career research project assignment

A Career Research Project for Middle School

• Kellie Hayden
• Categories : Lesson plans for middle school social studies
• Tags : Teaching middle school grades 6 8

At the middle school level, students should start thinking about what they really want to do so that they can start preparing for that career. Students will complete a career inventory, research three careers and present the information in the project to the class.

Career Inventory

Now that students have been in the school system for several years, some may have decided that they really don’t want to go to college for more than eight years to be a doctor. However, some do not know what they want to do.

Some schools use printed career inventories and these can become part of this project. However, there are many free career inventories online that student can complete. Teachers should try them out before asking students to go online. Many websites ask for email addresses to send the results. The teacher could have all the students give the teacher’s school email address so that all the results go to the teacher first. However, teachers should follow their school Internet policies when completing this project.

Once the career inventories are completed, students should have a list of possible careers that they might be interested in researching. Students should select three careers on which they would like to complete additional research.

Career Research

Now that students have three possible careers, they can start researching those jobs. They need to find out the following for each career:

1. Career Preparation

• Amount of years of college and or job training needed: on the job training, one year certificate, Associate’s Degree, Bachelor’s Degree, Master’s Degree or Doctorate Degree.
• Amount of training time on the job before a full salary can be earned.

2. Job Description

• Describe the day-to-day duties and tasks that are required of the job.
• Describe equipment and/or technology that will be used on the job.
• Describe the setting for the career, such as a hospital, ship, office building, outdoors, etc.
• Explain the parts of the country where a student can find this job.

3. Pay or Salary

• Describe a starting salary or rate of pay per hour for this job (sometimes students find a top salary that is unrealistic for a beginning worker).

When students have found the information for three careers, they need to prepare a report that they will share as a presentation. First, they need to decide what career they like best from all of the information. Then, they need to report on why this career is the best fit for them. They should give the facts about the other jobs and why the other two jobs are not a good fit for them. They also need to find a visual aid, such as equipment/technology used on the job, uniform worn, place of work, etc.

Presentation and Assessment

Once students have written up their reports on their top choice for a career, they need to write it out on note cards. Students need to practice presenting their reports as homework. Then, they will present their information to the class.

To assess the presentation, teachers can use a rubric. The criteria for the rubric could be as follows: career information and facts, voice, eye contact, and visual aids. Teachers can have students write out their report in a final copy format and assess that as well.

This project is one that students will see has a real-world application. Most will be very excited to be thinking about their future and what they really want to be when they grow up.

This post is part of the series: Help Your Students Set Future Goals & Plan for Careers With These Lesson Plans

It’s never too early for students to think about what they will do once their graduation cap is tossed in the air and high school is behind them. Help your students prepare for and think about their future with these lesson plans meant to motivate and inspire.

• Help Your Students Reach For the Stars With a Classroom Goal Tree
• Project for Middle School Students to Research Careers
• A Lesson on Goal Setting for Students: A Vital Skill for Success

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Project Career Research: how to set yourself up for success in choosing a new career

July 20, 2020

Launching a new career can be an exhilarating process, but also a complicated one. One of the most important steps is the first one—choosing which career to pursue. Whether you’re a college student getting ready to join the workforce for the first time, a mid-career professional looking to make a career switch, or someone returning to the workforce after time away, the challenge is the same—how do you know which career to pursue, and how do you get started?

This article is designed to help you explore potential careers in an analytical way. You’ll learn how to choose the career that’s right for you, and determine exactly what’s required to land your first job in your new chosen field. You’ll do this with a process called Project Career Research .

Project Career Research Overview

In Project Career Research you’ll speak with five professionals working in the career you’re exploring. This will help you develop a well-rounded overview of the field, and a plan for approaching different companies in your job search. 

The goal of Project Career Research is to answer three big questions.

Question #1: What is it really like to work as a [job title]?  

A particular career might sound exciting when you see it featured in a press article, or when you read the job description, or when you see the salaries highlighted on a hiring site. But if you’re going to actually work in the field, you need to understand the day-to-day realities of the role. Conversations with industry professionals can tell you what articles and career sites can’t—what it’s really like to have that job. 

