student wants to be a medical assistant, they might go to training school or complete a one-year certificate at a community college.)
• Post-Secondary Planning Checklist: This list is divided by grade (9-12) and has important steps for students to take for whatever their post-secondary plans are. It covers academics, self-discovery, career exploration, and college/career planning.
• Résumé Tip Sheet: This isn’t your grandparents’ résumé. We’ve got up-to-date dos and don’ts for students to create a résumé that will really stand out.

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The Complete Guide to Career Exploration for Teens and Their Teachers

Students have a lot to consider as they make plans for life after high school. Career exploration can help students make, and feel confident about, their next steps. Download this resource to refer back to or share. 

How can we expect students to choose a career path that doesn't exist yet?

We may not be able to tell them what jobs will exist in the future, but we can help students make logical, informed decisions. We do this by inviting them to engage in career exploration. Exploring a variety of career paths and occupations, as well as relevant labor market information, helps students become equipped to make informed decisions that they feel good about. 

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Want to save or share? Fill out the form to download this page as a pdf.

What is career exploration.

Career exploration is “the exploration of the environment and the self with the aim of gathering career-related information.” It is a vital step in the career development process that students often first encounter as they begin to plan for life after high school. Although students need to engage in career exploration to make informed decisions regarding their post-secondary path, career exploration is not limited to this time of life. Instead, it is a continual process that individuals participate in as they progress through life.

Sometimes career exploration arises from necessity, as with students nearing graduation who must choose between different post-secondary education programs or when adults experience restructuring and subsequent job loss. Other times career exploration results from an internal desire to seek new opportunities. Whatever the case, it is becoming increasingly relevant for students to learn how to engage in career exploration since research shows that, on average, people now have five to seven careers in their lifetime. Career exploration is the key to equipping students not only for post-secondary success but for life-long professional adaptability.

Career Exploration is a cyclical, reflective, hands-on, trial and error process.

The career exploration process requires research and experimentation by the individual. This is the time for students to take an inventory of what they know about themselves and to begin looking for potential careers that interest them. But beyond just researching, they also need to explore through hands-on experiences in the classroom or through work and volunteer opportunities. Even investing in their hobbies is a valuable part of the exploration process. Like any good scientist, once students have completed their experiment, they need to reflect and draw their conclusions. Did they actually like the kind of work they completed? Is the career they were exploring compatible with their interests, skills, and values? Depending on how they answer these questions and others, they will either research new career options or they will research the next steps as they draw up a plan.

Why is Career Exploration Important for Students?

Career exploration is important for students because it helps them set informed goals and motivates them to achieve those goals. Let’s take a look at how career exploration accomplishes this. 

1. Career exploration exposes students to the myriad of career pathways that exist. 

Did you know that the Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) includes 867 detailed occupations? Or that Canada’s National Occupational Classification (NOC) lists approximately 30,000 different job titles? That said, neither the SOC nor the NOC “attempt to provide an exhaustive list of job titles.” Instead, these lists aim “to cover the most commonly used and universally understood labels that identify work” in their respective labor markets. In other words, a list of 30,000 occupations does not cover all the jobs that exist in a single country. Given the tremendous number of job titles and opportunities, it is impossible for students to be aware of all their options without dedicating time and attention to career exploration. 

Discover how ChatterHigh personalizes career exploration for students.

2. Career exploration introduces students to labor market realities. 

Exposing students to the plethora of occupations within the labor market is a vital piece of career exploration. However, to help youth make informed career choices, it’s important to also teach them about a couple of fundamental economic principles: supply and demand. Of course, the economy is ever-evolving as technology continues to transform how people work and what kinds of jobs exist. So it’s impossible to tell your students exactly what the job market will look like by the time they are ready to enter the workforce. It’s possible that the jobs your students will one day have don’t exist yet. It’s also possible the jobs they’re dreaming of will change. However, by introducing them to trends in the economy and relevant labor market information, you can help your students gain insight into what areas of study will prepare them for tomorrow’s economy.

Check out “NOC, SOC, and Roll: How ChatterHigh Connects Students to Labor Market Information.”

3. Career exploration helps students make informed decisions and plans for their future. 

According to Sareena Hopkins, Executive Director at Canadian Career Development Foundation, an informed decision is based on self-awareness and opportunity awareness. So, to make an informed decision, students must learn about themselves and the different options available to them. And this is precisely where career exploration comes into play. Career exploration is the vehicle for building opportunity awareness. Active career exploration does more than simply list a number of post-secondary pathways available to students. Instead, it allows students to discover the skills, knowledge, and values involved in different jobs. Through exploring occupations, students gain relevant knowledge concerning job responsibilities, work environment, training requirements, remuneration, and more. As a result, they are equipped to make informed decisions. 

ChatterHigh fills an important gap in supporting opportunity awareness. It exposes individuals to a wide range of post-secondary options, industry sectors and occupations. This is vital for anyone, but particularly critical for young people who may have had limited access to social capital and limited exposure to the range of possibilities that exist in post-secondary and labor market systems. - Sareena Hopkins, Executive Director, Canadian Career Development Foundation

4. Career exploration helps students evaluate career pathways according to their values, skills, and interests. 

Since career exploration involves exploring the environment and the self, it requires students to reflect on themselves and the variety of job opportunities they’ve discovered. Since this exploration is not simply a mental exercise but requires hands-on experience, students will be able to test their hypotheses. That is, students can try out their career of choice through job shadowing, work or volunteer experience, or developing a new hobby. Then they can decide whether this career pathway is truly compatible with their values, skills, and interests. Considering the role that intrinsic motivation plays in job satisfaction , it’s important that we help students discover careers that interest them and allow them to use their skills. And career exploration is one key way we can do this.

5. Career exploration can help cultivate hope in students.  

Hope can be defined as the cognitive combination of agency and pathways. In other words, hope is where “goal-directed determination” and the “planning of ways to meet goals” intersect. That’s because knowing what our goal is, believing we can achieve it, and having a plan to achieve it shows us that our goal is attainable. And that’s precisely what career exploration does for students. Not every student who dreams of travelling to the moon is going to become an astronaut, but career exploration shows them that there is a path that leads to that outcome. It may be hard. It may not be the right fit for the student. They may even discover something better for them along the way. The beauty of career exploration is that it can help students feel more confident as they begin their post-secondary education. And if they do discover their original goal isn’t right for them, they can pursue a new interest and set a different goal. 

Interested in finding a way to help foster hope in your students? Check out ChatterHigh’s gamified platform that uses inquiry-based learning to expose students to a variety of career and post-secondary options. ChatterHigh’s approach has been proven to produce a wide range of positive outcomes, including making students feel more hopeful about their future. Ready to start exploring? Create your account now or book a demo .

When to Introduce Your Students to Career Exploration

It’s never too early to begin career exploration, especially when it’s engaging. In fact, to equip students to make informed decisions with minimal stress, we should begin career exploration by middle school.

Why Middle School is the Perfect Time for Students to Explore Careers

Middle school is the ideal time to introduce your students to career exploration for three main reasons. First, middle school students want to engage in career exploration. Second, middle school students benefit more from career intervention than their high school peers. Third, in high school, students are choosing courses that form their educational pathway and determine their post-secondary opportunities. 

