Career Exploration

You and the World of Work: Past World of Work, Trends, Decision Making, 16 Career Clusters,

Getting to Know Yourself: Interests, Abilities, Skills, Aptitudes, Values and Goals, Healthy Relationships, Wellness,

Researching Careers: Employment, Military, Entrepreneurship, Etc.

Developing a Career Plan: For future success, what can you do now and later?

Finding and Applying for a Job: Current and Future

Interviewing: Mock interviews with peers and community members

Starting a New Job: Expectations, Training, etc. Benefits, Pay Stubs, Deductions, Retirement, Insurance, etc

Workplace Health and Safety: OSHA, Rights and Responsibilities of Employers and Employees

Workplace Legal Matters

Teamwork and Leadership

Communication Skills and Interpersonal Relationships

Technology in the Workplace

Time Management and Workplace Goals

Managing Your Money: Consumer Rights and Resources, Banking, Savings, Checking, Credit, Budgets

Insurance: Health, Auto, Homeowners, Life, Disability, etc.

Adapting to Change, New Careers

Balancing Work and Personal Life

College majors research

Career assessments

Potential degree and/or educational futures

Resume, cover letters and portfolio development

Self reflection/brag sheets

Personal essay for college applications

College and job searches/College tours

Practicing interview skills/mock interviews

SAT and ACT introduction and prep time

Introduction to Senior Seminar

Completion of portfolio

Letters of recommendation

College application assistance

College admission & military visits

Job shadow experiences

Career research paper

Board of Education presentations

Senior Legacy Service Projects

Work readiness skills (continued)

College & technical school survival

Life 101/ Adulting

Scholarship search and applications

Financial literacy skills

The Job Shadow experience is part of the required Seminar courses taken during the junior and senior year. Students are required to research a vocational interest, locate professionals who are working in the area of interest, make the contacts, and ultimately job shadow an individual(s) in the field.

This experience is then documented in the required research paper that is written in the Senior Seminar course. In the past, KCS students have had experiences out of state, in NYC, Albany, and at local agencies and area schools. If you are interested in assisting our KCS students with an experience like this, please contact the School Counseling Office!

The Job Shadow permission form can be picked up here and must be reviewed and approved by the Junior/Senior Seminar teacher prior to the start of the shadow experiences.

Additionally, there are many great online resources to use as tools to explore various vocational options. For assistance in finding and navigating these websites or for further discussion about the content, please see Mrs. Johnson in the Counseling office. Many of these sites are introduced to students in the CDOS courses.

Local & Community Resources

CV-TEC Career & Technical Education : Technical education and training options for high school and local adult students

Career CrossWalks: Career and Technical Education from Mountain Lake PBS : Made in Clinton County career videos, career journey spotlights, local career resources, career cluster exploration

CFES Brilliant Pathways: KCS has a partnership with CFES, a local nonprofit organization, which is committed to providing resources to our students on early college awareness and preparation so that any student may be prepared for, gain access to and succeed in college.

NYS & National Resources

NY Career Zone : Career assessments that suggest career matches based on ability and interest profiles and detailed information on careers and job outlook.

NYSED Paths to Professions: Explore careers in the licensed professions in NY State.

NY Health Careers: Explore careers in health care professions in NY State.

U.S. Department of Labor : K-12 Resources: Games and student resources focused on career exploration for grades K-12.

The Occupational Outlook Handbook: The OOH can help you find career information on duties, education and training, pay, and outlook for hundreds of occupations.

CareerOneStop: Self-assessments, explore careers, job search, find training, and career preparation resources.

O*Net : The O*NET program is the nation’s primary source of occupational information.

Bigfuture: Collegeboard Major to Career Connections: Search college majors that lead to various careers or search a career and discover the college majors and training that lead to that career.

Jobs Made Real Career Videos: Watch real life video clips on hundreds of career options.

Hudson Mohawk Area Health Careers Explore Center: Use this link to find additional resources for research on health careers.

Military Careers : Learn more about US Military training and education options. Information for both students and parents.

GAP Year Programs: In this TeenLife magazine for teenagers and their families learn about GAP year programs and options.

Success In The New Economy: Video discussing a closer look at post-secondary training options and whether the direct college path is the best option.