What percentage of time do you spend in meetings, focusing on your own projects, writing emails, planning, etc? Who are the people you work with the most, and how do you interact with them? What skills and personality traits are required for success? What time of day do you usually eat lunch? What’s your stress level? Do you talk to lots of people every day, or are you on your own all the time? Do you collaborate often, or very rarely? How much freedom do you get to decide which projects you work on? How do promotions happen? 

These “real life” concerns can make the difference between loving a job, and just going through the motions. Talking with someone who is already in the field is a great way to understand the actual reality of life as a data scientist, a marketer, a social worker, or whatever role it is you choose to pursue.

Question #2: What skills do you actually need to succeed in this job?

Job descriptions can be very helpful, but they can also be very overwhelming. It’s unfortunately all too common for people to abandon pursuing a particular role, because they look at the long list of requirements in the description, and conclude they’re not qualified. The truth is, these sections are often just laundry lists of every single thing a hiring manager might wish to see in a candidate. They don’t necessarily reflect what’s actually required to succeed. Talking with people working in the field is an excellent way to learn what really does and doesn’t matter.

Questions #3: What do you need to land that job? 

There is a difference between being able to do the job, and being able to get the job. As an applicant, it’s your responsibility to prove that you’re qualified. So, it’s important to know what hiring managers are looking for from a candidate. Being credentialed for a particular skill can be very beneficial for some jobs, but not matter at all for others. Some jobs require that you have a portfolio of pre-existing work to show, while other jobs will ask you to complete a new task during your interview, and prioritize this above your portfolio. Some roles require very specific technical skills, while for others the ability to learn quickly and soft skills are much more important. Before you fully commit your time and energy to your job search, make sure you know exactly what it will take to get the job, so you’re ready when the opportunities come.

At this point, you may be wondering why you have to speak to real people—can’t this all be researched online? While there are many great online resources available, there is no substitute for the real insights and opinions that emerge in direct conversation with industry professionals. Take this step, and you’ll enter your job search well-prepared, and with confidence. Avoid it, and you risk everything from resume missteps and inadequate interview preparation to spending money on the wrong classes or training programs. As an added bonus, when you make contact with industry professionals, you’re expanding your network in your future field, which will be especially helpful once you begin the actual job search process.

How to find people to speak with

Your existing connections . An important first step is to consider your own existing network. This could be your LinkedIn network, other professional circles, or people in your shared community spaces—parent groups, civic groups, volunteer organizations, sports teams, and more. Is there someone you know who’s already in the field? Before you became interested in, say, mobile development as a possible career, you might not have consciously registered the fact that you actually already know a mobile developer! Auditing your own network is a great way to quickly discover people with whom you might be able to schedule an informational interview.

Professional groups. Search LinkedIn, Facebook, and Meetup for groups connecting professionals in your target field and reach out to individuals within those groups. Generally, you’ll find that people who are proactive enough to join professional groups are also the kinds of people who enjoy talking about their careers, and are eager to share their knowledge and their experience.

Here’s a task for you. Search professionals on LinkedIn by your target job title, and your geographic location. Review 100 profiles, and from there, choose 20 who feel most relevant to your career objectives. Reach out to all using the template below. If they respond, follow up right away with a thank-you note, and reiterate your interest in a conversation.

LinkedIn outreach template:

Hi <name>, I discovered your profile while researching digital marketing. Your experience at <company> is very interesting and I’d appreciate an opportunity to ask you a few questions, as I am exploring a career change from office management. Thank you in advance for connecting with me!

Tip #1: Make scheduling easy for the other person by suggesting a specific time to speak, and offer to work around their calendar.

Tip #2 : If they don’t reply, don’t take it personally. Just move on with your list.

Tip #3 : On LinkedIn you can only access profiles of people who are in your network (i.e.,  your 1st-degree, 2nd-degree, and 3rd-degree connections), as well as fellow members of your LinkedIn groups. You can expand your network by adding more 1st-degree connections and joining groups.