>> Learn more about the benefits of early career exploration <<

Because career exploration is a continual process, there are benefits to bringing it into the classroom well before high school and it should be worked into all subject areas. Research shows that higher levels of career planfulness can result in heightened school engagement. Highlighting future career relevancy can also help to answer the age-old question, “When will I ever use this stuff?!” In a world where the average worker will have five to seven different careers during their lifetime, it is valuable to practice career exploration as an ongoing activity. So let’s take a look at exactly how we can get our students engaged in this exploratory process. 

How to Bring Career Exploration into the Classroom

There are a variety of ways to successfully bring career exploration into your classroom, no matter the age of your students.

"Career development is a lifelong process. At the elementary level, students are already making choices that will impact their future. It is important to expose students to these key career concepts early in their school careers. Having students reflect on their learning, choices, and who they are as individuals, students and learners will impact their social, emotional, academic, and career growth and development throughout school." - Newfoundland and Labrador Career Development Elementary Curriculum Guide , 2017

Regardless of whether or not career education is a separate subject in your region’s curriculum, you can use some of the following ideas to bring career exploration into your classroom. These activities can be integrated into different subjects, from language arts to math, and are a great way to help engage your students.

1. Take Our Kids to Work Day

Encourage your students to participate in Take Our Kids to Work Day. This is a fantastic opportunity for students to experience a day in the life of a professional. If your school isn’t participating in this day, consider implementing it yourself. To make the most of this event, you might consider creating a reflection assignment or a presentation. Sharing what they’ve learned in front of their class not only gets students thinking, but it also gets them educating one other.

2. Guest Speakers

Consider inviting professionals into your classroom as well. Bringing in guest speakers from the field is a great way to show students the relevance of what they’re learning in your classroom, while also helping them discover and learn more about potential careers. This is an especially great way to do career exploration with elementary students. 

If you want to find speakers from specific fields that interest your students, consider having your students (from Grades 6 to 12) complete the ChatterHigh Daily Quiz . As students quiz, they rate their interest in the programs of study and jobs that they encounter during the quiz. As their teacher, you can see a classwide summary of all their interests and select a speaker accordingly. (Find out more here .)

3. Brochures

Encourage your students to swing by your school’s guidance office to check out some of the brochures for different colleges and universities in your area. There are so many resources online, but a physical booklet can help guide students to the information they need.

4. Skilled Trades Competitions

Take a field trip, virtually or in-person, to a skilled trades competition. Skills Compétences Canada and WorldSkills USA both host competitions that showcase a variety of skilled trades. You can even find regional competitions closer to your school. This is a great way to introduce your students to the world of trades. 

5. Career Exploration Worksheets

Take advantage of free resources such as the When I Grow Up: Career Lessons and Activities for Grades 9-12 booklet. This downloadable PDF covers skills identification and career exploration, while also including resources so your students can refine their job search and employability skills.

6. Job Fairs

Organizing a job fair at your school is a great way to introduce your students to a variety of job opportunities in one place.

7. Online Skills and Personality Assessments

There are lots of free skill and personality assessments students can explore. However, there is one assessment in particular that Grade 12 students may benefit from completing — a Plum Profile . Plum is a company that specializes in categorizing and measuring people’s recurring patterns of thoughts, feelings, and behaviours — what they call “talents.” By creating their own account and completing the assessment, students can learn about their preferences and strengths so they have a better understanding of the kinds of jobs and work environments that would suit them best.

8. Gamified Career Exploration 

The ChatterHigh Daily Quiz is a great bellringer activity that allows students to regularly engage in career exploration. With the ability to earn points that can be used to win prizes or donate to charity, students are motivated to complete the research activity that will expose them to all the general areas of study and help them discover interesting occupations. As a teacher, you can even access lesson plans for your region that show you how the Daily Quiz aligns with your curriculum and how you can easily incorporate it into your classroom. To learn more about the quiz, see the section "How the ChatterHigh Career Exploration Activity Works."  Or check out our blog to learn how you can get started with career exploration in your classroom in five easy steps.

How Career Exploration Complements College and Career Readiness Standards and Programs

College and career readiness is a top priority across the country. In fact, the Common Core Standards were developed to ensure that every student who graduates from high school is equipped with the fundamental skills and knowledge needed to succeed in post-secondary studies or in the workforce. However, these standards emphasize academic measures, specifically literacy and numeracy. While it is vital for students to possess these aptitudes, to truly be college- or career-ready, students must expand their awareness of opportunities in post-secondary and labor market systems. 

“Career readiness becomes refined through systematic career exploration that includes an intentional process of reality-testing career preferences. Such reality-testing occurs along a continuum ranging from personalized research, information interviews/observations, externships, internships, curricular and co-curricular experiences.” -Spencer Niles, Professor and Co-Director, THRIVE Research & Intervention Center and Editor, Counselor Education and Supervision 

Therefore, career exploration is a necessary complement to the standards.

It is worth noting that while most states adopted the Common Core Standards, a few did not. Instead, these states (Alaska, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas, Indiana, Virginia, and South Carolina) created their own state-specific standards , while Minnesota opted for a hybrid of state-developed standards and the Common Core Standards. 

>>Click here for a map showing college- and career-readiness policies by state.<<

Unlike the Common Core Standards, some of the state-developed standards address college and career readiness through specific courses and curricula. For example, the Texas curriculum includes courses such as Investigating Careers and College and Career Readiness , while Minnesota's state-specific standards dictate that school districts are responsible for helping students “ explore their educational, college, and career interests, aptitudes, and aspirations and develop a plan for a smooth and successful transition to postsecondary education or employment .”

Regardless of whether a state’s standards explicitly address post-secondary planning or career exploration, states can further promote college and career readiness through adopting other programs and initiatives, such as dual enrollment opportunities, Career Technical Education (CTE), Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP), and more. To learn more about these programs, click on the tabs below.

" Dual enrollment " is a term referring to any program that allows high school students to complete college courses. Most often, a student who participates in a dual enrollment opportunity will receive a credit at both the high school and college levels. While these dual credit opportunities are common throughout the country, they are not all identical. In some cases, a student will complete a dual enrollment course at their high school, while in other cases they will attend a local college or complete it online. Regardless of the format, dual enrollment opportunities allow students to take advantage of more subject-specific courses that align with their interests. If a student is considering a certain career path, participating in a dual enrollment program can allow them to get a taste of that field to see if they want to continue down that path, before they’ve officially enrolled in a college or university program.

To learn about the dual enrollment programs in your state, click here .

Career Technical Education (CTE) refers to “ education that combines academic and technical skills with the knowledge and training needed to succeed in today’s labor market.” Unlike traditional vocational education, CTE is not designed for a narrow segment of the student population. Rather, CTE derives its structure from the 16 Career Clusters in the National Career Clusters Framework, which include jobs from a wide variety of industries, such as manufacturing, agriculture, business, health care, and more. In this way, students with various vocational goals can benefit from CTE. Furthermore, CTE can help expose students to career possibilities. To discover what CTE students have to say about it, watch the video below.

Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) are federal grant programs designed to help students from low-income families enter and succeed in post-secondary education. One way grants can do this is through supporting programs that focus on making students college- and career-ready. For example, Desoto Independent School District created its college and career readiness program, NXT Generation GEAR UP , with the aim of building an academic community that will foster student success in post-secondary education.

