National Career Development Month

Are you already thinking about a career? Are you thinking about how you will prepare for that career? If so, you are on your way to a successful future!

November is National Career Development Month. This is a time to recognize the importance of educational and career planning. By mapping out your plans now, you are taking control of your future.

Middle school is the perfect time for career exploration. Begin with learning about yourself. What are your interests? What subjects do you like the most? In which subjects do you excel? What special skills do you have? The answers to these questions will help you select a career path in which you will be happy and successful.

Options for the future are often determined by how well you perform in middle school and high school. The work you do in middle school determines the courses you will be prepared for in high school. The courses you take in high school improve your access to college.

Students in middle school are not expected to make a final decision about a career. However, now is the time to begin making plans and setting goals. It will not be very long before you will graduate from high school and walk along your “Pathway to Success”.

Career Spotlight

Military

The U. S. Armed Forces is the country’s largest single employer with more than 2 million people serving, of which 1.4 million are on active duty. Maintaining a strong defense requires many activities, such as running hospitals, repairing helicopters, programming computers, and operating nuclear reactors. Military jobs range from clerical work to professional positions to construction work. People in the military must serve for a specified time and can be moved from one base to another. Enlisted personnel, who make up about 85 percent of the Armed Forces, carry out the fundamental operations of the military in areas such as combat, administration, construction, engineering, health care, and human services. Officers, who make up the remaining 15 percent of the Armed Forces, are the leaders of the military, supervising and managing all activities.

Education and Training: Moderate-term on-the-job training to related work experience

Starting Salaries: $13, 700 (for new recruits)

Average Earnings: $28, 500 (varies tremendously by pay grade; officers can make considerably more than enlisted personnel)

Source: EZ Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2007

Career Planning Internet Links