Preparing for your conversations

To make the most out of each conversation while being respectful of everyone’s time, do your research in advance, so you can ask valuable questions that only they can answer for you (as opposed to those you can get answers to through an online search). Not only does this help ensure a productive conversation, it demonstrates your respect and appreciation for the other person’s experience, and their generosity in taking the time to meet with you

I know you transitioned from teaching high school to a role as an instructional designer, and I’m trying to do the same. But also noticed that most people in similar roles tend to have formal training in instructional design. How were you able to get recruiters to notice you?

There are many ways to do research but you should always include:

• LinkedIn – review profiles of the person you are speaking with (and potentially their colleagues) to understand their backgrounds and experiences.
• Website of the company the person works for, to get a sense of everything from product catalogues to company culture.
• Industry associations and organizations – staying current with industry trends demonstrates your active engagement with your chosen field and its community, and helps to ensure your career questions are specific and relevant.

Tailoring your questions to be specific to each individual is essential, but it’s also important to prepare a set of core questions you can ask in every interview, in order to gather baseline information. For example:

• Can you describe a day in the life of a [role]?
• What are the on-the-job skills required to be successful in this role?
• Are there similar roles I should look into as well?
• How does someone with my background land a first job in the field?

During and after each conversation

Set the context for the meeting. Begin with an overview of why you reached out and what you are hoping to learn from the conversation. This enables the other person to focus on what’s relevant and will make them feel comfortable, as they’ll understand the goals. Remember: as the one who initiated the conversation, it’s your responsibility to establish both the tone and agenda. 

Introduce yourself. To ensure a productive conversation, it’s important that they understand who you are—this helps to establish context for your questions. Spend a couple of minutes in the beginning explaining why you reached out and what your goals are. Remember that while you are there to learn, this person might be able to connect you to a professional opportunity at some point. Be prepared to speak about your skills, accomplishments, and personal qualities that can bring value to an organization. You might not know how your experience transfers onto this new role but you should demonstrate passion and confidence that you can learn and grow quickly. Keep it short and focused.

Let them speak. Since you are there to learn, the primary focus of the conversation should be on the other person. Some people might be more talkative, while others may need more input from you in order to engage. Ideally, they should be speaking for 50% to 80% of the conversation. Don’t be afraid of short pauses, and be respectful and patient if they need time to gather their thoughts. 

Send a thank-you email. You have created a valuable connection, so stay in touch! A thank-you email is a great way to strengthen the connection by reiterating your appreciation for their time and following up on any action items that came out of the discussion. Also, be sure to think through ways you might return the favor, and, as appropriate, share resources, connections, or thoughts they might find valuable.

Wrapping up your project

Now that you have completed five conversations with professionals working in your target career, it’s time to go back to your main three questions and provide answers based on what you’ve learned.

Upon completing that step, you should have a clear sense of whether your target career is actually the one that you want to pursue. You should know if there are opportunities in your area, and you should have a good sense of what skills are required for the role. 

If all that is in place, then you’re ready to proceed!

Your next steps will involve addressing gaps related to job requirements (skills, credentials, degrees, experience) and building an optimal resume. We’ll cover those topics in future posts. Until then, good luck choosing a great career path, and we’ll look forward to seeing you on Coursera when you need to learn new skills!

About the author: Vera Fishman

Vera Fishman a Career Services Program Manager at Coursera and a career coach. Over the past 5+ years she coached hundreds of professionals from major Silicon Valley companies and ran workshops on every step of the job search process at Lee Hecht Harrison (resume writing, career discovery, interviewing – you name it!) and created an innovative job search curriculum at Udacity. Prior to becoming a coach Vera had a whole different career in marketing, and a shorter one in non-profit community management – so she is no stranger to career-changing herself.  A native of Saint Petersburg, Russia, Vera has spent her adult life in Silicon Valley, where she feels most at home and comfortable – aside from not liking to have to drive everywhere.