AVID is an organization that provides a specialized curriculum that schools can purchase to prepare students for life after high school. Through access to professional development, resources, and support, AVID equips teachers and students all for the benefit of students. AVID partners with both primary and secondary schools so that students receive the education they need to prepare them for college and career success. In fact, the “college-going culture of an AVID Elementary campus encourages students to think about their college and career plans .” In this way, not only does AVID help equip students with the skills needed for academic success, but it also creates the perfect environment for meaningful career exploration. 

How the ChatterHigh Career Exploration Activity Works

ChatterHigh offers students a divergent career exploration experience through our 10-question Daily Quiz. The powerful algorithm behind the quiz allows students to discover countless post-secondary programs and career pathways, while also offering personalization as students progress through the activity. Here’s how it works.

Book a demo to learn more about ChatterHigh career exploration activities. hbspt.cta._relativeUrls=true;hbspt.cta.load(8361206, '31fefa79-0b9e-4921-839b-7b2bad56de22', {"useNewLoader":"true","region":"na1"});

Students receive questions relating to post-secondary education and career paths, as well as health, financial literacy, and labor market resources. After reading their question, students click “Research.”

Step 2 

Students are taken to the webpage containing the answer. Once they’ve found the answer, they return to the ChatterHigh site where they submit their response.

Students complete the Interest and Awareness Survey for the question they’ve just answered.

After answering a question about a post-secondary program or a career, students receive an Interest and Awareness Survey, which is a brief, 4-question survey. The first two questions are about the organization, while the last two are about the program or job. Indicating their level of interest allows the platform to learn what kinds of questions to tailor to the students after the students have answered 100 questions. The first 100 questions are dedicated to divergent exploration so that students are exposed to all the general areas of study. After answering 100 questions, a couple of questions in each quiz are personalized to the student based on the interests they’ve previously indicated in their surveys. (To learn more about the benefits of ChatterHigh’s personalized career exploration activity, check out this blog .)

Students review and reflect on their exploration by clicking on “Interests” at the top of their screen. 

Thanks to the Interest and Awareness Survey, everything that catches a student’s attention while they quiz (that is, anything they rank as “Interesting” or “Very Interesting”) is recorded in their Interests Profile. The more they quiz, the more interests they accumulate and the more reports they unlock! There are a number of helpful reports available to students within the Interests Profile. In particular, the Top 5 Interest Report allows students to compare their top five colleges and universities, programs of study, and jobs and careers. (Click here to learn about how the Top 5 Interest Report can help your students reflect on their post-secondary options.)

Students use the points they’ve earned from quizzing to enter prize draws or to donate to charity. 

The chance to win prizes and donate to charity motivates students to engage in career exploration, particularly during a competition. (Click here to find out when our next national competition is happening.)

Have a Question or Want a Closer Look at ChatterHigh's Career Exploration Activity?

Feel free to contact us or book a demo. We’d be happy to answer any questions you may have. Don't forget, you can download this entire page as a pdf to refer back to or share with colleagues. 

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High school students often tire of being asked, “What are your career plans?” Some students have no idea how to answer the question. Others may give a rote answer just to stop the questions. There are actually so many career choices available that high school students can pursue that they need direction in order to discover their own interests and skills. They may discover that opportunities are available they never even thought of before. Here are just a few suggestions that may help in career research for high school students.

Brainstorming

This may seem like a simple suggestion, but it is a good first step. Students should make a list of things they like and do not like to do and classes they like and do not like. For example, do they like history class but hate math class or vice versa? Do they like to work in groups or do they prefer to work alone? Do they like to work indoors or outdoors?

Assessment tests

There a variety of assessment tests that may be administered at high schools. If not, they can be found online. Some examples are:

• Myer-Briggs Test:  This analyzes personality characteristics and how a person interacts with people or if they prefer not to interact with people at all.
• Strong Interest Inventory:  This helps students who are having trouble identifying their interests and helps focus on what a student truly enjoys doing.
• Self-Directed Search:  This test focuses on identifying skills and interests.
• Skill Scan Test:  This focuses on seven specific skills and assists a student in determining which skills they have or want to develop.

Assessment tests are just stepping stones to identifying potential careers. Results should not be used to direct a person to or away from a specific career but should be used only as tools to help identify career choices.

Research potential careers

A few specific careers can be identified in order to pursue career research for high school students. The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes an Occupational Outlook Handbook which provides detailed information for every possible job including:

• Job description
• Specific employers or types of employers
• Salary ranges
• Expected job growth over the next few years
• Educational requirements
• Where the jobs are located

Informational interviews

Students may know or can be introduced to someone who works in a job the student is interested in pursuing as a career. Guiding the student to develop interview questions of the professional person can be helpful. Students can get real answers to their career questions from people who actually work every day in the career of interest. Students can be guided to ask questions such as:

• How did the person train for the job?
• What does the person like best about the job?
• What does the person dislike about the job?
• What has the person learned that they wish they had known before pursuing the career?
• What advice does the professional have concerning what the student should and should not do in pursuit of the career?

Job shadowing

Some schools have job shadowing programs that give students the opportunity of actually working with a professional in the career of the student’s choice. The student arranges to spend several hours with the professional to “shadow” them and see exactly what they do on a daily basis.

If the school does not have a shadowing program established students can contact the local Chamber of Commerce for business directories and suggestions of professionals who may be contacted. Students can then set up individual job shadowing experiences.

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Tagged as: Career and Technical Education ,  High School (Grades: 9-12)

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9 Career Exploration Activities High Schoolers Will Actually Want To Do

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Career Exploration Activities High Schoolers Will Actually Want To Do

Great college counselors and career advisors always strive to ensure that each student is able to develop a personalized roadmap for their future. Beyond creating a bridge between secondary school and postsecondary success, career exploration plays a critical role for students while in school and provides thoughtful reflection and self-examination as students choose their life path. High-quality career exploration helps give meaning to the learning students are doing while in school, provides focus for their decision-making and time, and inspires hope for where their learning and hard work can take them. 

Many schools and districts offer students annual or semi-annual career days and fairs as a primary channel for career exploration. Often times these events highlight individuals in the most common career roles or representatives from local businesses and business community organizations with brand recognition. Though these assemblies are important, they do not, on their own, impactfuly engage students in an ongoing process of deeper exploration necessary to drive meaningful questioning, engagement, and speculative research throughout secondary school.  

Because of the important role it plays, career exploration must be ongoing and interesting to students in order to effectively engage them and promote motivation and enthusiasm. Counselors and educators can play a key role in finding ways to embed innovative practices to help students explore possible careers, learn about a much broader set of potential career options, and receive sufficient time and guidance--all allowing students to deeply consider their postsecondary career paths.

Innovative, Engaging Activities And Practices

In order for career exploration activities to be meaningful and exciting to today’s high school students, they need to be interactive and relevant. They must involve opportunities for student voice and choice, allowing students to explore and discern what appeals to them and what does not. And, in order to work within a college and career readiness program, the activities need to be scalable and accessible for all students. 

Use Technology to Connect Students with Career Role Models

Today’s students are all 21st Century natives. They learned to read with books and apps. Video calls are just as common as telephone calls. They are used to using digital devices to connect with people near and far. Technology has made it much easier to connect students to information and resources beyond the school walls and get them excited about future career possibilities. Encourage students to explore websites that connect them with first-hand insights of professionals from around the world. 

• Career Village : This online community provides a forum for students to ask questions about career exploration and planning directly to current professionals. From “How much does a music producer earn?” to “How to find your dream job,” students are able to have their specific questions answered from real-life professionals working in the fields they are exploring.
• Job Shadow : At Job Shadow, students can read interviews from professionals working in a vast number of fields, including some more unique professions that might be of interest to students such as jobs in the arts, roles that involve work with animals, and “jobs you may not have heard of.” Students can also search for interviews based on compensation structure or work environment. 

Use Virtual Reality to Explore Career Options 

Hands-on, interactive, and dynamic experiences are important to engage students and give them a realistic window into what a career will entail. Some of the most innovative work in career exploration is utilizing virtual reality (VR) to provide immersive experiences for students to do jobs. Though internships, apprenticeships, and other immersive, real-world experiences are only possible for a small number of students, VR can provide access to the environments, tools, and opportunities in a wide variety of industries without leaving the classroom. 

• Oculus VR Career Experience : This free resource designed for the Oculus Go platform, the most popular consumer VR headset, provides students with the opportunity to learn the complex world of pipe fitting, HVAC, and welding. The application was designed by the International Training Fund of the United Association, an international union of plumbers, fitters, and technicians, to provide students with an immersive and realistic window into these jobs.
• ByteSpeed : ByteSpeed, available for a fee, provides students ranging from elementary school to higher education a wide variety of career VR experiences including agriculture, fashion design, health care, and engineering.

Partner with Local Chambers of Commerce and Beyond

A core piece of career planning needs to include job opportunities within one’s community. A local chamber of commerce is the perfect resource. Encourage the local chamber of commerce to have member businesses create YouTube videos spotlighting their work and different types of potential jobs for students. Some local business organizations have partnered with school districts to create sites geared specifically toward secondary students to share the types of jobs available and the skills needed to do those roles. You might also invite local businesses to provide teachers with recruitment, application, and training materials for students. 

• Career Explore NW : A school district in Spokane, Washington has partnered with local businesses and the public broadcasting station to create an impressive web platform that enables career exploration, promotes local agriculture and industry opportunities, and connects local businesses with students.  
• UpSkill Houston : In Houston, Texas, the Greater Houston Partnership has brought the school district into the workforce development process. Realizing that economic development requires a skill-ready workforce at hand, rather than importing it from other communities, the organization formed this partnership and site aimed at connecting high school students with relevant careers.   
• SchooLinks : SchooLinks provides an Industry Partnership Portal which assists schools and districts in nurturing partnerships. Providing student access, calendaring events, and empowering local businesses to connect to students helps create real-world opportunities for students to explore local career options.  

Include A Diversity of Voices

Students are more likely to deeply engage with career exploration activities when they can personally relate to or see themselves in career role models. It is vital that schools offer students exposure to a wide diversity of individuals representing possible career pathways. Expanding conceptions of role models for students both opens the minds of current students and works to upend historical stereotypes and barriers long-term. 

• Invite Recent Alumni: Consider offering students opportunities to talk with and learn from individuals still early in their career trajectory, rather than just focusing on those who have achieved long-term career success. You might invite recent alumni to talk with students about their experiences both in college or career training, applying for positions, and during their first weeks and months in a new role. This gives students much more relatable information and advice that likely feels more relevant to their current decision-making and thinking.
• Ensure Gender, Racial, and Ethnic Diversity in Role Models : Across fields, take special care to include representatives that fall outside often held gender stereotypes for particular careers. For instance, spotlight women working in positions from predominantly male STEM careers. And, have male representation from nursing or teaching positions, which are often female-dominated careers. The Career Girls website is a great resource geared at female students to provide them with empowering role models and tools to explore future career options. Ensure racial and ethnic diversity in connecting students with professionals as it is fundamental that all students have role models that they can personally identify with.

Honor And Value A Wide Array Of Career Pathways

Engaging career exploration also includes guidance and activities to help students expand their thinking beyond what they conceive of as likely career paths. Many times student career planning and exploration is constrained by what they know--either what their own family members do for a living, professionals they interact with in their own lives such as teachers, doctors, and coaches, or those they see on television and the internet. This leaves major gaps in student understanding of all the potential opportunities and fields that exist. Educators can have major impacts on postsecondary success by showing students the wide array of options that are possible and connecting those options with student strengths and preferences. 

Additionally, many career exploration curricula often default to college planning as a core component. However, in today’s economy, there are a myriad of good job options that do not require a four-year college degree. It does a disservice to students to only focus on career paths that extend from college completion. Career counselors can play an important role in helping students to see these different pathways--from straight to career, to technical education, to the military, to community college, to four-year degrees and beyond--as all potentially worthwhile to consider. This makes career planning and exploration accessible to students who do not think that college is right for them and helps all students understand their options as they make important life decisions.

Relevant And Productive Career Exploration For All Students

As you develop and plan your career exploration activities, take time to regularly survey students for fields they would like to explore, the kinds of activities that resonate with them, and for feedback on past activities and events. By aligning career exploration activities with student interest and choice, it is much more likely that students will engage more deeply and reflectively. 

When students do this, they are able to see connections between future career goals and their current learning; they are able to figure out the kinds of work they enjoy and those they do not; and, they are able to understand how their strengths and preferences map onto future possibilities. By deeply exploring career possibilities during secondary school and critically thinking about the associated realities, students are able to enter postsecondary life knowing they are making active and well-informed choices. Ultimately, if students are excited about these activities and thoughtfully engage with them, they are better prepared for the entire pathway to a career.

Centralizing career exploration activities in the same place as goal setting, college exploration and graduation plans can help students see the little, and big pictures. Check out how SchooLinks can consolidate it all for your district.

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7 Career Exploration Activities For High School Students

High school students, at their age, have acquired a lot of knowledge. They still wonder what they are going to do with the knowledge attained or in which job they will ‘fit in’. If you are also going through the same fix, take a more cognitive approach to find where your future lies. 

We bring you here some of the career exploration activities that help you find your calling after completing high school or levels beyond that. You can do these activities along with your friends or may take the help of a teacher or placement cells in colleges wherever external support is required.

Interesting career exploration activities 

• Interview a successful CEO 

Interviewing is an art that can help you get the facts right from the horse’s mouth. The students can request CEOs or key executives of companies operating in your city to visit your high school as guests. It requires: 

• Make a list of companies or offices in your city
• Sending a formal invitation letter to the guest CEO
• Preparing a questionnaire with the help of friends
• Organizing a session for Q & As.

It is an activity that may require you to reach out to the school management or teacher to help you get the CEO for the session. 

A quick tip: Refer to the alumni list of your own school; the successful alumni will love to come down to help you and revisit their high school time. 

• Live a day in the shoes of…

How about knowing firsthand the job responsibilities, challenges, and rewards that come with any job profile? Organize a day visit to the companies and let the high schooler spend it in the company of the professional that he/she wants to become. 

High schoolers may be selected based on the interest they show and match with the profiles where their interests are utilized the best. 

Some of the job profiles that usually get the attention of high schoolers are:

• Physical Training Expert
• Veterinary Doctor
• Public Relations Officer
• Air Traffic Controller
• Marine Biologist

Try to include the job profiles which are not usually known. It may help high schoolers get an idea of the jobs that they may not hear about from family or friends.

• Take Surveys

Career exploration surveys are designed to explore the interests of the students. The main motive of these surveys is to prepare the profile of the students and match them with the opportunities available.

