Keeping the Dream Alive

To continue the last post's theme of finding ways to motivate yourself, I recommend that underclassmen tap into the resources they know. The idea of visualization leading to actualization/realization - "If you can see it, you can be it" - is very popular but not necessarily the case. In reality, most goals require a lot of work to be accomplished. If you have a career goal, it's important that you begin to find out what steps, e.g., education, training, experience, you'll need to reach it.
A really good source of information is one we often overlook - the people we know. How did your beautician become a beautician? What undergraduate school did your doctor go to? What subject did she major in? You may even have read and know the school name on the medical diploma, but how did the doctor get there? How did your plumber get licensed? I was often amazed at how few of my students knew what their own parents did for a living. If they knew the job title, they often didn't know what that actually meant. What did they DO?
Other good sources of information are professional societies/organizations. There's a good article by Lorie Withop, "The Promise of Professional Organizations", at http:www/back2college.com but it's mainly geared toward college students. However, in each job description article in the Occupational Outlook Handbook, under the subheading, "Sources of Additional Information", you can find contacts for professional organizations involved with specific careers. Many of these societies have precollege student membership categories. The American Meteorological Society at www.ametsoc.org, is a particularly interesting organization that has elementary, middle and high school student membership levels at a nominal fee. They have a Career Center, guides for pursuing a bachelor's degree in Atmospheric Sciences, internship opportunity information and many other services, including SCHOLARSHIPS! The staff is very responsive and helpful. So, all you Weather Channel junkies (I prefer Mr. G on WPIX.) now have an invaluable source to help you further investigate this interest.
Let's alter that trendy formula:
Visualization + Investigation + Preparation/Education = Actualization

Blog Management

I've just added a new feature to my blog through which I can link to Amazon.com so that you may learn more about the books I mention. I'm checking to see if a book mentioned previously, The Occupational Outlook Handbook and the book mentioned in today's blog, Peterson's Summer Programs for Kids and Teenagers will appear and how they will look. This is a learning process for me as well. Thank you for your patience.

Part V - Good Government

     In many ways, I consider myself a libertarian.  So when I find FOUR online sites that I really like that are run by government bureaucracies, that's really saying something!  They're informative.  They're current and they're free!!!  ( Doesn't sound like government at all!)
     For years I lugged around a dozen copies of the Occupational Outlook Handbook so I could show my freshman classes how to use this invaluable tool.  Now the Bureau of Labor Statistics has put this publication and much more online.  The BLS site is http://www.bls.gov/ .  At the home page, scroll down the Publications tab to Career Guides and then click onto Occupational Outlook Handbook.  By this point you can see that the site has a wealth of useful information you might find interesting.  You can go to the A-Z index and see an alphabetical list of the careers that are covered by name or related occupations.  Each career article covers:  Nature of the Work; Training, Other Qualifications and Advancement; Employment; Job Outlook; Projections; Earnings; Wages; Related Occupations and Sources of Additional Information.  This last item can be especially helpful.  For example, if you look at this sub-heading under the Radiologic Technologists and Technicians entry, you'll find links to their national society and be able to find specific certification requirements and programs.
     On the BLS home page, if you scroll down to "Career Information for Kids", you'll be linked to a page that asks, "What Do You Like?".  I clicked the Sports balloon and the following choices came up:  Dancer; Professional Athlete; Coach; Recreation and Fitness Worker and Recreational Therapist.  I clicked  Recreational Therapist and was taken to a very easy to read short article that covers the same areas as the OOH in a shorter, simpler manner while linking to the Handbook for more in depth information.
     The Department of Labor runs the O*NET data base at http://www.onetcenter.org/. This is a successor to the DOT - Dictionary of Occupational Titles.  It also gives information about knowledge, skills, interests and general work activities specific careers demand.  You can download assessments or order them from the U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO).
     The Department of Labor also runs http://www.careeronestop.org/.  When I began this blog only a month ago, if you clicked on CareerOneStop on the  Federal Department of Education's http://www.college.gov/ site, you were taken to the BLS site mentioned earlier.  Now that link takes you to the Department of Labor site. ( That's the government bureaucracy I know!)  The CareerOneStop is also a really good resource, especially for older students or work force re-entries/unemployed.  They actually have centers run by the Department of Labor to help employment seekers.  There are more than a dozen centers within 25 miles of my home!  Who knew?  Well, that's one of my reasons for doing this.  The amount of information and resources out there is almost overwhelming.  I hope that by writing this blog, I've opened them up to you as well.