College and Career Exploration

It's not too early to start looking forward toward your future! Check out the following college/career tools and feel free to talk to your counselors about any questions you may have.

California Colleges

California Colleges provides students with an all-inclusive guide for their college and career paths. The website allows students and parents to explore thousands of colleges offering a wide variety of degrees and majors. These include community colleges, state universities, and elite research institutions.

CollegeBoard Big Future 

The College Board offers students information on college planning, college/career searches, and paying for college. 

California Career Zone

This career exploration website has great tools to learn more about yourself, occupations you might be interested in, and planning for financial success. Try the "Make Money Choices" activity to learn about budgeting!

California Career Center 

Another great career exploration website with tools to plan your Middle and High school years, explore career options, and find tips on how to get a job and overcome challenges that you may face.

Visit a Local College

California is home to over 750 higher education institutions, the largest number compared with all the states! Many schools welcome students and their families to visit; check campus websites for tours and visitor information. California Colleges is a great website to learn more about the different colleges and what majors they have to offer.

A-G/Graduation Requirements

How to Explore Careers

Do you think you want to become an artist, engineer, sports player, politician, teacher, or have another future career in mind? Find out more about the career through first hand accounts.

Here are some ideas to consider: 

• Interview someone who does the job you are interested in

1. Respectfully ask friends, family, counselors/teachers if they know someone who is in the career you are interested in that you can interview

2. Set up a meeting time with this person, with the help of your parents

3. Interview them. Ask questions, such as, "What do you do in your career on a typical day?”, "What is your favorite part about your job?", "What is your least favorite part about your job?", and "How did you get into this career?"

4. Thank everyone for their time and help!

• Visit and "shadow" someone at their job:

Just like a shadow follows whatever someone does, you can ask for the opportunity to "shadow" someone at their job. By observing what their the day really looks like, you can better understand the career.