Students want to take up careers that are likely to fill them with monetary as well as emotional satisfaction. For that correct profiling of aptitude and the areas where that bend of mind is utilized the best, the surveys are designed. 

• Chalk out career pathways in different fields

What does reaching the dream career look like? Having an idea about it beforehand helps you know how to prepare for different phases and milestones. We all have readily available information sources – working parents, elder siblings, teachers – who can share their journey. 

Using their experiences, you can draw a flow chart that tells about the courses to join, the entry levels in various fields, the experience required to move to higher positions, etc. Thus, you get in front of you a visual presentation of the career graph in the desired field. For example, you can make a career path for becoming a surgeon . That will help you know classes to join, how to apply, entry-level jobs, etc.

This simple activity can help students stay focused on their path to reaching their career goals and make efforts in the correct direction.

• Brainstorming career ideas with friends

Tweak the career aspect in your ‘Know your friends’ activity and you will get an interesting career exploration activity to do with your friends. As you grow and reach the high school level, you get a vague idea of your areas of interest, aptitude, and life you want to live as an adult. 

With all this information stuffed inside, you can find an outlet in your friends with whom you can sit and brainstorm ideas. Brainstorming serves two ways. First, you get to know about various fields available for making a career. Second, you find friends who share your aspirations. Thus, you find the company that is likely to stay with you in life beyond high school.

• Career assessment charts

These are similar to surveys, but offer a peek into the level of liking the high school students have in different areas of work. The list of the jobs is added in the rightmost column and the degree of liking – least liked to most liked columns are to be ticked in front of every job. It helps the students discover their strengths, likes, and aptitudes for various job profiles.

These charts are available in the form of free interests profiler and personality profiler too. 

• Career exploration worksheets

These worksheets are designed keeping various purposes in mind. The students can fill these worksheets by doing research or using their literary skills. A few examples of free worksheets for career exploration are:

• Find your Right Job Worksheet: It is a research-oriented resource to help understand find the opportunities available after completing college. To fill out this worksheet, the students may go through the employment news, career portals, ‘Careers’ section of the business websites, etc., and shortlist the jobs that they find appealing. Also, they will fill out the details like qualifications required for the job, job responsibilities, and growth possibilities of the job. 
• Career research worksheet: It is a part of life skill activity too. The students can fill out the worksheet stating the scope of the job, how it serves the community, how it offers stability in life, and what factors of the job match their personal aspirations. 
• Income from career worksheet: It is again an exploratory activity where high schoolers note down the job profiles and find the salary packages and perks offered to the candidates. 

Free sites where you can find these career exploration activities

Wondering where you can get the ready-to-use support for carrying out career exploration activities? Worry no further! Listed here are some of the best sites that provide you the free resources to help you with career exploration.

• Career Research Handout at Teachers Pay Teachers
• Interest profiler at My Next Move
• Career Assessment Questionnaire at Truity
• Career Exploration Worksheets and Activities at Workforce Solutions
• Career Planning Resource by Biz world

Summing up,

To become successful in life, planning from an early stage helps a lot. Career planning and exploration as a part of the high school curriculum make complete sense as it helps students understand their skill set and go for jobs where they are happy and actively contributing.

By taking cognizance of the courses required to do and jobs that offer good salaries, experience required for growth, etc., the students can be clear in their minds about the future. It will help them have an action plan that yields positive results. 

Sananda Bhattacharya, Chief Editor of TheHighSchooler, is dedicated to enhancing operations and growth. With degrees in Literature and Asian Studies from Presidency University, Kolkata, she leverages her educational and innovative background to shape TheHighSchooler into a pivotal resource hub. Providing valuable insights, practical activities, and guidance on school life, graduation, scholarships, and more, Sananda’s leadership enriches the journey of high school students.

Explore a plethora of invaluable resources and insights tailored for high schoolers at TheHighSchooler, under the guidance of Sananda Bhattacharya’s expertise. You can follow her on Linkedin

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14 Career Sites for High School Students (All Free)

By: Author Amanda L. Grossman

Posted on Last updated: January 9, 2024

Helping high school students choose a career? Career sites for high school students plus free career exploration activities for high school students.

Helping high school students choose a career?

It’s an awesome thing to give teens motivation and purpose behind their education – experts say this can increase their focus, interest, and even get more of your students to graduate. 

The thing is: most students can’t name very many careers or job types. It’s because they haven’t been exposed to tons of industries, careers, vocations, or even jobs.

That's why career awareness and career exploration for students is so important at this stage in life.

These career sites for high school students will help them to first cast a broad net into career and skillset exploration, and then to narrow their lists down enough so that that they can do meaningful career and job research.

Helping High School Students Choose a Career

Before we jump into these great websites, let's put a little structure to how you can help a high school student choose a career.

Plus, let's manage our expectations a bit. I mean, it's not 100% likely that a high school student is able to pick out what they want to be (even after they go through all this career exploration) at this age.

And that's okay!

I think it's important to help them narrow down 2-4 possible fields, and then put in some research into those. Using the websites below.

Here are some steps to help high schoolers pick 2-4 career fields to research:

Step #1: Skillset Identification

First, you need to help a student figure out what their skill set is.

Step #2: Interests Identification

Then, you need to help them figure out what they’re interested in doing, that is a paid position.

Step #3: Match Skillset and Interests to Career Fields

Where these two things intersect is where they should be looking for careers and jobs.

BUT, they might have a ton of different industries/jobs/careers that come back from this stage.

So, they’ll need to narrow that list down to do meaningful career research.

Step #4: Narrow Careers Down

Once they’ve narrowed down to 3-5 different jobs, they’ll want to run each through a research phase to learn more.

Step #5: Research those Careers to Find Out More

Researching a career:

• Income Ranges
• Education Requirements
• Skills Requirements
• Different job types
• Day in the Life
• Reading career books for students

Let's dive into how to do all of this, with some pretty awesome + free career sites for high schoolers.

Career Sites for High School Students – Skills Exploration

This section of career sites for high schoolers is dedicated to free online quizzes that will help your students figure out what their current skill set is, and which ones they might want to develop further.

Psst: got students who will not be going to college? Here's a resource of the best careers without college . You also might want to check out RISE Up's free classroom activities from the National Retail Federation.

1. Princeton Review’s Career Quiz

Students will need to register (for free), and then answer a series of 24 questions.

They’ll then receive one of four “interest colors” for “Your Interest” and “Your Style”:

• Red: Expediting
• Green: Communicating
• Blue: Planning
• Yellow: Administrating

For example, I received Yellow for both. Which means I’m interested in jobs that require organizing and systematizing, and my style is to work where in an orderly manner with few surprises (haha!).

You can then tab over to “Recommended Careers” for a list specific to your interest and style.

Bonus: One of my recommended careers? Is a small business owner…which I am. Woohoo!

2. Career Girls Career Quiz

Here’s a personality-based career quiz for girls that offers 35 different characteristics they can check off about themselves (multiple choice is totally allowed).

Then, based on those personality traits, they’ll receive a list of appropriate careers.

For example, I plugged in about 10 different ones about myself, and got the following list of potential careers:

• Real Estate Agent
• Athletic Trainer
• Physical Therapist
• Social Worker
• Human Resources Manager
• Sociologist
• Fitness Trainer
• Emergency Management Director
• Psychologist

3. O*Net Interest Profiler

Gives you RIASEC interest levels, which correspond with different jobs.

