6-8 Additional Resources

These links can be used by any grade level to supplement career exploration.

• Occupational Outlook Handbook website - Compare possible careers by conducting research.

• O*Net Interest Profiler - Help students identify interests, skills, abilities, and values, and consider possible future selves and the vast range of career possibilities.

• Michigan Council of Women in Technology - Invite parents and industry professionals to share about their careers by participating in career days, career chats and/or class projects. • Share K-12 outreach programming with families, such as MCWT.org. 

• CareerOneStop -  Implement interests, skills, and work values assessments as part of self-discovery, such as those found at CareerOneStop.

• My Next Move - The My Next Move website will help answer the question “What do you want to do for a living?” This site allows for career searches by keyword and by industry. Information can also be searched by career cluster, career outlook, by interest, and according to required job preparation.

• My Future -  helps young adults plan their next steps in life by bringing together the most recently available information about colleges, careers and military service opportunities from the U.S. Departments of Commerce, Defense, Education and Labor. Developed by the Department of Defense, myfuture. com™ features career, college and military content, allowing users to explore all possibilities and gain insight into each option.

• MiTalent.org - Pure Michigan Talent Connect - Career Exploration (mitalent.org) website includes information for the job seeker, employer, career exploration, veteran, and skilled trades. Pathfinder.mitalent.org is Michigan’s free online career exploration tool that provides information on in-demand careers and the degrees or credentials needed to pursue them. Pathfinder helps students, their parents and guidance staff to make informed choices about educational and career options, as well as help with the creation of educational development plans.

• Michigan’s Hot 50 Job Outlook includes high-demand, high-wage careers that show a favorable mix of long-term job growth, projected annual job openings, and median wages. This site includes a printable poster as well as links to Michigan Works! Association and Michigan Labor Market Information.

• #GoOpen Michigan is a library of openly licensed educational resources shared by Michigan educators. Free resources, lesson plans, assessments, templates, and other materials are shared on #GoOpen Michigan. Explore career development resources by searching the MCDM curated collection or by using #MCDM and #careerdevelopment. Educators can also discover content by using related grade band or subject matter hashtags. 

• The Michigan Career Development Association (MCDA) offers a cultivated list of career development links and resources on the MCDA resource page. For career development professionals, the National Career Development Association has collected, organized, curated, and published a listing of free, current, and credible Internet resources which can be found at the NCDA Internet Sites for Career Planning.

• Michigan Career Development Model -  includes more information, resources, and graphics that can be downloaded.

• Apprenticeship USA - Apprenticeship USA is the one-stop source to connect career seekers, employers, and education partners with apprenticeship resources. Discover apprenticeships across industries, how programs are started by employers, and how to become an apprentice. 

• TinkerCAD - Free & secure website with design software and lessons

• Free PBS Learning Media – Discover resources and projects that connect students to engineering design practices and future careers. 

• Teach Engineering! - Free teacher resource site with student lessons, STEM lessons and videos.

• Code.org - Software coding lessons

• Knowitall - features a wide assortment of over 8,700 media assets, created by South Carolina ETV with a variety of partners for preK-12.

• Healthcare Occupations - Michigan Health Council's website with comprehensive information on healthcare occupations, including current workforce data, relevant legislation, hourly wages, job titles, employment statistics, related initiatives, career pathways, and more. 

• AgriBusiness Career Exploration - The agribusiness industry has so many different types of careers to offer. The AgriBusiness Talent Council of West Michigan offers resources to help make educators and students aware of the jobs that are available and in demand in West Michigan. 

• Junior Achievement - Junior Achievement of Michigan Great Lakes provides learning experiences which align with national and state standards.   BizTown combines in-class learning with a day-long visit to a simulated town for grades 4-6, and Finance Park Entry Level, provides personal financial planning and career exploration for grades 7-9. 

• Career Exploration Planning Sheet - Transform Michigan Career Development Model Targets into concrete action plans for your students' career exploration with the help of this planning sheet.