Sometimes I wonder how there are so
many things out there in this world that I do not know! It definitely makes for lots of learning
opportunities each day, but it also makes me wonder what else is out there and
how many opportunities some people are missing out on as a result of having a
lack of knowledge. The first two pages
of this chapter caught my attention, specifically the part about retirees. Prior to 2011, when my mom and aunt both
decided to retire, I never really considered the role of career development
post retirement. Before retiring, both
began talking about how excited they were to have a chance to try some new
things and different jobs they’d like to pursue. Within three months of retirement, both were
working again. Since that time, it has
been interesting to watch them grow, learn, and challenge themselves in ways
their previous jobs never did. My
experience watching them, and reading through the important uses for career
information on pages 178-179 (Brown, 2012), have given me a greater
appreciation and value for Brown’s definition of career as “the totality of
work one does in a lifetime (Sears, 1982).”
It also led me to choose a retiree as the object of my case study.
I personally had never used the Occupational
Information Network (O*NET) or the Occupational Outlook Handbook (OOH). I took some time this week to explore their
websites and found it quite fascinating.
There were several features of the O*NET that I found helpful, including
the ‘bright future’ logo, links for additional resources in specific
professions, growth rates of each occupation, and the detailed description of
requirements and characteristics. The
link to educational institutions that provide training programs specific to
each occupation was a useful feature, as well.
The OOH had a very simple layout and made searching for different occupations
easy. I like the alphabetical search
option and the occupational groups that appear on the home page. Another nice feature is the availability of
links within job descriptions that take you directly to O*NET where you can
find additional job specific information.
The summary page for each occupation was helpful and gave a clear,
concise overview that supported each of the more detailed tabs. I really enjoyed exploring the OOH!
The closing part of Chapter 8 gave
me some ideas for helping my 7th grade students gain more information
about careers. Previous students have taken
part in career days, but my current students do not have exposure to such an event. I have already collaborated with the other 7th
grade math and science teachers in my building and we plan on assigning a
career project to our students. They will
research various occupations and calculate various figures, including education
costs and average years needed to begin making a profit from various
occupations. They will then team with
local professionals to present a career day for younger students.
Brown, D. (2012). Career
Information, Career Counseling and Career Development. (10th
Ed.) New York. Pearson Education Inc.
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