Job Shadow Experience /  Career Exploration  Overview

The focus of the South Windsor High School Capstone Job Shadow /Career Exploration is to engage each student in a personalized learning experience. This project allows students the opportunity to apply their social, civic, and academic skills while exploring an area of interest outside the boundaries of their formal educational program. 

This experience offers the opportunity:

• collaborate with others

• explore a career interest

• gain valuable work experience

• participate in a job shadow or career exploration.

What is a job shadow or virtual career exploration?

1 . A job shadow is any carefully monitored work experience  in which an individual has intentional learning goals and reflects on what they are learning through the experience. This is very different from a part-time job.  For example, if you are spending time at a law office and are taking care of their filing, that is NOT a job shadow.  On the other  hand, if you are shadowing the lawyer, learning about the workings of the law and accompanying the lawyer to court, this is a job shadow. 

 2.  A career exploration is any carefully monitored career exploration  in which an individual has intentional learning goals and reflects on what they are learning through the experience.  Many of you are starting to consider what you would like your future, post high school, to look like.  You may be pondering questions such as, what career am I interested in? What is the job outlook for that career? What are the educational requirements needed for a certain profession? What are the pros and cons of one career vs. another?