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How to Conduct Career Research

Going Global

The wellesley hive, occupational outlook handbook, connecting to industry advisors.

Regardless of where you are in your career — whether you are unsure where to begin or you are preparing for a final round interview — conducting research can help you learn more about and prepare for potential career opportunities. There are many ways to gather information when you’re in the beginning stages of exploring your options, including career research and networking. Below you’ll find ideas and general resources to get started. Use the online resources to gain preliminary information about industries and job titles, then connect to professionals for conversations where you can ask questions and hear the details and realities of the paths that interest you. In addition, once you’ve narrowed your interests to a particular industry, refer to the industry-specific resources listed on the applicable Career Community page.

As you learn more about a particular career path, be sure to stop and reflect on what you have learned. Ask yourself these questions:

• Am I still interested in this career path?
• What excites me the most about this role/industry?
• What concerns do I have about this line of work?
• Can I see myself working in this environment?
• Does this path capitalize on my strengths?
• Does this path align with my values?
• What skills do I need to develop?
• What information am I still missing?

As you conduct your career research, we encourage you to make an appointment with your Advisor for Career Exploration (ACE) to discuss your reflections, learnings and ideas further. These appointments will be helpful in identifying next sSETPH in terms of your research and exploration.

Going Global Going Global is the leading provider of both country-specific and USA city-specific career and employment information. It is a great resource for international students who are hoping to find opportunities within the United States and any student who is interested in working abroad. Learn about employment practices, workplace culture, and key industries of 40+ countries, and more!  

In May 2017, Career Education and the Wellesley College Alumnae Association launched The Wellesley Hive , a platform where current Wellesley students and alumnae can mentor, or be mentored. It is a  platform where you can ask questions and seek guidance, coach and inspire, and find paths to professional aspirations. Think of it as a digital space exclusively for Wellesley.

The Wellesley Hive is designed to be flexible, user-friendly, and interactive. Key features of the platform include the ability to:

• Search and connect with the Wellesley Network as a mentor, mentee, or both
• Customize involvement levels and fully manage your time commitment as a mentor
• Search for opportunities shared by fellow alumnae and Career Education
• Discover and post event listings, including networking mixers, career fairs, conferences, and more
• Join discussion groups to connect with others around shared career interests and identities
• Learn more about forming meaningful mentorship relationships through digital resources  

LinkedIn With over 350 million users across the globe, LinkedIn is a go-to resource for networking, and also a great tool for career research. Here are a few ways to use LinkedIn to explore career paths and options:

• Find and connect with professionals for informational interviews using the Wellesley College Alumnae pages or the “Find Alumni” tool offered by LinkedIn
• See where others with your major now work, and what types of jobs, experiences and education they’ve had
• Research companies using individual company pages
• Stay current of news and events using LinkedIn Pulse
• Participate in career-specific groups with others sharing your interest  

Using O*NET OnLine , you can find detailed descriptions for very specific job types in many different fields. You can browse different occupations by their outlook, by field, skills used, or jobs specific to STEM or in the Green Economy Sectors.  

The Occupational Outlook Handbook , published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, can help you find basic career information on duties, education and training, pay and outlook for hundreds of occupations. To get started, choose an Occupation Group to explore, then learn about common job functions within that interest area of field.  

Wellesley College provides you complete access to Vault.com , an online tool for career research and preparation. Vault provides in-depth knowledge and information on what it’s really like to work in certain industries and professions. You can also use Vault to research background information about companies, schools, and internships.

To start learning about various career fields based on your interests, select “Career Resources” from the top navigation and select “Industries” from the drop-down. For each industry, an extensive overview is provided, along with background on the industry, structure, and helpful resources and specific organizations to continue your specific learning and information gathering. At the bottom of each industry page, Vault will provide you with a list of related professions & companies.

Also under the “Career Resources” section, you can select “Professions.” In particular, if you are not sure where to begin, this is a good place to start. Select “Browse All Professions” which will allow you to search for professions based on your favorite subjects, areas of interest, and personality traits (among other search criteria).