• Investigative
• Enterprising
• Conventional

Once you get your interests, you then go here and find out which jobs line up with those interests.

Hint: if you don’t have time to get your students using this website? Then they can take the PDF version of the quiz .

4. Education.com Online Career Test

Answer 35 questions, register with an email, and then you get your results (on the same screen – not through your email).

The different types of career paths you get measured for:

• Service-minded
• Communications
• Environmental

Note: this site steers students towards the type of coursework they should take, based on their results.

5. Career One Stop’s Skill Matcher

Career One Stop has figured out 40 workplace skills, and created a skills matcher to help students match their real-life skills with them.

Students can choose a beginner, basic, skilled, advanced, or expert level in each of the 40 listed workplace skills.

In the end, they’ll offer your teens a list of jobs where their natural skills and the ones they want to develop come into play.

Career Sites for High School Students – Career Awareness

Career awareness for high school students is so important. Remember, most students can rattle off maybe 20 careers or job types – but there are literally thousands or even millions of different types of jobs out there.

Psst: here's a take your child to work day activity you might want to try, for small business owners.

Not only that, but making students aware of the skills needed for certain careers so that they can work towards getting those, as well as what a day in the life of that job looks like, is critical as they continue to tweak their career choices moving forward.

These career sites for high school students will help you do all of that, and more. Plus, they all offer free resources that I’ll point out, below!

1. Road Trip Nation

An incredibly cool website for students – where people travel around the US in an Green RV, to talk about and document people in all types of jobs about work that they love, getting lost in their careers, finding their ways, etc.

Students can click “Start Your Roadmap”, and then answer three different questions. Then, they’re sent to a page of actual job ideas that list, among other info, the trend on that type of career (how much it’s growing or not growing). Not only that, but you can click over to “Leaders” and “Majors” to get more info/follow in the footsteps of how others got to that position.

I just love the milestones listed for how someone got into a particular job!

2. Career Girls

I cannot say enough good things about this website – it’s got a huge amount of resources for teen girls to:

• Discover things about themselves
• Research different career paths
• Hear from career role models about specific jobs
• Figure out how to develop employment skills they’re lacking

Be sure to check out this page , where you can download guides that will outline how the activities on this site align with Common Core Standards.

3. Career Village

Here’s a really cool site that will connect your high school students with real-world professionals so that they can get their profession-specific questions answered.

Students can leave a question, and a professional will (hopefully) respond to it!

Actually, I’m really impressed with the responses from real professionals.

Just check out an example:

4. Job Shadow

On this site, students can listen to over 400 videos from professionals talking about what a day in their work life looks like.

Interviews are available from professions like:

• Bail Bondsmen
• Firefighter
• Radiologist
• Veterinarian
• Pharmaceutical Rep
• And many, many more

5. Vault’s Day in the Life

Check out this collection of written “Day in the Life” from hundreds of professionals in all kinds of career fields.

For example, under “Human Services”, you can find a Day in the Life from:

• An in-House Grant Writer
• A Foundation Officer
• A Peace Corp Volunteer

6. Mapping Your Future

On this site, there’s the following options:

• Visit the featured career
• Match my career interests
• Review careers by clusters
• Career search

I specifically like the career clusters, because once your student gets an idea of a broad industry they’d like to be in (like “healthcare”), this tool helps them drill down into lots of specific jobs that fall under that.

7. Department of Labor Employment Websites

When researching teen career sites for this article, I was pleasantly surprised to find youth and student career resources on my own state’s employment website.

You can find your state’s various employment websites here , and then root around to see what youth and student resources/services they have.

8. My Future

You can input a generic industry/career type (like “science”), and it spits out tons of job titles and salary ranges for that industry.

9. The Forage

The Forage is this awesome new concept where actual companies who hire people everyday have created virtual internship experiences.

Not only that, but:

• You can usually put the certification/experience on your resume (they have instructions at the end of each)
• Recruiters routinely go through completers of these programs first to find new job candidates

I reached out to them, and there are actually 4 intern experiences high school students can take online, for free!

Here they are:

• Kennedys Virtual Experience Programme
• Global Introduction to Law Program
• ANZ Job Ready Virtual Experience Program

They just opened up this program to high school students, so be on the lookout for further opportunities in the future.

Psst: looking for more? I've included some career game sites in this article on career exploration for students .

10. MyCareerTech

This is a free platform created with CTE certified teachers.

Each topic comes with video lessons, a certification, lesson plans, and tests.

Career clusters are extensive – check them out:

Career Awareness for High School Students

What exactly does it mean to be “career aware” for high schoolers?

Let's discuss that.

I think there are several things teens need to know in order to be career aware.

Student Understands Difference Between a Job and a Career

A job is different from a career, and vice versa.

A job is “a paid position of regular employment.” A career is “an occupation undertaken for a significant period of a person's life and with opportunities for progress.”

Each person's career will likely be filled with multiple jobs, internships, etc.

Also, sometimes you take a job that you don't necessarily want or like, because:

• a) it pays the bills
• b) it's a stepping stone to where you eventually do want to get to

Student Understands How Skills Work within Careers

There are specific skills someone must have to work in a particular field. Some skills you need to have before you can even apply for an entry-level position. Some skills, you obtain while on the job.

Skills can be obtained through apprenticeships, through internships, through education, through experience, through extra-curricular classes you take online, etc.

Here's a great CommonLit reading assignment called, “Will the ‘Right” College Major Get You a Job?” Another great one to give your students is “The Myth of the College Dropout” .

Pro Tip: It's important for students to know that some skills are “transferrable”, meaning, you can use that same skill in a different career (and you should point those out in a resume if you're looking to switch jobs).

Student Understands the Career Industry is Dynamic and Ever-Changing

Careers go in and out. Sometimes a career is trending up, and sometimes it's dying out. Sometimes, it's maintaining.

Something else that's particularly important for high school students to understand – since they haven't entered the job market yet and might not be for several more years – is how a particular career is trending.

You wouldn't want them to spend 4 years studying for a career field that will hardly be available when they get out of college or trade school, right?

That's why I love the bureau of labor’s Occupational Outlook Handbook , which shares if a particular field is growing/expanding or not.

Student Understands Careers Have Different Pay

While each career holds a host of jobs at different pay points, we all know that some career fields pay more than others. Not only that, but some career fields have more hourly-type jobs, while others have more salary-type jobs.

Wow – did you make it all the way to the end? A gold star for YOU! I hope you found these career sites for high school students helpful, and are super-pumped to help that next generation of workers to get a clearer path on how to move forward. Not only that, but THANK YOU for your work as a teacher! We need more caring role models for students like you.

And if your teen is ready to start earning something on the side now? Here are the best online jobs for teens that pay .

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Home » Teens

Career Sites and Resources for High School Students

Check out these great resources to help you explore and research career paths as a teen.

Careers offer us an opportunity to work daily in an area we are passionate about! We can grow, change, mature, and develop a skill set in an area that truly interests us. When we do work that matters, we’re happier, more focused, and have a better outlook on life overall.

Most teens are only exposed to a limited number of careers by the adults in their lives, so it’s important to find resources that help us explore careers outside those already right in front of us.

So, let’s discuss career choices, how to research career fields you’re interested in, and where to find research resources that are credible and helpful!

