Career Planning for High-School Students: The Career Management Essentials (CME)

By Adrian Gonzalez

Career Planning for High School Students

Career Management Essentials

 

This is the only step-by-step career planning system for high school students, their parents, and teachers that is geared toward career satisfaction, degree utilization, employment after graduation, minimum student de

• Language: English
• Publisher: Global Summit House
• Release date: Feb 4, 2019
• ISBN: 9781645165064

Adrian Gonzalez

Adrian Gonzalez obtained a Masters Degree in Special Education, with the subject of transition (school to workforce) as the topic of his final research project. He also worked 10 years as an instructor for the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in the Work Force Training and Development Department. Currently, Adrian represents Mutual of Omaha Insurance Companies in the Miami-Dade County area, helping people build their financial security and protect their families and businesses. Additionally, Adrian provides career planning workshops for the community through local churches and community centers. Adrian Gonzalez has been married for 15 years and has a teenage son and daughter.

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Career Planning for High-School Students

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The Career Management Essentials (CME)

Adrian Gonzalez

Copyright © Adrian Gonzalez

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher, except by reviewers, who may quote brief passages in a review.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

ISBN: 978-1-64516-505-7 (Paperback Edition)

ISBN: 978-1-64516-504-0 (Hardcover Edition)

ISBN: 978-1-64516-506-4 (E-book Edition)

Some characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

Book Ordering Information

Phone Number: 347-901-4929 or 347-901-4920

Email: [e-mail]

Global Summit House

www.globalsummithouse.com

Printed in the United States of America

Contents

Who is CME for?

What is CME and what is going to do for you?

CME Job Aid

CME Key Points

Message for Parents

Chapter 1: What industries are present where I live? (Step 1)

Defining the Area where you Live

Step 1 Helpers - Economists

Industry Research Activity

Step 1 Guidance for Parents

Chapter 2: Which of these industries am I interested in? (Step 2)

Industry of Interest Activity

Step 2 Helpers - Career Coaches

Networking

Network Contact Sheet Template

Informational Interview

Job Shadowing

Job Shadowing Worksheet

Step 2 Helpers - High School Counselor

Recommendations for Parent Involvement

Chapter 3: Who are the employers in this industry? (Step 3)

Employer List Activity

Chapter 4: What jobs do these employers need to fill? (Step 4)

Job List Activity

Chapter 5: To which of these jobs can I contribute the most? (Step 5)

Educational Path Activity

Step 5 Helpers - High School Counselor and Teachers

Tasks-Skills Match Activity

Step 5: Job Shadowing Activity

Chapter 6: Which is the best school to train for this job? (Step 6)

CME School Test

Step 6 Helpers - Post-Secondary School Counselors

Step 6 Helpers - Career Coaches

Step 6 Helpers - High School Counselors

Chapter 7: Would I have work experience for this job when I graduate? If not, where would I go to get the experience I need? (Step 7)

Task log

Task Log Template

Task Journal

Career Worksheet Examples

Career Worksheet Template

CME Goal

The High School To-Do List

High School To-Do List for Parents

Students with Special Needs

Final Message for Students

Final Message for Parents

Endnotes

Who is CME for?

To find out, answer yes or no to the following questions:

Are you a high school student? _________

Are you undecided about your future career? _______

Are you the parent or guardian of a high school student? ______

Do you have a friend or a family member currently in middle school or high school? _____

Are you a high school teacher or administrator? _______

Are you a career coach? __________

Are you a high school counselor? _______

Are you the parent of a middle school student? _________

Are you a student counselor working for a post-secondary school? _____

Are you a public figure interested in the subject of education? ______

If your answer is yes to at least of one of these questions, you need CME.

What is CME and what is going to do for you?

CME stands for Career Management Essentials; it is a concept that is explained by combining the definition of each of its words:

Career: a profession that someone does for a long time (e.g., 50 to 60 years).

Management: the act of controlling and making decisions.

Essential: the very basic thing you need to know.

Put these three meanings together and CME is defined as the basic knowledge you need to control what you are going to be doing professionally for next 50 to 60 years. Say CME aloud and fast and you will hear yourself saying… See me! Like if you were predicting how you would see yourself professionally five years from now.

The key word in CME is management because it establishes that you are the manager of your own career; the one in charge, who causes your professional future to take one direction or another. The next word is essential; this is to emphasize that the basic thing you need to know as your own career manager is to foresee problems and take corrective actions before they happen. In career managing, there are three problems that you need to plan and anticipate for. They are 1) high unemployment, 2) low college degree utilization, and 3) student loan defaulting. CME is the solution for all three of them.

High unemployment rate among recent graduates: You need to be aware that when you graduate, whether from college, high school, or a vocational school, you may not be able to find a job. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, in July of 2014, the unemployment rate reached 11.4 (for workers ages 20-24) and 20 (for workers ages 16-19). Now, compare these two rates against same month and year total unemployment rate of 6.2.

Low college degree utilization: You also need to be aware that you may have worked hard to earn that college degree, spent an average of $50,000 to $100,000, and still not get to use it or get properly compensated for it. A survey conducted by CareerBuilder revealed that about 47% of college graduates claimed not to have started in the workforce through jobs that were related to their major. In fact, 32% never got to work in jobs related to their major at all. But what is scary is that 62% of these same graduates are working in jobs that don’t even require a college degree.¹

Student loan defaulting: In September of 2014, the national student loan default rate stood as high as 13.7%. According to an article by the Washington Post,² the government was said to have sanctioned at least 21 post-secondary schools for incurring student’s loan default rates of as high as 30% for three consecutive years or 40% within a year (Nick, 2014).

CME is a strategy specifically designed to address these three problems. When students graduate from high school, they move from a leading by the hand system to a new you are on your own reality. This drastic change is caused by the distinctive objectives among these two educational levels. The objective of the elementary and secondary education is to provide the academic foundation the student needs to succeed at a post-secondary academic level, but the objective of the post-secondary education is to train the student in whatever specific skills he or she chooses. For example, a male student enrolled in a university to study Anthropology the will be taught how to study primates in Africa. Upon graduation, this same student cannot go back to the university to complain that nobody told him that there were no jobs in this field so now he has no money to pay the debt. Why would the school be held responsible? They did what the student paid them to do. He left the school being an expert in African primates. In this same manner, it is not the school’s fault that when you finished a Bachelor in Business Administration degree you had to start with a minimum-wage job because you had no previous work experience. According to them (the post-secondary school), you should have figured that out on your own.

The reality is that when students are left on their own, they fail repeatedly at establishing connections with employers while they are still in school. They don’t bother to do so until they are heavily in