Middle School Career Exploration

Did you know…Did you know…

Created by

Dan Blake

Career Development Specialist

Sonoma County Office of Education

92% of middle school students say they will attend college…

¹

92% of middle school students say they will attend college…

¹

Of those students, only 32% know what classes are required in high school that would allow them to attend college.¹


93% of middle school students say there is “no chance” they will drop out of high school.¹

29% of Californians age 18-24 lack a high school diploma.


Each year in the U.S., over 3.8 million young people leave the education system before receiving a high school diploma.²

High school dropouts can expect to earn $462,000 less during their lives than high school graduates.


The U.S. loses $192 billion annually (or 1.6% of the GDP) as a result of 18-year-olds who do not complete high school.²


High school dropouts account for almost half of the heads of households on welfare and 75% of the population in state prisons.²


Increasing the high school completion rate by just 1% for all men ages 20-60 would save the U.S. up to $1.4 billion per year in reduced costs from crime.²


When surveyed, the majority of high school dropouts say they began to “disconnect” in middle school or earlier.³


A 1999 study stated that…A 1999 study stated that…

“Few middle schools adequately address the career development of students despite evidence to indicate that it enhances academic performance, facilitates high school completion, and encourages postsecondary education.”⁴


The national average for the counselor to student ratio at the middle school level is 882 to 1.⁵

Did you know…

Many youth have already limited their career aspirations by the time they reach middle school largely due to sex-stereotyped views of occupations.⁶


In a recent survey of California community college students, 75% stated that they had not considered applying for a manufacturing job because the pay was too low.⁷

Dow Chemical currently pays skilled workers up to $100,000, but a shortage of applicants has forced them to recruit most of their labor force from outside California.⁷


The average cost (in the U.S.) of a year of tuition, room, and board at a public university is $13,589.⁸

At some CSU schools, as many as 60% of incoming students enter “undecided” when asked to list a major and it is increasingly common for a “4-year degree” to take 6+ years to complete.


In 2006, 143,000 four-year degree holders enrolled in community colleges.⁹

When surveyed, more than half of these students said they were attending specifically to develop vocational skills.


In the U.S., 20% of 26-year-olds live at home (in Great Britain their called KIPPERS: Kids In Parents Pockets Eroding Retirement Savings).₁₀


Students with access to career information resources & programs and who make the connection between their academic coursework & future goals:

•Increase their self-esteem & career maturity levels•Demonstrate better classroom attendance•Are more likely to enroll in algebra or higher-level

math courses in high school•Participate in more A.P. classes•Earn higher test scores on the ACT exam•Are more likely to graduate from high school•Are more likely to complete postsecondary education•Are more likely to succeed in the workplace²/¹¹

Now you know.Now you know.

CitationsCitations¹National Association of Secondary School Principals and Phi

Delta Kappa Internatinal. A Voice from the Middle. NASSP Reports, May 2007. (Poll conducted by Harris Interactive).

²America’s Career Resource Network (ACRN)³Rotermund, S. (May 2008). “When Do California Students Drop

Out of School?”California Dropout Research Project. Internet: http://lmri.ucsb.edu/dropouts

⁴O’Brien, K.M., et al. (March 1999). Broadening career horizons for students in at-risk environments. The Career Development Quarterly, 47. Alexandria, VA: National Career Development Association.

⁵Emerson, A. “Career Planning Misconceptions.” (April 2008). Internet: http://www.ncda.org/

⁶Guss, T.O. and Adams, L. “Gender Orientation and Career Maturation among Rural Elementary School Students.” 1998. (ED 417 364)

⁷Stewart, J.M. (October 2006).“School should prepare students for real-world jobs.”Internet: http://www.sacbee.com/

⁸Newsweek magazine (July 2008)⁹Stewart, J.M. (November 2007). “Tech ed neglect puts state

in a jobs crisis.” Internet: http://www/sacbee.com/₁₀Time magazine (January 2005)¹¹Hughes, K.L. and Karp, M.M. (2004). School-Based Career

Development: A Synthesis of the Literature. Internet: http://www.acrnetwork.org/DirectorsAdmin/Docs/