As you get further along in your career research, you may sense your career interests begin to narrow. Particular industries may intrigue you more than others and even within a given industry, you may find yourself more excited by a certain niche area. As your interests become more clear, connecting with one of Wellesley College’s Industry-specific Career Advisors is a great way to further explore career options in these areas. Connecting with these advisors provides you with opportunities to:

• Familiarize yourself with career options and opportunities connected to your interest areas and how to prepare for them
• Look through job specific search engines and read through job descriptions to get ideas of what you might, or might not be interested in
• Attend on and off campus events to learn more about careers in this field
• Gain advice and knowledge from experts, alumnae and employers within this field
• Connect with and learn from professionals with careers you’re interested in through events, job shadows, informational interviews, and mentorship

Wellesley College’s industry clusters

• Business, Consulting,Finance, Marketing
• Education, Nonprofit, Human Services
• Government, International Affairs, Law
• Health Professions  
• Arts & Media
• Science, Technology, Engineering, Public Health

​ Not sure what Industry is right for you? Reach out to your Advisor for Career Exploration (ACE who will be able to help you learn more about your values, interests, personality, and skills and how they might overlap within these industries

Sign Up For Newsletters Finally, if you haven’t already, be sure to sign up to receive industry newsletters and information! To do this, log into Handshake , select “Career Interests,” and complete the brief survey.

COLSC 101 - College Success - Career Research Project: Your Assignment

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College Success Career Research Project

While doing this project you will develop a comprehensive overview of a career or a field of work you hope to pursue.  Outlined here are all of the required components of your project. The project should be typed double-spaced. Label each section.    Remember clear, accurate concise writing is required in all career fields.

The portfolio must include the following aspects:

1. Cover page ….Due Date:

Name and career/field of work        

Class and teacher

2. Rationale…Du e Date:

 A well-developed explanation of why you chose a particular career or field.  Explain when you first had the idea to consider your particular career.  Include who or what influenced you.

3. Description of the Career….Due Date:

Write a detailed, research-based description of your chosen career.  In your description, include the requirements and/or qualifications one needs to become a member of the profession. For example, what college or advanced degrees are needed?  Is certification of some kind required?  What are the exact steps one must take to secure employment in this field?  What are the salary ranges and benefits for this career? Consult the Career Center, 2 nd floor Student Center or Library for resources (Include references you used to obtain information on your Work Cited Page at the end of the project.)

4. Field Interview Questions…Due Date:

Compose a set of ten questions that you will use to interview at least one person currently working in your particular field.  Avoid framing questions that can be answered with a simple “yes” or “no.”  Try to come up with questions that will provide you with important insight about the work. Make sure that at least one of your questions will help you to answer Part 5 of this assignment. 

5. Field Interview (Including a Day in the Life of a ……) Due Date:

Provide your interviewee’s answers to the questions you created in Part 4.  Make sure that at least one of your answers provides a snapshot of a typical work day for a person in your career or field of work.  This can take the form of a daily schedule, or any ideas that you may have that will effectively communicate what a typical work day is like for a person in your chosen profession.  Questions should be in boldface and answers should follow directly after each question.

6. Availability….Due Date:

Do some research about opportunities for future employment in your chosen field.  What will the job prospects look like when you are ready to enter the work force?

7. Self-evaluation …. Due Date: Complete 3 of the following self-evaluation statements. You must explain yourself; do not write a one-sentence answer.  This is a reflection of your work and your experiences with this career research project.

“I am proud of this project because…..”

“The most difficult part of this assignment was…”

“This project shows my ability to…”

“If I had more time, I would….”

“One of my strengths revealed through this project was….”

“During this assignment I became aware that…”

“One thing I would like to do better is…”

“This project shows my improvement in…”

“This project is really good because…”\

“The part of the project I liked best was ________ because…”\

“I would have completed this project better if….”

8. Works cited pag e …. Due Date:

 MLA format. Click on the Citation tab for more information.

