Career preparation at Mid Valley happens in a multitude of different ways. Students will undoubtedly explore lots of career paths through the classes they take, but figuring out what to do after high school takes more than that.

Before students can apply for jobs or for college, they need to have a pretty solid idea of what they want to do! Mid Valley school counselors preach that students need to know the what before they can figure out the where, how, and when. This page provides an opportunity to do that.

Within classes and through Xello activities, students will do some exercises that are meant to challenge their career exploration and open them up to some potential new avenues. This page will link students to those Xello exercises, suggest a few other sites where they can navigate to learn about careers, and talk about college visits, job shadowing, and more!

Remember - even if a career exploration experience results in knowing that you want absolutely nothing to do with that career, that's a win! The goal in high school is to keep narrowing down your choices until you can confidently select the career path you want to follow.

You're not necessarily here to figure out what to do for the rest of your life. You're here to figure out what to do next. These resources are meant to help you figure out that next, and get to it in the quickest, and most affordable way possible. Review the information and visit the sites below to learn more. And don't forget! You can stop in to see your counselor any time to talk about these things. That's what they're there for! 

Mid Valley utilizes Xello to guide students through their Career Exploration. Xello is an online career planning and portfolio platform that the Mid Valley School District utilizes to meet the requirements for Career Readiness Indicators in the state of Pennsylvania, integrate career education and social emotional learning for our K-12 students, and most importantly, provide each student with a personalized career plan by the time they reach 12th grade.

Each grade level has activities through Xello that are required to be completed. While they might seem tedious, they are meant to help students learn about what they might want to do in the future. One of the luxuries of the site is that students can return to it at any time and complete each activity as many times as they would like. Future plans change a lot throughout high school, and students are strongly encouraged to utilize this resources to help them navigate those plans. If a student would like some help figuring out what it all means, they can just reach out to their counselor. It's their job to help!

The activities in Xello are introduced by the counselors each year, and students work through them within their courses. Information about Xello, what students at Mid Valley are required to complete within it, and how to access it can be found below.

To see a tailored lesson plan, and learn more about what each activity entails, click the links below.

Job Shadowing is an opportunity for students to see a day in the life of a particular occupation. Most employers will be open to students coming in to shadow, but might be picky about the days/times that it happens. If you mention that you're a high school student, they may be more likely to let you in the door. 

Job Shadowing should not be done on a whim. It should be a guided practice that you go into with questions and goals. You should speak with your counselor about how to best utilize it prior to any Job Shadowing experience.

Other Career Path Exploration Options

If Xello doesn't work for you, these resources might help you make the connections you need: