"What are you going to be when you grow up?" is a question most of us have been asked throughout our childhoods. Some of us may have had a different response every time we answered the question; others may have always known what they wanted to "be." Regardless of your response, you will still have to make plans, set goals, and make decisions throughout your career planning process. This course will help you set a direction and show you how to navigate your way through a sometimes confusing maze of options and possibilities. Career Planning is a course designed to offer you an opportunity to explore your own interests and values, investigate career interests, and practice making goals and decisions. The course provides information on finding, getting, and keeping a job, and emphasizes the transition to your next phase of life. You will begin this course exploring those things that interest you. Even if you don't know what career to choose, you do have many ideas about the things you enjoy and are skilled at doing. Finding a career that brings meaning and enjoyment to your life is based on those very activities you enjoy doing right now. The things that interest you, the things that are important to you, and the things at which you excel are all very good and real indicators of career direction. Once you've narrowed down those activities that are of the most interest to you, you will investigate which careers actually utilize your skills and interests. You will accomplish this by completing the Holland Self-Directed Search and doing online research. You will then decide on four career choices based on your research, which you will use throughout the course. Because goal setting and decision making are such important concepts in career planning (and in life, in general), two units of this course are devoted to helping you set realistic goals and make effective decisions to achieve those goals. You will also learn of specific obstacles that can get in the way of accomplishing your goals and effective methods to surmount those obstacles. Finally, you will be introduced to various ways of finding a job that interests you. You will explore where to find out about jobs, how to apply for them, how to write cover letters and resumes, how to interview, and perhaps most importantly, how to keep a job once you've landed one. Information on transitions from school to work, to the military, and to post-secondary education will also be discussed. You will demonstrate your comprehension of the course by completing all the activities assigned, taking unit evaluations, and completing six unit projects. Also, you will get the opportunity to share your career planning successes and obstacles with other students who are experiencing the same things by using the discussion group. Your teacher will also be there to answer specific questions via e-mail. Remember ?nothing remains the same. Most people choose many careers throughout their lifetimes. The information in this course can help you decide your second or third career as effectively as your first.

What will I learn in this course? You will explore, understand, analyze, and respond to: issues of self-discovery by determining your values, skills, and interests and how they relate to career planning; methods of research using such tools as the Holland Self-Directed Search, The Dictionary of Occupational Titles, The Occupational Outlook Handbook, and computerized career systems; first-hand career exploration by conducting an information interview and job shadowing; benefits of setting goals as well as the obstacles that can inhibit successful completion of those goals; effective decision-making techniques; methods of seeking, finding, and keeping a job by exploring various print-based and online job banks, creating a cover letter and resume, researching proper job interview techniques, and investigating those skills that employers are searching for; and transitions to work, military service, and post-secondary options such as vocational, two-year, and four-year colleges. You will increase your computer skills in a number of ways, including word processing, navigating the course, participating in online class discussions, e-mails, and Web searches. You will increase your awareness of the World Wide Web as an educational and informational resource. You will have the opportunity to develop a sense of class membership, using the Internet to communicate with your instructor and your classmates.