Exploring Career Awareness and Job Research

Many of us didn’t find our dream career directly after high school, but we explored jobs that interested us and built skills that allowed us to take the next step in the journey to finding what fits us. 

CareerVillage

This forum allows teen career seekers to ask questions of professionals from all walks of life in many different careers. The responses are well thought out and specific to the questions being asked. 

Road Trip Nation 

If you’re looking for a fulfilling career, this series of almost 9,000 documentaries explores opportunities, unique career paths, and learning styles through their constant pursuit of new stories by taking their show on the road.

Career Girls

An incredible resource for girls that provides access to female leaders that are role models in their industry and video training that teaches skills such as “how to be a leader,” “being confident,” and “career exploration 101”. 

Mapping Your Future

The perfect resource for career seekers that have an idea of an industry that they would like to explore but don’t know what jobs are available in the industry that could fit your skills. Take quizzes to find jobs that fit your personality and strengths, then explore them.

This site offers a comprehensive list of over 400 interviews that showcase a day in the life of business owners and employees in industries, from stock analysts to bail bondsmen. This resource allows you to see their job duties, evaluate if this career could be a good fit for you, and help you decide whether or not to pursue it further.

Firsthand: Day in the Life 

A huge library of articles written by industry experts in their field that take you through their entire day so you can read about what a day in the life would look like for you should you choose to pursue that career. 

Department of Labor

Every state in the US has its own Department of Labor website with resources on unemployment, job industries in the state, minimum wage, health and safety for employees, workers’ compensation, and apprenticeship programs. Most states have information available specifically for teens or recent graduates!

Browse jobs by pay, industry, highest availability, no degree required, management, and so much more! Type in a keyword to the jobs database, and so many amazing resources are available. If you need help writing a resume, researching careers, applying, or interviewing for jobs, there are resources available.

MyCareerTech

A free platform full of video lessons, full lesson plans, certification courses, and post-curriculum tests based on industry that was created by certified teachers. Use these resources to strengthen your resume and on-the-job skill set!

US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) K-12 Resource Center

This site offers an Occupational Outlook Handbook with specific resources on various jobs that may interest you. Find information on how to start in the career field and possible growth opportunities, and get creative on how to fund your education.

Take career quizzes to find careers that may interest you, and then research what those career fields look like. Are there jobs available? What training is required? Dig around and see if you can find apprenticeships available on this site that will help you get experience in the field!

Learn about the benefits of finding a career mentor, taking career assessments, developing your learning plan for college or trade school, finding job training or advanced skill set trainings, where to go for job search assistance, how to develop soft skills, applying for apprenticeships in your chosen field, and the differences between internships and apprenticeships. This resource is full of helpful tips and other websites to check out!

This initiative was started by President Obama and is focused on helping teens find gainful employment that leads to long-term careers by providing resources for exploring educational opportunities, crafting strong resumes, and networking to build strong work relationships through mentorship, apprenticeships, internships, and meaningful summer jobs that could turn into long term employment. 

Career Vision

A strong list of potential resources for high school students looking to: experience college campus tours, internships and apprenticeships, career planning, college applications and admissions, finding ways to finance your college education, planning your college journey, how to manage stress, and exploring careers. 

LiveBinders

Career development and planning resources intentionally designed as a one-stop shop of career resources for high school students and career counselors. These resources are meant to teach about job searching, preparing for interviews, the application process, job shadowing, career planning, military opportunities, interactive and educational games that target various career paths, and so much more!

Finding Careers that Fit You

How are we supposed to know what jobs will fit our skills, personality, or life experiences if we’ve never worked a job before or have never worked a job in an industry that we feel we could be passionate about?

Job skills tests or quizzes are a great way to determine your current skills and those you need to strengthen to work in a career you’re interested in OR figure out jobs that could fit you. Let’s look at some quizzes!

Princeton Review Career Quiz

Registration to use this resource is free by registering with your email, and then you answer a series of 24 questions. The questions fall into four categories:

• Yellow: Administrative
• Blue: Planning
• Red: Expediting
• Green: Communicating

These categories will help you figure out your interests and your work style, then give you a list of recommended careers that would fit your individual personality based on your quiz results. 

One of the recommended career choices I received when taking this quiz was “Business Owner,” and I had to laugh because I’ve owned my own businesses for 20 years now!

Career Girls Career Quiz

This quiz is targeted towards teen girls and offers 35 personality traits that you can check off if you feel they fit your personality. After submitting your answers, you can look over a list of possible career choices based on those answers. Apparently, my personality traits would help me be a great social worker, psychologist, or human resources manager!

Education.com Career Test

More than 1.6 million career researchers have taken this comprehensive quiz highlighting possible careers and degree choices if you’re uncertain or just want reassurance in your choice. There are 35 questions, and the categories of questions include:

• Environmental
• Communications
• Customer Service or Service-Oriented

O*Net Interest Profiler

Based on the psychological initiative RIASEC, this quiz measures your personal interests and then lines you up with jobs or careers that fit those interests. RIASEC stands for:

• Investigative
• Enterprising
• Conventional

CareerOneStop Skill Matcher

This is a career quiz sponsored by the US Department of Labor and helps potential job seekers explore careers, match to training opportunities, and find jobs in those fields, so it’s a helpful, one-stop shop for career searches. 

Quiz takers are asked to rate themselves as a beginner, basic, skilled, advanced, or expert level in a series of 40 different job skills in multiple categories. Use this tool to find your natural gifts and talents or those you want to work on to find the best career choice for you. 

Start Planning Early!

Career planning is different from searching for a job. A career is a long-term plan you create with actionable steps and a clear path for progression. You can choose a career you’re passionate about so that work doesn’t become a chore and you enjoy your work days. 

As a high school student or recent graduate, planning for your career can be hard to navigate so the resources included here are great for learning about available careers, industries that have available jobs and pay well, how to negotiate salaries, finding mentors, evaluating job offers, and so much more.

Getting an early start on career planning while in high school will help you choose a great college or trade school that will set you up for starting your first job after you graduate. We recommend finding opportunities to network with people already working in the industry that can answer questions or hook you up with possible internships or apprenticeships that will give you on-the-job training.

Related Reading

• Career prep for teens
• Best career prep books for teens
• Median starting salaries for various careers

The MagLab is funded by the National Science Foundation and the State of Florida.

• Education /
• Science Highlights /
• 2023-North-Florida-Worlds-of-Work-Career-Expo

2023 North Florida Worlds of Work (WOW) Career Expo

Published May 15, 2024

The MagLab participated in North Florida's first "Worlds of Work" Career Expo event to expose high school students to the many high-demand, high-wage career opportunities that exist in the North Florida region.

What is this event?

To showcase the many career paths in MagLab-related STEM fields, Kawana Johnson organized a MagLab table to participate in the inaugural North Florida Worlds of Work (WOW) Career Expo, October 20-21, 2023. Over 3,000 ninth-grade students, 100 employers, teachers, and parents from the North Florida area converged on the campuses of Tallahassee Community College and Lively Technical College for this inaugural event. The WOW event aimed to create a broader awareness of the many high demand, high wage job opportunities that exist in North Florida, particularly for high school students so they could best plan their education pathway.

Why is this important?

There are many STEM careers that do not require a bachelor’s degree. This segment of the STEM workforce is a crucial, but often under-appreciated part of the science and engineering enterprise. They are vital to our economic prosperity, our scientific and technological competitiveness, and our national security. Indeed, the Skilled Technical Workforce consists of more than 17 million workers who use science and engineering expertise and technical knowledge in their jobs.

Who did the research?

K. W. Johnson 1

1 National High Magnetic Field Laboratory

Why did they need the MagLab?

Many students may be unaware of the diverse career opportunities available at the MagLab and the pathways to pursue them. Through this activity, the MagLab was able to provide students with exposure to various career options within a national laboratory setting while also showcasing some of our talented scientists, engineers, technicians, and machinists. This awareness helps students make informed decisions about their educational and career paths, improving retention and graduation rates.

This research was funded by the following grants: G.S. Boebinger (NSF DMR-2128556)

For more information, contact Kawana Johnson .

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NSF CAREER Awards

Andrew Bragg, Manolis Veveakis

New Research Awards

Professional honors.

Petroski Named a Fellow of Sigma Xi

Henry Petroski was honored by “The Scientific Research Honor Society” for distinguished accomplishments and engaging histories of bridges in American Scientist

Borsuk Appointed to U.S. EPA Science Advisory Board

Mark Borsuk will use his wealth of experience and knowledge on assessing environmental risk to help guide the agency’s programs and plans

University Honors

Claudia Gunsch was named Associate Vice Provost for Faculty Advancement , providing leadership in Duke University’s efforts to ensure an inclusive and respectful environment where faculty, students, and staff can thrive and excel.

Marc Deshusses received an Incubation Fund Award from Duke Innovation and Entrepreneurship Initiative, providing $60,000 of support for further development of Stirling Solar Energy Generating System (S2EGS). This low-cost, renewable energy solution aims to generate and store energy by coupling a Stirling Engine with concentrated solar collectors and hot water storage.

Mike Bergin was named a Bass Fellow in recognition of his excellence in research and undergraduate education.

Michael Valerino, a PhD student in the Bergin lab, was awarded the 2021 Clean Energy Prize from the Duke University Energy Initiative and Innovation & Entrepreneurship Initiative. The $10K award will support Michael as he leads a team to develop an interactive, data-driven platform that aims to reduce the $10 billion in solar energy losses sustained annually, owed to dust accumulations on solar panels.

Graduate Student Honors: Senol Utku Annual Awards

This competition recognizes graduate students and their faculty advisors for intellectual excellence, creativity and quality of papers published in peer-reviewed journals.

Hanna Varga: Highest Distinction

“Effect of Dust Composition on the Reversibility of Photovoltaic Panel Soiling” Environmental Science & Technology. dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.0c06196

Advisor: Mark R. Wiesner

Boyang Zhang: Highest Distinction

“Gauss’s Principle with Inequality Constraints for Multi-agent Navigation and Control” IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control, VOL. 67, NO. 2, February 2022

Advisor: Henri P. Gavin

Alexander McCumber: High Distinction

“The Environment Shapes Swine Lung Bacterial Communities” Science of the Total Environment 758 (2021) 14362

Advisor: Claudia Gunsch

Mohammadreza Momenifar: High Distinction

“Local Analysis of the Clustering, Velocities, and Accelerations of Particles Settling in Turbulence” Physical Review Fluids 5, 034306 (2020)

Advisor: Andrew D. Bragg

Tongshu Zheng: High Distinction

“Estimating Ground-Level Pm2.5 Using Micro-Satellite Images by a Convolutional Neural Network and Random Forest Approach” Atmospheric Environment 230 (2020) 117451

Advisor: David E. Carlson

International Programs

Meet Jongkwan Yun: From South Korea to Iowa, gaining real-world experience in sport management

Jongkwan Yun is a senior at the University of Iowa (UI) majoring in sport and recreation management with a concentration area in communications public relations/journalism, while minoring in news and media literacy. Yun's interest in sports began as a ski instructor at Konjiam Resort in South Korea. When he was a student in sports management at a Korean college, he had a chance to study abroad in Canada and intern at IFung Sports Management, a Canadian soccer agency . These experiences led him to transfer to Iowa to further his undergraduate studies and gain work experience.  

“I was accepted to several colleges in the U.S. when I was looking to transfer, and the two biggest reasons I chose Iowa were credit recognition and field experience classes,” reflected Yun. “I chose my concentration area and minor because there is an unofficial saying in sport management: ‘A minor is mandatory, double major is optional.’ Also, Iowa ranks high in journalism.”

"Embrace the challenge! It is okay to get hit a lot and get hurt a lot — we are students at Iowa, where we have the support and resources to help us get back up if we fall."

Internship at the Iowa Cubs

After gaining hands-on field experience from the UI Athletic Department Fans First, Yun is currently interning in the operations and promotions department of the Iowa Cubs, the Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs, through curricular practical training (CPT). “The help from UI International Student and Scholar Services and Professor Anna Jensen, director of Office of Field Experience in sport and recreation management, was invaluable when getting a full-time CPT,” shared Yun, who is a recipient of the 2024 UI International Student Graduation Most Unique CPT Award.  

Future career aspirations

Looking ahead, Yun aims to land a position with a major South Korean company later this year, like Hyundai or CJ CheilJedang, both of which have a sport management and marketing department. If that does not work out, he plans to use Optional Practical Training (OPT) to work for a Major League team in the U.S. before returning to South Korea to work in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO).  

Advice for international students

Yun suggested, “Take advantage of CPT and OPT opportunities. Many things can be learned through classes at school, but I think more things can be learned in the field while working.” Emphasizing his practical approach, he added, “It’s better to draw your dreams through one experience rather than through many contemplations.”

Yun’s closing message is a note of self-reflection and encouragement to fellow international students: Embrace the challenge! It is okay to get hit a lot and get hurt a lot — we are students at Iowa, where we have the support and resources to help us get back up if we fall. 

learn more about cpt and opt

International Programs  (IP) at the University of Iowa (UI) is committed to enriching the global experience of UI students, faculty, staff, and the general public by leading efforts to promote internationally oriented teaching, research, creative work, and community engagement.  IP provides support for international students and scholars, administers scholarships and assistance for students who study, intern, or do research abroad, and provides funding opportunities and grant-writing assistance for faculty engaged in international research. IP shares their stories through various media, and by hosting multiple public engagement activities each year.

• International Student Graduation Celebration
• international students and scholars

International Programs at the University of Iowa supports the right of all individuals to live freely and to live in peace. We condemn all acts of violence based on race, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, and perceived national or cultural origin. In affirming its commitment to human dignity, International Programs strongly upholds the values expressed in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights .  

Application Deadline Extension for the Summer Apprenticeship Program at Kentucky State University

The deadline for applications to the Summer Apprenticeship Program (SAP) at Kentucky State University (KSU) has been extended! We are seeking five additional students to join us for this enriching experience from June 23 to July 14. SAP is designed to prepare rising junior and senior high school students for college, STEM research, and STEM career pathways. Participants will engage in hands-on experiences with KSU's faculty, scientists, researchers, and technical professionals during the three week residential program.  

For more information or to apply, please contact Dr. Buddhi Gyawali, Director of SAP and Professor of Geospatial Application and Environment in the College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources, at [email protected] . 

Don't miss this opportunity to jumpstart your journey towards a successful career in STEM! Apply now and become a part of the SAP community at Kentucky State University.