RESEARCHING CAREERS

By

David Agnew

Arkansas State University

Objectives:1. Define terms related to Researching careers, 4.1. 2. Explain why researching careers is important. 3. Identify career information resources, 4.2.4. List the three main career resources published by the U.

S. Government 5. Identify instructional resources relating to Career

Orientation6. Explain the usual procedure for doing research.7. List nine pieces of information to review when

researching careers8. Identify the pitfalls of researching careers9. Demonstrate the use of terms in relation to researching

careers, 4.1.1.10. Research careers, using a variety of careers of

resources, 4.21.

Objective 1: Terms 1. ArkOscar -- a computerized career information delivery system2. Education/training requirements -- the instructional background and skills needed to

qualify for employment3. Employment outlook -- the prospect for the future of a job or career4. Entry-level jobs -- the jobs that beginners start with to train them for higher-level jobs5. Internet -- the computer network system through which information can be shared on

the World Wide Web6. Job duty -- a task one is expected to perform on the job7. O*Net -- Occupational Information Network compiled by the United States

Department of Labor8. OOH -- (Occupational Outlook Handbook) a book used for researching the most

common careers in the United States9. Part-time jobs -- jobs requiring less than 35-40 hours a week, depending on the

employer10. Qualification -- a special skill, knowledge, or ability that enables a person to perform a

particular job11. Related occupations -- jobs or careers belonging to the same group on the basis of

similar knowledge and skills12. Research -- to find out more by reading and talking to people13. Temporary jobs -- jobs that last for a limited period of time14. Volunteering -- doing a job without pay to gain experience15. Working conditions -- the environment of the workplace

Objective 2: Why Research Careers? To teach them how to explore the

different career options To focus on the careers of interest 20,000 jobs, 12,700, 700, 250 can not

teach about all of them…. To give them a tool to use on their

own in the future.

What Research is Not…….

A Hands-on Activities Busy work Rest/play time for the teacher Just talking to someone in a specific

job

Objective 3: What resources are available for researching careers? Private publishers or vendors Government Printing Office State Department On-line resources (OOH) People

These are in the form of books, research briefs, videos, on-line references, etc…

Objective 4: Three Main References

O*NET, an online source a few years ago replaced the Dictionary of Occupational Titles (D.O.T.)

Occupational Outlook Handbook (OOH) --- Describes 250 different occupations in detail. These 250 account for 80% of all jobs. It is up-dated every two years.

Guide for Occupational Exploration (GOE) --- based upon interest, 12 groups, called interest areas. A definition of each is given.

DOT – History(Dictionary of Occupational Titles)

A number is assigned to each occupational title. The DOT number is a lead to other sources. First three numbers are similar.

9 digit code People, Data, Things 1939 -- 1991 Will not be published again O*NET has taken it’s place

O’NET

http://online.onetcenter.org/ Take a tour of O*NET ---

– Click on “Learn more about O*NET”.

Types of information found in OOH Nature of work Working Conditions Employment Training, other qualifications, and

advancement Job outlook Related Occupations Sources of additional Information

OOH is one the web

http://stats.bls.gov/ocohome.htm

Type of information found in the GOE

Kind of work done. The skills and abilities needed How to decide if you could learn to do this

kind of work How to prepare for entry into the job area Other factors to take into account when

thinking about a job.

Objective 5: Additional sources for use in researching careers.

Career Briefs Chronicle of Guidance

– Career Briefs (short info sheets on careers)

Magazines– Career World, and etc….– Career Watch Magazine

http://www.discover.arkansas.gov/?PAGEID=164

People – interviews, Live or recorded Internet – Videos Kuder – person match

Discover Arkansas website

Take the tour– TOUR is Listed under Home– http://www.discoverarkansas.net/

Online videos

View several videos at each site:– http://www.nextsteps.org/video/– http://www.iwitts.com/html/video_clips.html

Objective 6: Usual Procedure for Research:

After the teacher helps students assess their own career interest and after the teacher has taught about one or more cluster, the students identify potential jobs of interest. Sometimes teachers will have students draw for careers in a cluster.

Students are given a review of the research resources and how to use them.

Students are given one worksheet to complete on a career.

Teacher grades and gives the worksheet back to the student for his/her personal file.

Objective 7: Nine points to checklist for researching careers a. What is the nature of work and what will my

duties be? b. What are the working conditions? c. What personal and physical qualities do I

need for the job? d. How much will I earn? e. Are there advancement possibilities? f. What training and education is required?

g. What is the career outlook? h. What are some related jobs? i. What are other sources of information?

Sample Worksheet for Researching Careers. Name ________________ Job __________________ 1. What is the nature of work and what will my duties

be? 2. What are the working conditions? 3. What personal and physical qualities do I need for

the job? 4. How much will I earn? 5. Are there advancement possibilities? 6. What training and education is required? 7. What is the career outlook? 8. What are some related jobs? 9. What are other sources of information?

Objective 8: Pitfalls to Research Just doing worksheets from books is seldom

enough. Books or even the internet can be boring. Students need to get the research report back for

their file. Research should not be copying what is in the book

to a form. It should require students to think about and gain a deeper understanding of the job(s) being researched.

Forcing students to research careers of remote interest waste valuable time and turns students off to research. Jobs being researched should be somewhat focused on interest of the students

Thinking that there must be a research activity with every cluster.

Alternative Research Techniques

Personal interview (in person or on phone) Writing to professional organizations Using the internet Use a variety of sources when researching

careers. CD Roms from Employment Security Office, have

video clips Research can be a group activity at times Shadowing a working person is a form of

research.

In Summary

Why do students need to research careers?

What resources are available for students to use in researching?

What kind of information are you seeking when researching?

What research is not and the pitfalls of researching careers.

The End