Middle School

Middle School Career Exploration 1

0.5 Credits
18 weeks
Open
Digital Badge

Middle School Career Exploration 1: Charting Your Path

Break down the numerous and diverse occupations and decide on a potential career path! You will examine the principles of entrepreneurship as well as the economy and job market, before exploring career paths like business and finance, agriculture, engineering, technology, and many more! Education, certification, and training requirements will be provided for each career presented. By the end of this course, you will have completed individual assessments to determine your skills and interests and develop a resume that you can build upon and use.

During this course, you will learn career-related skills and earn a badge for this accomplishment. A badge is a digital certification of your career-related learning that you can share on social media or with higher education platforms, colleges, potential employers, peers, and colleagues. Select this link to learn more about badges.

Major Topics and Concepts

Unit 1: Careers, Entrepreneurship, and the Economy
Understand the difference between a career and a job.
Discuss why you might want to have a career.
Discover the many different career clusters available.
Consider different variables that may influence the career path you choose.

Unit 2: Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources; Energy; and Health Science
Identify career pathways in these clusters: Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources; Energy; and Health Science.
Discover places where people in each of these pathways may work and what tasks are required in their jobs.
Discuss skills that each of these career clusters require.
Consider the training and education required to enter into these career clusters.

Unit 3: Architecture & Construction, Manufacturing, and Transportation & Logistics
Discover three new career clusters: Architecture & Construction, Manufacturing, and Transportation & Logistics as well as pathways that fall into these clusters.
Learn about places where people in each of these pathways may work and what tasks are required in their jobs.
Find skills that each of these career clusters require.
Examine the training and education required to enter into these career clusters.

Unit 4: Education & Training, STEM, and Information Technology
Understand three new career clusters: Education & Training, STEM, and Information Technology, as well as pathways that fall into these clusters.
Find places where people in each of these pathways may work and what tasks are required in their jobs.
Learn about skills that each of these career clusters require.
Consider the training and education required to enter into these career clusters.

Unit 5: Business Management & Administration; Finance; and Marketing, Sales, & Service
Classify career pathways in these clusters: Business Management & Administration; Finance; and Marketing, Sales, & Service.
Determine places where people in each of these pathways may work and what tasks are required in their jobs.
Examine skills that each of these career clusters require.
Discover the training and education required to enter into these career clusters.

Unit 6: Government & Public Administration; Human Services; and Law, Public Safety & Security
Identify career pathways in Government & Public Administration; Human Services; and Law, Public Safety & Security.
Discover places where people in each of these pathways may work and the tasks they accomplish.
Recognize skills that each of these career clusters requires.
Examine the training and education required to enter into these career clusters.

Unit 7: Arts, AV Technology & Communication and Hospitality & Tourism
Discuss career pathways in Arts, AV Technology & Communication and Hospitality & Tourism.
Discover places where people in these pathways may work and the tasks done in these jobs.
Recognize skills that each of these career clusters require.
Inspect the training and education required to enter into these career clusters.

Unit 8: Your Turn! Choosing a Career Path that Works for You
Discover how your personal assessment of interests connects with jobs and careers.
Understand the importance of a job search and the steps to complete one successfully.
Identify the importance of personal characteristics and activities and how those lead to success.
Choose a career cluster/pathway that is best for you.

Competencies

Career Paths

Students will demonstrate an understanding of career paths by differentiating jobs and careers, describing career clusters, and explaining variables that impact career choice.

Careers in Knowledge and Innovation

Students will demonstrate an understanding of careers in knowledge and innovation by explaining pathways in career clusters, describing education and training career clusters, and describing STEM and IT career clusters.

Careers in Assembly

Students will demonstrate an understanding of careers in assembly by describing the architecture and construction career clusters, describing the manufacturing clusters, and describing the transportation and logistics clusters.

Careers in Business

Students will demonstrate an understanding of careers in business by describing the business and management administration career clusters, explaining the finance career clusters, and evaluating the marketing, sales, and service career clusters.

Careers in Community

Students will demonstrate an understanding of careers in community by analyzing government and public administration career clusters; explaining law, public safety, corrections, and security career clusters; and differentiating the human services career cluster.

Careers in Entertainment and Hospitality

Students will demonstrate an understanding of careers in entertainment and hospitality by comparing the arts, AV technology, and communication career clusters, and differentiating careers in the hospitality and tourism clusters.

Careers in Providing

Students will demonstrate an understanding of careers in providing by evaluating changes to the agriculture, food, and natural resources career clusters, describing careers in the energy cluster, and explaining the importance of the health science cluster.

Choosing a Career Path

Students will demonstrate an understanding of Choosing a Career Path by evaluating interests and passions, analyzing steps on the pathway to a specific career, and formulating a plan for a specific career.