Career and College

Discover careers that might be a good fit for you, based on your personality, skill sets, and interests at the sites below.

Interest Profiler

O*NET 

CA Career Zone 

Career One Stop

K12 Exploration

Any student in California can attend community college FREE for two years! Local community colleges include American River College, Sacramento City College, Folsom Lake College, Sierra College, and Cosumnes River College. All of these schools have multiple pathways, including:

• Associates Degrees: Take classes in your chosen major along with general education classes to receive your two-year degree.

• Associates Degrees for Transfer: Receive a two-year degree that prepares you to transfer to a university, where you can graduate with your bachelors degree after two years. 

• Certificate Pathways: Certain trades and industries offer certificates in which you are prepared to enter that career and do not need to take any general education classes.

You MUST fill out a financial aid form (FAFSA or CADAA) to attend community college. See the financial aid section below.

Helpful links:

• ARC Programs and Majors (you can filter to see only certificate options if desired)

• ARC Application

• Sac City Programs and Majors

• Folsom Lake College

• Sierra College Programs

• Cosumnes River College Programs and Majors

If you are interested in going to a UC or CSU straight out of high school, you must fulfill "A-G" requirements in order to be eligible. The A-G requirements are different from CCCS graduation requirements, so please tell your counselor or teacher that you want to be A-G eligible so we can make sure you are on the right track. 

Remember that if you don't get into a four-year university right after high school, you can start at a community college and then transfer.

UC and CSU applications are due December 2, the year before you would be attending, so you have to apply early! Some campuses extend their deadlines but do not count on that - apply before the deadline. PLEASE get help with your application, as you need to enter everything correctly and it is easy to make mistakes.

• CSU application (including Sac State)

• UC application (including UC Davis)

Find an apprenticeship in almost any industry HERE. Each apprenticeship listed has contact info for you to reach out to.

Northern California Construction Trades (NCCT) is a free pre-apprenticeship program focused on almost any building trade you can imagine. They prepare students for a union apprenticeship or other construction career pathways. Here is their enrollment form. 

Unions offer apprenticeship programs where you can earn money while learning a trade. There are a lot of local unions, but we have included some here:

• Ironworkers Local 118: Apply here

• Sacramento Electrical Training Center

• Nor Cal Carpenters Training

• Plumbers and Pipefitters

• Sheet Metal Workers

A lot of trade and technical certificates are offered through our local community colleges, where you can attend for free for two years. Check out the links in the Community College section above to see the options. Some trade schools are "for profit" which means that they might have a lot of out-of-pocket expenses that aren't covered by financial aid.

Cal Regional offers healthcare career training programs starting at $1,995 and lasting as little as 3-12 weeks.

Charles A. Jones offers a variety offers training programs for a variety of careers including phlebotomy, paraeducator, forklift operator, pharmacy clerk, and more.

Today's Military lets you explore opportunities across all the different branches and search for specific careers that interest you.

Links to different applications:

• Air Force

• Marines

• Navy

• Army

You can also reach out to local recruiters for more information on any branch.

There are some FREE programs that provide students with career training while also offering housing. 

• Job Corps

• California Conservation Corps (Sacramento location does not provide housing, but some other locations do)

• AmeriCorps NCCC

If you have any type of physical or mental disability, whether you have an IEP or 504 or not, you may qualify for services from the Department of Rehabilitation. The DOR seeks to remove barriers to education and career pursuits by providing multiple types of supports and services. If you would like help with your application, we can support you with that.

To graduate from CCCS, you MUST fill out a financial aid form or fill out an opt-out form. All colleges and some trade schools require a financial aid form to be completed. 

Fill out FAFSA if you have a social security number. Fill out CADAA if you do NOT have a social security number. If you are confused about which application to fill out, and for more information and frequently asked questions, go here.

With a few exceptions, your guardian will have to fill out their portion of the financial aid application in order for you to be eligible for aid. 

We support students with financial aid applications during Springboarding and application workshops scheduled throughout the year. If you are working on your form, please come to one of our workshops or reach out to us directly to get assistance. 

FAFSA Walkthrough Video

CADAA Walkthrough Video

When you receive a confirmation email saying that your application is complete, please forward it to jody.decker@gcccharters.org.

A scholarship is free money awarded to students to help pay for their education, based on things like grades, skills, financial need, or background. Unlike loans, scholarships don’t have to be repaid, making them a great way to reduce the cost of education.

Tips for finding scholarships: 

1. Start early – Begin searching in your junior year (or earlier!) and keep applying.

2. Use trusted websites – There are tons of legit scholarships online; start with the ones below.

3. Apply for many – Small awards add up, and fewer people apply for local or niche scholarships.

4. Stay organized – Track deadlines, requirements, and what you've already applied for.

5. Customize your applications – Tailor your essays and info to match each scholarship’s goals. You can ask your teacher to review and edit essays!

6. Ask around – Check with local community groups and businesses. GCC gives out several scholarships each year - be on the lookout during the spring semester!

7. Avoid scams – Never pay to apply for a scholarship.

Recommended Websites:

You will have to make accounts on most of these.

https://www.fastweb.com/

https://www.scholarships.com/

https://goingmerry.com/

https://www.sacregcf.org/students/ **lots of local scholarships on here**

CalKIDS

CalKIDS provides up to $1,500 in free money for eligible school-aged children to help kickstart their savings for future college and career training expenses. Check out this What You Need To Know flyer for more information.

Get started here. You will need your SSID number, which can be found at the bottom of your transcript. You can ask your teacher for a copy of your transcript if you don't have one.

Follow these steps to get your first job.