Defined Careers

MIDDLE & HIGH SCHOOL: EXPLORATION & EXPERIENCES

Defined Careers is a supplemental curriculum resource designed to enhance college and career readiness in your classrooms. It is the only program that provides students with the opportunity to experience careers.

Defined Careers takes a holistic approach to help students discover their interests through a multi-dimensional career assessment that assesses students’ values, interests, and study preferences. Upon completion of the assessment, students are provided with a personalized list of careers to explore and experience through relevant hands-on projects.

Defined Careers Middle & High School

Framework for College & Career Readiness

Defined Careers encourages students to actively engage in career-focused tasks to expand career exploration and experience for all students. These hands-on tasks encourage students to move beyond basic exploration in the utilization of higher-order thinking skills with real-world career scenarios. This deeper learning approach allows students to develop and demonstrate their knowledge, problem-solving skills, and strengths within a specific career. Students will be empowered and invested in their learning and can envision themselves as industry professionals.

Defined Careers offers a tailored approach to career exploration, leading to a deeper level of engagement. Each course follows the same student-driven lesson structure seamlessly integrating into all learning environments. Take a deeper dive below!

LESSON 1

Career Cluster

In this lesson, students begin by exploring a career within a career cluster. They watch a video introducing them to the career cluster and answer check-in questions.

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Lesson 2

Career Pathway

Students continue their exploration by learning about the pathway of the career. They watch a video showcasing real-world footage for the pathway and answer reflection questions about how it relates to their own preferences and skills.

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Lesson 3

Career Project

Students experience a specific career through project-based learning. The UbD framework is used to present a Goal, Role, Audience, and Situation surrounding the career. Students have the choice to complete 1 of 2 product offerings that provide them with career experience.

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Lesson 4

Career Roadmap

Students learn what skills, knowledge, and education requirements are necessary to succeed in this career. Students are offered an opportunity to search for postsecondary programs related to the career and also create their own personal budget based on the salary for that career.

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Virtual Internships

The virtual internships included within Defined Careers allows high school students to dive into a world of opportunities beyond the classroom. Students can participate in self-paced virtual internships across all career clusters. Each internship gives students the opportunity to gain career experiences through the lens of an industry professional.

It's more than just learning, it's holistic skill development. Soft skills courses and workforce preparation are a part of every internship. Watch Now >

The Impact of Defined Careers

In this study, you'll learn how Defined Careers engaged middle school students in career exploration and experiences. We'll share feedback from students and teachers on the impact Defined Careers had on teaching and learning. To learn more, download the study.

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Features Available for Grades 9-12

COMMON APP INTEGRATION

Students have the ability to link their Common App account with their Defined Careers account. Educators/counselors will be able to track application statuses and manage document submissions among other application-related activities.

POSTSECONDARY PLANNING

Stand-alone postsecondary search tool (colleges, trade schools/boot camps, online/certificate programs) by various search criteria.

DEFINED APTITUDE

The Defined Aptitude test helps 8th and 9th-grade students understand their unique talents and make more informed decisions about their academic and future career paths. Upon completion, students have the opportunity to further explore and experience the careers that match their strengths.

WORK-BASED LEARNING & VIRTUAL INTERNSHIPS

Enable schools and districts to provide students access to virtual and local work-based learning experiences. 5 soft skills modules are embedded into our virtual internships including professionalism, communication, problem-solving, networking, and conflict resolution. The virtual internships also include two career-related skills modules which assist students with 1) searching for a job and writing their resume and cover letter and 2) interviewing.

FINANCIAL LITERACY

Each of the 600+ Career Courses includes a personal budget in Lesson 4 to encourage personal financial literacy and budgeting skills related to that particular career. In addition, Defined Careers also includes stand-alone Financial Literacy courses. These courses focus on The National Standards for Personal Financial Education (NSPFE). Each task highlights financial thinking practices, encouraging students to frame problems in ways that inspire inquiry, knowledge, problem-solving, and innovation.