Template for Career Research

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Career Research Project for Principles of Business Management & Entrepreneurship: Home

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• How do I get started with the basics in NoodleTools ?
• How do I create a   Works Cited ,  Reference page or Bibliography for my project? 
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Your Assignment & Rubric for Grading

Guidelines for Career Research Project  ​ - This is your guide to what goes into the project. Follow it closely to ensure you include all requirements in your final project. You may also use the NoodleTools Links  in this guide ( at left ) to take notes, generate in-text citations, and create a list of your sources cited in MLA style ( see guide at bottom right on this page ). Please use NoodleTools to properly cite all images, database articles, websites, personal interviews, etc. Essentially, anything that is not your own words, thoughts or work must be cited whether you use direct quotes or paraphrase. 

Rubric for Career Research Project   - Periodically revisit the rubric to ensure you are meeting the highest standards for your research, writing, documentation of sources, mechanics and formatting. 

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How to Avoid Plagiarism LibGuide

According to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary, to "plagiarize" means:

• to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one's own
• to use (another's production) without crediting the source
• to commit literary theft
• to present as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing source

In other words, plagiarism is an act of fraud. It involves both stealing someone else's work and lying about it afterward.

Source:  P.org  sponsored by  Turnitin

The librarian is always happy to help you!

MLA Citation Style Resources

Citation Helper LibGuide: MLA, APA & Chicago  - This guide includes information about citing your sources, including MLA, APA and Chicago / Turabian citation styles.

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Explore Your Career as If You were Doing a Research Project

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Like many graduate students, after two or three years in school, I find myself more prepared for research projects than exploring careers. The two seemingly distinct tasks – exploring careers and doing research – actually share a lot of commonalities. In a recent article from Inside Higher Ed, Tina Solvic, Program Manager of Graduate Career Education at the University of Texas at Austin, suggests that the process of investigating one’s career opportunities and conducting a research project is similar by nature – they are both long-term processes requiring information collection, analysis, and assessment before findings or discoveries surface.

One thing I learned by reading this article is how to transfer my experience and skills from my graduate training to researching my career through its step-by-step guide. The article also includes tools and resources to help one start their career research project. Read the full article here .

Inside Higher Ed is a free daily news website for people who work in higher education. Breaking news, lively commentary, and thousands of job postings bring more than 1.2 million people to the site each month. One of its columns – Carpe Careers features career-related advice and opinions specifically for doctoral students.

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Technology, Engineering and Construction Management: INT 1010: Career Project

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Introduction to Information Technology (INT 1010)

Overview: Career Research Project

This project will involve writing an analytical paper that evaluates and compares three careers. Students will learn how to use an evaluation matrix to make a better decision about which career to choose. Each student’s thesis statement should center on the choosing which career would be the best.

• One career must be in the field of your program of study.  If your major is undecided or general education, choose a career that interests you. The other two careers must be Information Technology (IT) careers. (Of course, if IT is your major then all 3 careers will be in IT.) 
• One of the IT careers must be related to cyber security .

In addition to comparing the careers, students will discuss an ethical issue that may arise for those who work in one of the careers, and at least one emerging or “cutting edge” technology used in one of the careers.

Phase 1: Pick Careers and Plagiarism

Step 1:  Decide on the 3 careers you will investigate. No two students in the class may have identical sets of 3 careers, though overlap is allowed. A good place to locate career information is the Bureau of Labor Statistics .

If you are having trouble coming up with a Cybersecurity job titles, here are some choices:

• Security Analyst
• Security Engineer
• Security Architect
• Security Administrator
• Security Software Developer
• Cryptographer/Cryptologist
• Cryptanalyst
• Intrusion Detection Specialist
• Computer Security Incident Responder
• Source Code Auditor
• Virus Technician
• Penetration Tester
• Ethical Hacker
• Vulnerability Assessor
• Information Technology Specialist

(This list was adapted from the George Washington University’s Department of Computer Science, Master in Cybersecurity web site, February 26, 2015.)

Step 2:  Do some research on plagiarism . Learn how you need to credit your sources.

