For this unit, you will be exploring and making sure of certain issues in career choices. Economists, job counselors, and futurists are all saying that most people will change jobs and even entire careers at least six times in their working lives. So, the skills that you practice here will pay off (literally) as you find your next job and find the situations after that.
     
    I will be looking over your shoulder to assist you, because, for the most part, you will be learning individually how to conduct the research that you need for your individual situation.
     
    ·   I will be grading your work ethic as you show it in this research and I will be grading your reports.
    ·   Generally speaking, when I ask, below, that you report results to me, you need to do that in writing; usually, you will have a deadline to meet.
    ·   You will earn full credit by meeting deadlines.
    ·   When you take information from any source, you need to provide proper bibliography for it. One easy place to find the bibliographic form is to go to <Easybib.com> and fill in the information that the site asks for; you could then copy and paste it into your report.
     
     
    1. You will start with an online interest inventory, to make sure of the skill sets that you already have and your interests. That information will help you to decide what your first career will look like.
     
    ·   Go to the Dundee High School Guidance Office’s career site to find an interest inventory (or just go directly to <http://www.myfuture.com/toolbox/workquizzes.html >),
    ·   take the interest inventory,
    ·   and print the results for me to see. That will provide your first grade. I will have been talking with you to make sure that you input valid information, so that this should be an easy grade.
     

    2. Once you verify the kind of job that you are interested in, use the Occupational Outlook Handbook, at < http://www.bls.gov/oco/ >,
     
    ·   to make sure of the educational requirements of the job, the probability of openings, the degree of competition for the job, the pay range, and other pertinent information. Just use the categories at the OOH.
    ·   Please report the results in your own words, as much as possible;
    ·   Do provide bibliography.
    ·   Report your findings to me in writing. This will provide your second grade.
     
    3. Next, search for jobs in that field. Use a search engine, such as Google, or go to the DCS Guidance Office website at <http://docushare.edutech.org/dsweb/View/Collection-2090 > for a friendlier link. I can suggest numerous other sites to help you out; just ask.
    ·   You are searching for actual job openings, in actual firms.
    ·   Report those findings to me, in writing.
    ·   Do provide bibliography.
    ·   This will provide your third grade.
     
    4. Once you have found an actual opening for a job, in a particular geographic area, research the costs of living there. (As a side note, you may want to take account of other factors, such as crime rate, access to recreation, number of days of sunshine. You may find help for that by going to <http://www.homefair.com/homefair/calc/salcalc.html >.
     
    ·   Start by finding housing, so that you can estimate rent or mortgage payments. One easy way is to Google “rentals” and the location (such as “New York” or “Arkansas”).
    ·   Report your findings to me, in writing.
    ·   Do provide bibliography.
    ·   Here is your fourth grade.
     
    5. You will need to pay for food, clothing, entertainment, transportation, etc. (You can find a list of such costs at <http://www1.accessgroup.org/calculators/out_schlbud.htm >. You will be using this site for this part of the unit, so you probably should bookmark it now.)
    ·   Take the time to look for information at Yahoo, for example, to try to find specifics about a location. This part of the unit will involve quite a bit of patience and your ingenuity.
    ·   You can
    ·   Use < http://www1.accessgroup.org/calculators/out_schlbud.htm > to help calculate your projected income and expenses. Earlier students have printed the chart, so that they could fill in the blanks as they gathered the information. Once they had gathered all of the information, they then went back online to fill it in online and have the site do the math for them. (You will be providing this report as item 7, below.)
     
     
    6. As part of that chart, you will need to estimate your taxes (yup, you have to pay taxes on your income, and you won’t have that money to spend, so you need to know how much they will be.). Go to
     
    <http://moneycentral.msn.com/investor/calcs/n_tax/main.asp > for on estimate on federal taxes.
     
    Go to <http://www.taxadmin.org/fta/rate/tax_stru.html > for a rough estimate of state taxes. If you want more precise information (and an eye-opening experience), find the actual tax forms at the tax department for the state that would be your principal residence, print the forms, and fill them out; or go to <http://www.quicken.com/taxes/taxslashing/estimator/ > for another approach (but recognize that the information dates from 2001-2002).
     
    ·   Make sure that you print out for me your tax estimate. That will make your fifth grade.
     
    6. Then use all that you have found to calculate your budget, from <http://www1.accessgroup.org/calculators/out_schlbud.htm >.
    ·   Turn this report in to me, in writing. Because this report pulls together so much of what you will have found, it will count for grades six and seven.
     
     
    5. You will be writing application (cover) letters and resumes, and you will be taking mock job interviews (time permitting). You will get information for that in other handout.

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    Mark Scher . . . draft of 01.29.06 . . . Career Unit . . . page 1 of 1