Design Your Own Life From High School to Career

Design Your Own Life Self-Management Skills Worksheet Date High energy level P=skills you possess Honesty, integrity X=skills you need to polish Initiative, drive Loyalty Ability to choose, or to make a Open-mindedness decision Optimism, Orderliness Alertness Patience, persistence Performing well under stress Assertiveness Playfulness Poise, self-confidence Astuteness Politeness Punctuality Attention to details, Reliability, dependability Awareness, thoroughness Resourcefulness conscientiousness Self-control Authenticity Self-reliance Calmness Candidness Commitment to grow Concentration Cooperation Courage, risk taking, adventuresomeness Curiosity Diplomacy Easy-going 38 Chapter 3: What Are Your Skills?

Design Your Own Life Emotional stability Self-respect Empathy Sense of humor Expressiveness Spontaneity Firmness Tactfulness Flexibility Tidiness Generosity Tolerance Good judgment Versatility Chapter 3: What Are Your Skills? 39

Design Your Own Life Transferable Skills What are transferable skills? They are skills you acquire throughout life – jobs, classes, hobbies, and sports, virtually anything. Experts divide transferrable skills into four subsets. When writing a resume, cover letter, and during interviews, you should always present your strongest skills that are applicable to the job. Transferable skills are especially important if you are just entering the job market or changing careers. When applying for a job, you will have to research the company and the particular job and determine if your skills match the job. When you create or revise your resume, there are a number of things to consider. The most important thing is to ensure that your resume speaks to the prospective employer’s needs. When making hiring decisions, the employer expects to see the title of the job you are applying for, then information that answers the following questions: 1. Do your skills match the job? “…are you qualified to do the work?” 2. What have you accomplished to date? “…level of work experience and education.” 3. How quickly will your skills contribute to the business bottom line? “…how long before you start making money for the business?” 4. Do you have a stable work history? “…if hired and trained will you stay with the company?” When writing your resume make sure these types of questions are addressed immediately and effectively by using key words that are associated with the job. The same holds true in the job interview. 40 Chapter 3: What Are Your Skills?

Design Your Own Life Functional Skills Functional (practical, useful) skills are the kind needed to deal with the everyday world, namely: 1. Working with people 2. Working with things 3. Working with data or information, and 4. Working with ideas All jobs in the world deal either with people, things, data or information and ideas. In most cases, jobs deal with all four, to some extent. Therefore, it is possible to use people, things, data and ideas to group all jobs. Jobs which Jobs which Jobs which Jobs which deal primarily deal primarily deal primarily deal primarily with People with Things with Data (information) with Ideas Teacher Auto Mechanic Computer Programmer Politician Counselor Farmer 3D Animator Builder Athletic Coach Truck Driver Editor Decorator Minister/Priest/ Tree Surgeon Bookkeeper Mathematician Watch Repairer Typist/Data Entry Rabbi Scientists Politician Funeral Director Dishwasher Proofreader Chemists Entertainer Taxicab Driver Accountant Lawyer Salesperson Painter Cashier Judge Chapter 3: What Are Your Skills? 41

Design Your Own Life Action Verbs That Demonstrate My Skills Transferrable skills involve action verbs (sometimes called power verbs) describing how people act upon data (information), people, or things. The characteristic of all functional skills is that they are transferable, i.e., if you are good at persuasion with friends, you will be good at persuasion in business. The following list of words will help you determine which skills you have that will transfer from one job to the next. As you read the word list think about the object of the action. What happened when you did it? What were the results? For example, (I designed a webpage for the school senior play. Four hundred viewers saw the webpage, one hundred and fifty people attended, it was covered by the local television station, and I felt happy when I received a school award). Return to this list when writing or editing your resume or preparing for an interview. Identify the action verbs that best represent your skills and share the list with those who will write your reference letters. Use past tense verbs for previous experience and present tense for current work (for past tense: use created, not creating; for current work/activities use present tense, if you prefer). The list is just a starting point. For quick access, it is a good idea to have your own action verb summary list – add the words to your computer, tablet, and phone or keep them handy in a folder. If you are tech savvy, synchronize the list with your phone, tablet and computer – keep the list at quick access. Match your list to one of the four groups: People, Things, Data, and Ideas. For example: 1. Working with People: Interpret, Interview, Investigate 2. Working with Things: Assemble, Build, Customize 3. Working with Data: Collate, Collect, Compile 4. Working with Ideas: Innovate, Invent, Compose 42 Chapter 3: What Are Your Skills?