• Start with reading the GCFLearnFree.org tutorial, Use Information Correctly, Avoiding Plagiarism  
• Then explore the Plagiarism section of the PGCC Library Research Tutorial
• Take the Plagiarism Quiz until you get 100%

​ Phase 2: Annotated Bibliography

Step 1:  In this phase, you will research information about each of your careers , an ethical issue and an emerging technology . You want to find out what a person in each career does but you also need to investigate criteria for each career that we will use for evaluation. For each career, you need to investigate the salary, education, hours, location and passion. You should be able to find information on all the criteria except passion. We are going to define passion as your desire to have this career.

Look up the criteria for each of your careers on:

• Bureau of Labor and Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook
• Find at least one site that identifies an ethical issue(s) for one of your careers
• Find at least one site that identifies an emerging technology(ies) for one of your careers

Step 2:   Evaluate the worth of each source you found above. 

• View the Information Access and Evaluation section of the PGCC Library Research Tutorial
• Read the Evaluating Sources, Evaluating Websites section of the  Research Process website.
• Look at your sources from Step 1 and see how they meet the five basic evaluation criteria. Replace those sources that might not be high quality.

Step 3:   Create a bibliography (reference page). Include each of your sources. 

Step 4:   You are required to use your sources as evidence in this research paper. You will need to synthesize what you have read and then write your paper.

• Read the GCFLearnFree.org tutorial Use Information Correctly, Putting Info Together .
• Create an annotated bibliography and take notes on what information will be needed to support the facts in your paper (career salary, education, hours, location, ethical issue and emerging technology, etc.).  

Step 5:   Submit these two documents (regular bibliography and annotated bibliography)

Phase 3: Evaluation Matrix and Chart

Step 1:   Each class will set their own criteria and your instructor will post these into Blackboard under Phase 3. Most classes will use salary, education, passion, etc.; but you need to make sure you are using the exact criteria for your class . You will use the criteria to evaluate your careers.

Step 2:   Create an evaluation matrix in Excel that will let you compare the 3 careers side by side on each criterion. Refer to the tutorial presentation about creating an evaluation matrix if needed. What should be in the matrix is the 3 careers, the criteria to be used, how you personally weigh each criterion. Divide 100 points among the criteria, with the highest number of points going to the criteria that is most important to you.

Step 3:   Based on your research, rate each career on each criterion (on a scale of 1 to 100). Again refer to the presentation about creating an evaluation matrix if needed. After you have rated all 3 careers, create Excel formulas to calculate weighted scores using a mixed cell reference. This will enable you to see which career scored best with the raw scores and then which career scored best with the weighted scores.

Step 4:   Create an Excel chart worksheet. The chart may be the style of your choice. It must give good information about the data in your worksheet. Name each worksheet in the workbook appropriately. Submit your file with both worksheets into the Blackboard assignment for this phase.

Phase 4: Write the Paper

In this phase you will complete your paper and submit it for a plagiarism check. Be sure to give credit to your sources throughout your paper using the Word reference features to enter internal citations.

The body of your paper should include:

• A brief explanation of your choice of careers. The body should tell why you weighted the criteria as you did for each career. The weights are based on your opinion. Then the paper should explain any high or low ratings you gave any of the careers based on your research. Discuss how the careers compared to each other with respect to the criteria. Support these ratings (scores) you assign with details from your research (not your opinion). It is not necessary to explain each score in great detail, but you should help your reader understand how you arrived at your scores by presenting specific facts about the career based on research. Also comment on what you discovered. Did you get the results you were expecting? Why or why not?
• Include the two Excel elements, your evaluation matrix chart and table, into your Word document in appropriate places (APA requires each figure be at the top of the page).
• Identify at least emerging technology in one of you careers. Explain the benefits and limitations of the emerging technology on decision-making and problem solving for the career. Details should be supported by your research.
• Evaluate at least one ethical issue for one career. Relate this issue to the identified emerging technologies (above) if possible. In your evaluation discuss how an individual in that career should deal with the ethical issue(s). Support your opinion by citing facts learned in your research.
• The Reference page. You should already have this created using the Word Reference feature. You should also use the Word Reference feature to make your internal citations. DO NOT submit the annotated bibliography. You should submit a Works Cited page (APA style).

