HSFPP Home > Students > Unit 7 – Your Career

Unit 7 Your Career: Doing What Matters Most
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Unit Competency and Objectives

Unit Overview: This outlines what you will learn in this unit and a way to track your progress on assignments and the assessment.

Student Learning Plan: Use this learning plan to track which learning activities you have accomplished through the unit.

 

Exercises

Exercise 7A: Why Do People Work?
You'll list reasons why people work and organize those reasons into categories.

Exercise 7B: Rate Your Work Skills
What skills do you have that employers want in the people they hire? You'll rate yourself as good, developing, or poor in a provided list of skill areas.

Exercise 7C: Entry-Level Job Skills
Are you ready for your first entry-level job? In this exercise, you'll identify types of entry-level jobs plus the skills, personal qualities, and education needed to do the job. You'll also list the next-level job.

Exercise 7D: How Much Is Attending Class Worth?
How much is getting your high school diploma worth? You'll go through three steps to calculate just how much.

Exercise 7E: Compare Employee Benefits
You'll help Nicholas decide between two job offers that provide the same salary but different employee benefits.

Exercise 7F: Workplace Trends
What trends are currently affecting the job market? You'll list these trends and trends you think will occur in the future.

Exercise 7G: Career Factors
Education and training, experience, work environment, benefits, and work hours are all among the Primary Career Factors you need to consider when you choose a career. This exercise asks you to consider a list of career factors and rank them according to their importance to you.

Exercise 7H: Responding to Trends
Remember the trends you listed in Exercise 7F? In this exercise, you'll identify types of businesses you could start to take advantage of those trends.

Exercise 7I: My Entrepreneurial Possibilities
You'll check out your entrepreneurial possibilities by listing five talents or activities you enjoy and might be able to turn into a type of business.

 

Assignments

Assignment 7-1: My Marketable Skills
Assignment 7-1 (Handouts)
Required Criteria
You're taking inventory again—this time of your marketable skills. This assignment also asks you to provide evidence of those skills. Remember to include skills you have applied in school activities, volunteer work, and part-time jobs.

Assignment 7-2: My Career Prep
Required Criteria
In what careers are you interested? You'll choose two possible careers, estimate their training costs, and identify opportunity costs of that training.

Assignment 7-3: My Job Benefits
Required Criteria
What benefits are typically related to jobs in your desired career area? In this assignment, you'll make a list of those benefits as well as what's important to you beyond monetary rewards.

 

Assessment

Assessment 7-1: Planning for My Career
Assessment 7-1 (Handouts)
Required Criteria
You'll use what you learned in Unit 7 along with the decision-making process to select a job or career that meets your lifestyle and helps you meet your financial goals.

 

Optional Activities

In the Instructor's Manual, teachers are provided “optional activities” to supplement your learning. Not all teachers will have time to have you complete in class. In case you are interested in expanding your knowledge a bit more, check out the optional activities below. Once you complete an activity, you mind need to check your answers with your teacher. They have a copy of the answer keys.

• You'll make a list of the different jobs that have affected your life in the past 24 hours. Be sure to include teachers, the cable maintenance person, or even the barista at your favorite coffee shop.
• You'll explore how training and education affect earning potential by completing the Money Money Money activity handed out by your teacher.
• You'll interview a local employer about what kinds of skills he or she wants in employees.
• You'll compare how earnings can vary based on location, region, job within a career, education, and years of experience.
• What are the odds of “making it big” in a sports career? You'll calculate those odds in the Making It Big activity handed out by your teacher.
• You'll list available options to fund your education or training for a career. How will each option help you meet your financial goals?
• You'll interview adults about their career choice and satisfaction. You'll find out how they chose and prepared for their careers, what they like and dislike, and what advice they have for you.
• Once again, you'll talk to an adult relative or a human resources manager to learn about the types of benefits available at his or her employer.
• What are the hot new careers and opportunities for training? You'll do some investigating and share what you learned with your classmates.
• You'll compare local factors that affect earning potential with factors from another part of the country.
• What is the value of lifelong learning? You'll team up with some classmates to produce a presentation about this topic and its relationship to earning potential and financial planning.
• You'll brainstorm entrepreneurial opportunities for youth and find resources to assist people who want to start their own businesses.
• You'll learn more about entrepreneurship by attending a presentation or listening to a speaker.
• You'll create another Venn diagram to compare traits or factors related to employees and entrepreneurs.
• You'll work alone or with a friend to complete the Unit 7 Success Street Sweep activity on the HSFPP Web site.

 

Supplementary Materials

There are some handouts which “supplement” what you are learning in the curriculum. Your teacher has some in the Instructor's Manual. But, if you are curious – explore.

 

Taking It Home

For Students:

1. You'll take home and read a newsletter article about career options and earning potential.
2. You'll ask your parents or another adult about their job experiences, including their first job, worst job, best job, and career training.

For Parents:

1. You'll read the newsletter article your teen brings home from school and discuss career options and earning potential.
2. You'll discuss with your teen your job experiences, including your first job, worst and best jobs, and career training.

 

Links

Below are helpful resources related to this unit.