Design Your Own Life Action Verbs That Demonstrate My Skills Worksheet Date Review the list and place a check next to ten verbs that match your skills. Then match the verbs to either: People, Things, Data, and Ideas. Share the completed list with your team members and see if they agree with your selected verbs. Action Verbs That Demonstrate My Skills acted controlled edited illustrated addressed copied educated imagined administered corresponded enforced improved advertised counseled entertained increased advised created established influenced analyzed decided evaluated informed arranged defined examined initiated assisted delivered exhibited inspected attained demonstrated explained inspired budgeted designed expanded installed built detailed expressed instructed calculated detected experimented interpreted changed delegated figured interviewed charted developed filed invented checked devised financed investigated coached directed fixed improved (Continued) Chapter 3: What Are Your Skills? 43

Design Your Own Life collected discovered followed improvised communicated dispensed gathered increased compiled displayed gave influenced completed dissected got informed composed distributed guided initiated computed drafted handled inspected conducted dramatized headed inspired conserved drew helped installed constructed drove hired instructed contracted dug identified interpreted interviewed planned scheduled traveled invented played selected tutored investigated prepared separated typed judged preserved served umpired kept processed set understood lectured produced shaped washed maintained proposed showed weighted managed protected sketched worked mapped provided sold wrote measured publicized solved memorized purchased sorted (Continued) met questioned spoke modeled raised studied motivated read suggested navigated recorded summarized observed recruited supervised 44 Chapter 3: What Are Your Skills?

Design Your Own Life obtained replaced supplied operated reported talked tested and ordered researched provided told painted restored took participated reviewed trained performed rewrote transcribed persuaded risked translated photographed sang treated piloted saved Chapter 3: What Are Your Skills? 45

Design Your Own Life Summary List of Ten Active Verbs Worksheet Linked to People, Things, Data, or Ideas Date You just selected ten action verbs. Write them down in the space below. This is an activity you may want to visit every few months. If all your verbs cluster only in one of the following groups, you might want to review the list again. My Action Verbs: Working with People: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. My Action Verbs: Working with Things: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 46 Chapter 3: What Are Your Skills?

Design Your Own Life My Action Verbs: Working with Data: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. My Action Verbs: Working with Ideas: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Chapter 3: What Are Your Skills? 47

Design Your Own Life How We Interact With Others The action verbs you selected indicate that you have skills to accomplish things. It is important for your “life design” that you understand how you relate to others while making things happen. Some of the typical ways in which people operate with one another are as follows. Check the Yes or No box that best represents you. Team Member Wants to be with others Yes No Individualist Wants his role defined and to get results Team Leader without having to rely on others Director Can lead others, but wants also to be Coordinator involved in the action Wants others to do things exactly the way Coach he wants them to be done Manager Likes to be at the hub of the action and get a variety of others’ efforts plugged in when needed Wants to help others develop their talent or improve their knowledge Wants to get results by managing the talents of others Do any of these definitions sound like you? Compare your list of active verbs to this table and reflect on your daily interaction with others. There is a good chance you behave differently at home, at school, or work. If this is true, then you have learned specific skills for each situation or circumstance. These are skills you will need in college and throughout your career. 48 Chapter 3: What Are Your Skills?

