Career Connections: Student Resources

As you enter your career journey, reflect on the following ten questions.  These questions contribute to your sense of career direction--what you want to do and how to go about getting there once you decide.  Consider taking some time to answer these questions in a career journal.  

Question 1.  What is my "why"? It is important to find work that you care about.  The first factor is figuring out how earning money can help you accomplish certain goals or desires.  In other words, what is  your purpose for earning money?  Second, there may be a cause or problem in the world that really tugs at your heart.  Does this cause offer clues to career directions you can take?  Finally, finding your "why" is understanding the innate benefit that each job or career path brings to the world, whether the job is a private-sector job or working in a nonprofit organization.  

Question 2.  Do I believe in my ability to succeed?  Do you have a growth mindset or a fixed mindset?  Do you believe that with sustained effort and experience you can cultivate success (growth mindset), or do you avoid challenges and avoid risks because you think something that is hard to do means you are not able to do it (fixed mindset)?  

Question 3.  What are my natural talents and aptitudes?  Strong aptitudes are natural abilities that make it easier for a person to learn and be good at certain types of work.  Taking the ASVAB test in November 2025 can help you identify which aptitudes are strongest and which are weaker.  DIscovery of your aptitudes allows you to explore a wider range of careers in which you might be able to excel.

Question 4.  What is my work personality and preferred work environment?  The Naviance Career Key tool helped you discover the Holland Code category that best fits you:  Realistic (hands-on and active), Investigative (requiring intellectual effort to student, conduct research and hypothesize), Artistic (expressive through music, visual arts, writing), Social (helping, teaching, supporting), Enterprising (competing, leading, influencing, and/or Conventional (organizing, creating, and flowing routines).  This simple Naviance tool assists in making you more aware about the kinds of activities and tasks you like to do, and how those preferences can play out in different occupations. 

Question 5.  How much do I want and need to earn to live independently?  Developing a basic degree of financial literacy is a key factor in being able to navigate your career path.  You need to learn how to create a personal budget, understand the basics of payroll withholding and taxes, save and invest money, and avoid taking on too much high-interest credit card debt or car loan payments.  Depending upon where you decide to live, the cost of living will affect how much you will need to earn to make ends meet and to put some aside for savings.  The Living Wage Calculator from MIT provides a useful benchmark for how much an adult needs to earn to live on their own or to head a household with different numbers of children.  

Question 6.  Where do I want to live, and am I willing to move?  Where you live is a personal choice, but it is also impacted by the availability of good jobs.  This is very important factor to consider as you weight the relative pros and cons of different careers.  

Question 7.  How much time am I willing to put into preparation for a particular career? When you are considering different career options, how much time, effort, and money are you willing to invest to get what you want?  Do you need to get into the workplace right now and plan to work, earn, and learn along the way?  Or am I willing to wait four years (or longer) to defer career-level earnings before I enter the field?  Questions you need to ask yourself:  Can I apply myself to studying for the next one, two, four or more years?  Can I see a career path relating to what I plan to study? Is the investment of time worth it for me to find  a personally meaningful career path?

Question 8.  How much money am I (or my family) willing to put into preparation for a particular career?  About half of college students take out loans and when they stop going to school, they have to begin repayment on those loans.  For each potential career path, you need to know several facts:  What are the average earnings in this career path, especially in my region?  What are my entry-level earnings likely to be once I finish the college or training program?  Do I need to go somewhere outside of my region to begin my career? How many jobs in this career are likely to be available? How much money will I have to borrow and what will be my monthly repayment rate?  How much of my entry-level earnings will be taken up by loan repayments, and will I have enough to pay for my other essential needs?  You need to start with a strong plan to finish with success.

Question 9.  What do I want most from work?  Another way of asking is, "What do I value in the workplace itself?"  The Theory of Work Adjustment suggests there are six work values that may be of greater or lesson importance to a person, but you will be happiest in a workplace that matches your personal work values.  The work values identified in this theory are:  Achievement, Working Conditions, Recognition, Relationships, Support, and Independence.  There is a free survey-based assessment related to this theory called the "Work Values Matcher."  Understanding these work values gives you another tool to decide between different job opportunities.  

Question 10.  In light of my answers to these questions, what is my basic career fit?  You can use technology tools like Naviance AchieveWorks Profiler, Career Cluster Finder, Strengths Explorer, and Career Interest Profiler or the ASVAB Career Exploration Assessment to begin looking at a variety of occupations that match to your natural aptitudes and interests.  By weighing all of the factors from the first nine questions and the information you discover about yourself from Naviance, you can begin to reach "for now" decisions about your best fit career path.  My "why" + belief in my abilities + My innate aptitudes + My preferred work environment = Career Options A, B, and C.  Now look at additional factors based and weigh each career option  "Does the answer weigh in favor of the career (+1), Is it neutral (+0), or does this answer weigh against the career (-1).  Weigh each of the following factors using these questions:  Where I want to live (+1, +0, -1).  How much time I will devote to school to prepare for the career (+1, +0, -1), How much money I'm able to invest in school (+1, +0, -1), How much money I need to earn (+1, +0, -1), and what I want from the workplace (+1, +0, -1).  How do the career options rank now?  If it still unclear to you what career options fit you, be sure to talk with parents, school counselors, the school's career/readiness coordinator, and other trusted adults for input on what might be the best options for you.  

Take advantage of Career Navigation Skills through Portrait of a Graduate Activities and Career-Connected Learning Activities offered at Westbrook High School give you time and opportunities to explore your best fit career options.  

* Adapted from Meeder, Hans.  Preparing Tomorrow's Workforce. YouScience Media, 2024.