Future Planning
Ready or not, graduation is just around the corner!
Whether you plan to start working, attend college (trade school, 2-year, or 4-year), or join the military, the important part is to have a PLAN for life after high school.
Use the Postsecondary and Career Expectations (PaCE) framework below as a guide and check out each of the grade-level specific pages for more information on what you need to know and do each year to become career ready!
Career & College Planning Resources
Get a "freakishly accurate" description of who you are and why you do things the way you do. This personality test also provides you with career paths that best suit your personality type!
Today's Military is a website with resources for students interested in serving in all the branches of the Armed Services: Army, Marines, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. Check out this website to discover what it takes to join the Military and learn about a career in the service.
This is an amazing resource on everything college including: where to apply, brainstorming for your college applications, how to write a personal statement/application essay, timelines, financial aid, and more!
The College Board's tool to help you find colleges and careers that are right for you. Use this website to build your college list, practice for the SAT, learn about financial aid, find scholarships, explore careers, and more! (Bonus: The College Board awards scholarships to students simply for using the Big Future website!)
The ONET program is the nation's primary source of occupational information. Central to the project is the ONET database, containing information on hundreds of standardized and occupation-specific descriptors. The database is continually updated by surveying a broad range of workers from each occupation.
CareerOne Stop - Get My Future
A one-stop site for young adults to find career, training, and job search resources. Check out Get My Future to take an interest assessment, learn about careers, explore education and training options, and find a job.
A partnership between several departments within the State of Illinois, this tool provides an opportunity for students and parents to review a wide-range of information on Illinois public high school seniors and their pathways after high school, including post-secondary education choices by degree type and academic area of study, as well as their career outcomes. This information is made possible through a data sharing partnership between the Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES), Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC), Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE), and Illinois State University (ISU).
The O*Net Interest Profiler can help you find out what your interests are and how they relate to the world of work.
This US Bureau of Labor Statistics resources provides you with information on what workers do; the work environment; education, training, and other qualifications; pay; the job outlook; information on state and area data; similar occupations; and sources of additional information.
Stay on PaCE
PaCE_Revisions.pdf