KnowHow2GoKy

Find Your Career Path

 

WHAT does this mean?

 Choosing a satisfying career is a big decision! Your interests, strengths and personality play a big part in figuring out which career will be the right fit. To help you make that connection, here are key terms to understand:

  • Career Clusters are broad groups of occupations and industries. Exploring careers by career clusters may help you know if you want to work in agriculture, for example. You may find out about a job you didn’t know existed in your industry of interest, such as an aquaculturalist or cartographer.
  • Career Pathways are roadmaps to help you plan out your high school courses and connect them to college majors or technical training needed to be qualified to work in a specific occupational field. Career pathways help you begin preparing for your career while still in school - they make sure every class counts and moves you closer to your goal. You can also find summer jobs, internships, and job-shadowing or co-op programs to “try on” a career in real life to make sure it’s a good fit BEFORE you graduate!

WHY is this important?

 By selecting a career path early, you can plan ahead and make better choices about education or training you pursue after high school. Connecting high school classes to a career pathway and getting work experience in that field before you graduate helps bring down the chances a student will later change his/her mind, which can mean more time and money if it means changing your major in college.

HOW do I get started?

 Recently added tools in the Kentucky Individual Learning Plan (ILP) are a great way to explore and find a career:

  1. Online career assessment tools give you immediate feedback about the careers that best fit your personality and skills, including information about job duties, salary, education requirements, and more.
  2. Career Discussion Boards let you ask questions to people currently working in a specific career field.
  3. Local companies shows students what companies are in their community that offer jobs in their area of interest.
  4. Career Activities let you search (by location and/or industry) for opportunities for real life experience in a specific career area including summer jobs, internships, job shadowing, practice job interviews, and more.

The ILP also lets students search and compare colleges by a specific major, find scholarships specific to that career/major, and build a resume of their work experience or related projects. 

WHERE can I find more information?