Submit a copy of your paper to the Blackboard assignment link. It will be automatically submitted to SafeAssign to check your paper for plagiarism. You may want to read through this web page about how SafeAssign works .

Read through the originality report you receive after submission and make the appropriate edits to your paper for Phase 5.

Phase 5: Format Final Paper  

After you make any necessary changes based on the originality report from Phase 4 and your evaluation matrix from Phase 3, format your paper according to APA formatting style . It should include:

• Body of paper with sources credited parenthetically
• The evaluation matrix and chart pasted into the body of the paper at an appropriate place
• References page

Submit this final draft document (one Word file) and the evaluation matrix (one Excel file) into the Blackboard assignment for this phase.

• INT 1010 Career Project

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STEM Career Research Project for Middle School

• December 18, 2022
• Engineering , STEM
• Career Exploration , Engaging Lessons , Real World Connections

How do you inspire future scientists and engineers? Do your students know what careers are STEM careers and what it means to have a career in STEM? You can answer these questions and more with this multi-day STEM career project !

STEM Career Research Project

In this project, students will choose an engineering career to research. They will discover the job roles and responsibilities, possible work environments, education requirements, average salaries, helpful skills and traits, and projected job growth in that field. Then students will imagine a company that is looking to hire a person in that career field. They’ll examine real-world job postings and then design and create a “help wanted” poster for their chosen career. Next, students will present their work and learn about other careers in a gallery walk activity. Finally, they’ll complete an independent reflection activity.

This STEM career research project is independent and low-prep. Grab this resource today! You will save your prep time, and know your students will be engaged and inspired while learning about STEM careers.

What’s included in the STEM Careers Research Project?

This no-prep project includes everything you need for 3-5 days of engaging STEM activities, including: 

• Printable PDF, Google, and Easel versions of the student activities and worksheets
• A webquest that guides students to choose and research a STEM career
• Detailed guidelines and  templates for the “Help Wanted” job advertisement project
• A graphic organizer for capturing student learning during the Gallery Walk activity
• An independent reflection worksheet to be completed at the end of the project
• Embedded links to quality background research websites
• Detailed teacher notes for easy facilitation
• An easy-to-use grading rubric

What materials do you need?

You only need to provide printed or digital copies of the student worksheets and devices with internet access for research. 

How can you use the STEM career project in your classroom?

You can use the research project as a week-long study of STEM careers. You will open your students’ eyes to career options that they may have never before considered. This is a great introductory activity for your STEM class, and it can be used to celebrate National Engineering Week in February.

This STEM career project is also perfect for giving yourself a bit of a break when you are feeling burnt out or feeling frustrated with challenging student behaviors. For example, you could use the project to keep students engaged before a school holiday. You can also use the project to keep students learning when you have unusual schedules or low attendance due to field trips, testing, assemblies, or other interruptions. Or, you can leave the low-prep project as a multi-day STEM sub plan.

Looking for other STEM Career activities?

If you’d like more ideas for inspiring your students and teaching them about STEM careers, check out this blog post on exploring STEM careers !

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Community of Online Research Assignments

An open access resource for faculty and librarians, career research portfolio.

A 10-minute presentation accompanied by a 20-page research paper. The presentation features highlights from your extensive research on a career field, including a profile of a specific company or organization and an interview with a practicing professional.

• To gain research experience useful for career and job selection
• To develop interviewing skills and business writing skills
• To develop global and multicultural perspectives within the career of choice

Information Literacy concepts:

• Finds Information (ACRL 2, SCONUL 3&4, ANZIL 2&4, ANCIL 5)
• Uses Information (ACRL 4, SCONUL 7, ANZIL 5, ANCIL 8&9)

Individual or Group:

Ability level:.

• Undergraduate / Bachelors

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