Butcher, Baker, Candlestick Maker
...what will my next career be?

Links verified 4/8/2018

Written by Bill Byles

Introduction | Task | Process | Evaluation | Conclusion

Introduction

You have graduated from college and have been working on the same job for the last two years. People who enter the workforce in 2005, like you did, will work for more than five different companies and will have more than ten different jobs before retiring. Most people discover their talents and interests during the first ten years of their working lives, and, sadly, many of them find they are in the wrong job. The company that you and your best friend work for has just been sold and it is time for both of you to find new jobs. But, let's do it right this time. If you are going to have more than one career in your lifetime, let's find out how to select a career.

The Task

Working in a team of four, you are going to evaluate your interests and skills, and use this information to determine your personality type. With this information you will:

• Make a list of five careers which would best suit your personality type.
• Remember, your friend needs to find employment also. Give the person a name and a personality type. Make the personality type completely different from yours. Finally make a list of five careers that suit the personality type of your friend.
• From a list of fastest growing occupations, mark which occupations on your list and on your friend's list which are among the fastest growing occupations.
• Each person in your group will pick one occupation from the list below and research the career.
• Each person in your group will decide if the chosen career would be best for themselves or their friend and will defend that decision to their group.
• Your team will make a multimedia presentation to the class in which you will introduce the two people you have been helping with their job search. Explain the chosen occupation for each person, and justify that choice.

The Process

Step 1. Complete the Career Interests Game

• Use the Career Interests Game to determine your personality type. [This expired link is available through the Wayback Machine Internet Archive. If the page doesn't load quickly click on Impatient? at the bottom right of the page.] The first part of this activity can be done with a printed version of this page. However, to find a career to match your type you must click on the titles above the colored blocks on this page.
• Get a printed copy of the Career Interests Game. Either print the game from the link above, or get a printed copy from your teacher.
  • Imagine walking into a room in which the six groups of people described on the game page are already interacting. Read the descriptions of each group and list the group you would be drawn to first, then your second choice, and finally your third choice.
  • List the three letters of your personality type. [For example, the author of this project is an AIS personality]
  • Make up a fellow job hunter; name, gender, and three letter personality type different from yours. [For example: if your personality type is AIS then you might choose CER as the personality type of your fellow job hunter.]

Step 2. Make and evaluate a list of careers that fit your personality type

• Go back to the game page, click on your first choice and make a list of ten careers from the list. [This expired link is available through the Wayback Machine Internet Archive. If the page doesn't load quickly click on Impatient? at the bottom right of the page.]
• Do the same thing for the imaginary friend you created.
• From the list of Fastest Growing Occupations, find which careers on your list match this list. Each person in the group is to write a two page report agreeing or disagreeing with the following statement: "The most important consideration in choosing a career is whether the career is a fast growing career."

Step 3. Choose a career to investigate

• From the following list select a career to investigate. Each person in the group must choose a different occupation. Use the links listed with your chosen career. If you are unable to find enough information there, use only the links listed on this page to do further research.
• Architect
  • Bureau of Labor Statistics
  • from an interview with a Canadian architect [Note: this interview comes from the Internet Archive known as the Wayback Machine.]
  • College Grad
• Accounting
  • Careers in Accounting
  • Bureau of Labor Statistics
  • Career OneStop
• Education
  • Bureau of Labor Statistics (Elementary)
  • Bureau of Labor Statistics (High School)
  • Career Choices in Special Education
• Pharmacy
  • College Grad
  • Occupational Outlook Handbook
  • Pharmacist Career Information
• Professional Athlete - Trainer
  • Bureau of Labor Statistics (Trainers)
  • Career in Sports Medicine (.pdf format) [This expired link is available through the Wayback Machine Internet Archive. If the page doesn't load quickly click on Impatient? at the bottom right of the page.]
  • Occupational Outlook Handbook (Athletes)
• Health Care
  • Bureau of Labor Statistics
  • Explore Health Care Careers
  • Occupational Outlook Handbook

  Look at a list of the Fastest Growing Occupations in the United States to complete the second step of the project.

The United States Department of Labor has some very important sources which could be used in this project. Two of those are: The Occupational Outlook Handbook, and News Items from the U S Department of Labor.

In addition to these sources you will find career information at some of the following sites:

• Career library at JobWeb [This expired link is available through the Wayback Machine Internet Archive. If the page doesn't load quickly click on Impatient? at the bottom right of the page.]
• America's Career InfoNet
• Exploring Occupations from the Student Counseling and Career Centre at University of Manitoba

Careers OnLine Virtual Careers Show

Step 4. Investigate the career

Collect information to prepare your part of the team report. Your report should include information on the following topics:

• training or education required for the career,
• prospects for the future in this career,
• expected salary range,
• unexpected positive or negative aspects of the career.

In addition, each person should indicate their three letter personality type and whether the career they investigated would suit their personality type better or worse than the imaginary person they created.

Remember, your report is to be a multimedia report. While you are collecting information about the career you chose, make sure you collect images which can be used in your report.

Step 5. Make a group report

Report to the class using PowerPoint, or some other presentation software. Your report must include information about both job hunters. Tell about the chosen career and explain why you think the career would be appropriate for the person.

Evaluation

To be the CEO (grade of A)

• Each person on your team referred to information found on the Internet to support the choice expressed in their two page written report from step 2.
• Each person on the team presented some portion of the multimedia report.
• Careers for two job hunters were presented with justification for why the career fit or did not fit each person.
• The multimedia presentation included more than one image from the Internet and more than one direct quote from the Internet.

To be a Vice President (grade of B)

• Every team member wrote a report, but not everyone used information found on the Internet to support the choice expressed in their two page written report.
• Each person on the team presented some portion of the multimedia report.
• Careers for two job hunters were presented without justification for why the each career fit each person.
• The multimedia presentation included one image from the Internet and one direct quote from the Internet.

To be a Middle Manager (grade of C)

• Every team member wrote a report, but no one used information found on the Internet to support the choice expressed in their two page written report.
• More than one person presented some portion of the multimedia report.
• Careers for both job hunters were presented.
• The multimedia presentation included one image from the Internet, or one direct quote from the Internet.

To be an Intern Trainee (grade of D)

• Some of the team members did not write the written report assigned in step 2.
• One person presented all of the multimedia report.
• Career for only one person was presented.
• The multimedia presentation did not include an image from the Internet or a direct quote from the Internet.

To be out of work (grade of F)

• No one in the group wrote the report assigned in step 2.
• No multimedia report was presented
• No careers were presented

Conclusion

This activity was designed to give you the feel of how to use the Internet to research a new career. Few people will work for the same employer their entire working career, and almost no one will work the same job until retirement. For that reason, the skills you started to develop in this exercise will be vitally important to you as you plan a new career; no matter whether it is your first career or your tenth. Some useful career sources to remember or revisit are:

• The Occupational Outlook Handbook Index from A to Z
• Bureau of Labor Statistics Career Information for Kids

If you want to do a deeper investigation into your basic personality type there are other places to find information about yourself on the Internet. One of those is the Keirsey Temperament Sorter. Good luck! I hope each of your careers is challenging, rewarding, and a good fit with your personality!

Last updated April 8, 2018
Based on a template from The WebQuest Page.