Assignment: CAREER PAPER & PRESENTATION:
TOPIC
Early in the semester, each student will conduct at least one career inventory.
Based on the results of this inventory, along with student interests and discussion, the student will have a career to research and present.
RESEARCH
The student must research the career on their own time.
Each student must utilize 2 sources that help you identify the questions in the box below. Be careful with some internet sources (are they valid?)
Examples of possible sources would be...
Career Transitions (through CourseMate)
SJC's Career & Employment Center:
Each source must be from within the past 5 years.
PAPER
Using FOCUS 2 and other assessments that we have completed, determine what you are skilled for AND interested in. Then, pick a career to research.
1st paragraph - WHAT IS IT?
What is the career? What does this career look like (i.e. what are the job's duties; what does a typical day entail)?
What professional skills are required? What experience is required?
Who are the top organizations that offer the job?
How much is the average income?
How prevalent (common) is this career today? What is the present demand for this career? Will there be a strong demand (job growth) for that career in the future? What are the trends that could influence the demand in the future?
Is this career regional (specific to certain parts of the country/world)? Will there be local jobs in that field, or will you have to relocate?
What chances of advancement/promotion are there in this career? What is the typical career path of the job?
2nd paragraph - HOW WILL YOU GET THERE?
What amount of college/university work (degree type) is required? What type of educational degree is most useful?
How long will this education take? (i.e. will you have to work fulltime/PT/not at all and how many courses can you take in 1 semester)
How much money $ will this education require? Where will you get the money? (i.e. grants, loans, scholarships, parents, work)
Are there internships available that will expose you to the job so you can try it out?
Do you know anyone who currently has that job? If so, what advise can/will they share?
3rd paragraph - WHAT WILL IT DO FOR YOUR FUTURE?
Based on your inventory results and knowledge of yourself, do you have what it takes to be successful in that field? Who will this career serve?
What is the personal value of this career? Will you find satisfaction in that career and will it be fulfilling?
Will the job pay enough to maintain the kind of lifestyle you want? (marriage, children, house, cars, vacations, retirement, savings)
The student must turn in a 2-3 page research paper over the career topic. The paper should address the following...
PAPER (continued)
The paper must be typed (black ink, white paper), 12 pt font, 1 inch margins, and double spaced. It should be left justified with new paragraphs/sections tabbed/indented. The title of the paper should be the career you are researching.
The research paper must have a cover page and reference page.
The entire paper (cover page, text of paper, and reference page) must be in APA format! Citations MUST be included in APA format (if there are no citations, you have plagiarized)!
The paper will also be submitted electronically.
PRESENTATION
Each student will have to conduct an individual oral presentation over their topic in front of the class at the end of the semester (see the syllabus calendar).
The purpose of the presentation will be to explain what you researched to the rest of the class and what you thought about the experience
The instructor will randomly choose who presents, so everyone must be ready and prepared on the first day listed.
The presentation will need to be a minimum of 5 minutes, but no more than 10 minutes.
The time limit imposed requires the student to practice their presentation prior to making the presentation in class.
Each student MUST have a visual aid as part of their presentation. The visual aid can either be a PowerPoint presentation or a Prezi (or something similar)
PowerPoint should include all the information in your paper, but in a condensed form. In other words, DO NOT copy and paste all the text from your paper into your PowerPoint.
You may include artwork, images, charts, graphs or other pictures that are related to your career.