Job Shadow 1

Experiences allow you to explore a career field you’re curious about while mastering competencies for school credit. Through experiential learning, you will learn skills and apply these skills to tasks you would complete as part of a career, rather than completing traditional assessments like essays or tests. During your experience, you’ll work with a professional in the field to support your learning. If you are seeking a professional to shadow, check out our Career Mentor Catalog to view a list of VLACS-approved experts you can work with.

You can earn a badge for your accomplishments, which you can share on social media and higher education platforms, or with colleges, potential employers, peers, and/or colleagues to display your qualifications.

Here’s how an Experience works:

1. Each competency you work on is addressed through a separate deliverable predetermined by you and your instructor.
2. Guided learning for each module consists of research and/or work with a professional in the field. Your instructor will coach you through this process.
3. Each module culminates in a final demonstration of understanding, which includes a deliverable and a discussion-based assessment with your instructor.

Are you curious about a particular career? Interact with a professional who works in that field and discover what their job is like firsthand during a job shadow! A Job Shadow Experience allows students to observe a professional on the job to get a first-hand look at their roles and responsibilities as students spend a minimum of 3 hours on-site at a workplace exploring a career in an industry that sparks their interest. Students will earn 1/8 of credit and a job shadow badge after completing two individual job shadow experiences and reflecting upon their job shadow experience with their VLACS instructor.

Note: Job shadows are intended to take place on-site. Virtual job shadow experiences must be approved by your VLACS instructor for specific reasons which may include the location being too far away or on-site safety restrictions.

Estimated Completion Time

4-6 weeks

Potential Job Shadow Career Areas

• Agriculture, Food & Natural Resources
• Architecture & Construction
• Arts, Audio/Video Technology & Communications
• Business, Management & Administration
• Education & Training
• Finance
• Government & Public Administration
• Health Science
• Hospitality & Tourism
• Human Services
• Information Technology
• Law, Public Safety, Corrections & Security
• Manufacturing
• Marketing, Sales & Service
• Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics
• Transportation, Distribution & Logistics