Design Your Own Life Example: Chart of Accomplishments Worksheets Using three of your identified Action Verbs compose a sentence for each skill. This first chart is an example. I One of the Object of What Rewards Personal (In relation to ten verbs the verb happened? or Material others) Examples: created I (as team leader) the (results) (include feelings) sold editorial I (as an department Students My advisor individualists) of the were complimented me school given a on the idea. paper chance to I felt capable and Raffle express pleased. tickets their views Won the prize for Sold the top salesperson. most A story and picture tickets in in the newspaper. I the group felt capable…super! Chapter 3: What Are Your Skills? 49

Design Your Own Life Chart of Your Accomplishments Worksheet You are encouraged to date this chart and return to it from time-to-time. This will give you an opportunity to refine your accomplishments. Storing and saving the charts will be valuable resources. They will reduce the time it takes to reflect back on accomplishments when filling out school applications, writing resumes and preparing for interviews. Date I One of the Object of What Rewards Personal (in relation ten verbs the verb happened or Material to others) (results) (including feelings) 50 Chapter 3: What Are Your Skills?

Design Your Own Life Work-Content Skills Work-Content Skills deal with mastering a particular vocabulary, or procedure, or subject matter. Thus, knowing a foreign language is a Work-Content Skill, or knowing the parts of a car, or the procedure for accomplishing a particular task. These skills are picked up or acquired through life and stored in memory. They may be acquired on-the-job, by reading, or through hobbies, apprenticeships, and technical and vocational school training. Make a list of as many of your Work-Content Skills as you can. Reflect back to your special classes, think about your hobbies and any groups that may have helped you gain skills, i.e., Scouts, 4-H, language clubs, business organizations, etc... Examples of Work-Content Skills: 1 Carpenter Skills 8 Computer Repair 2 Student Body Leadership 9 Graphic Arts 3 Bookkeeping and Accounting 10 Automobile Repair 4 Photography 11 Theatrical Production 5 Foreign Language 12 Word Processing 6 Mathematics 13 Computer Programming 7 Farming and Ranching 14 Camp Leader Chapter 3: What Are Your Skills? 51

Design Your Own Life 1 2 3 4 5 Work-Content Skills I want to develop: 1 2 3 4 5 The Next Step Date this worksheet and return to it after reviewing all chapters. Over time, as you gain new skills record and save them in a similar manner. Having a series of completed worksheets will document your growing inventory of skills. It is easy to take your skills for granite so keep the worksheets updated and handy and refer back to them when preparing a new resume or getting ready for an interview. 52 Chapter 3: What Are Your Skills?

#4 What Are Your Values? Introduction Life is not a dress rehearsal, nor a game with time- outs. The clock is always running, every year, month, week, day, hour and minute counts. Make each count for something! What is right for your peers may not be right for you. What do you value and believe in? This question is the essence of your life design! Only you can decide what is important and just how important it is. As people mature they often ask themselves questions such as: “Is what I value internally motivated or is it something I’ve been taught as a ‘should’ value”? Do my values match my behavior? Remember, living your values is an ongoing exercise. Life-changing events can shift your values. Finding ways to live your values can help you find fulfillment. Challenge yourself to understand the differences between personal verses professional values. For example: (1) You may value a balance of work and life, (2) You may value achievement, promotion, and advancement for economic gain and security, (3) You may value freedom to be your own boss. There is a high probability you have already run into situations that challenged your values. How did you feel during those situations? 53

Design Your Own Life If asked what you really want out of life, would your answer be any of these: “Travel and excitement, money, family, design computer games, manage the family farm, win an Olympic Gold Medal”? We cannot have everything, so we make choices. You will be making these choices on the basis of what you value. Following is an alphabetical list of values. As you analyze your beliefs and discover what is right for you, your “life design” takes on new meaning. Read the following meanings of the value categories and determine the importance of each. Score each one on a scale of 0 to 5; a score of zero indicate no value to you, a score of five indicates highly valued. Date the worksheets and save for future reflection. 54 Chapter 4: What Are Your Values?

Design Your Own Life Values Worksheet Date: Adventure Those who seek adventure like travel, and action, careers with a certain amount of risk. Daily routine and repetitious jobs would become boring. It is possible, for example, to mix the need for adventure with the love of family by flying planes and running swift water rapids on the weekends. It is wise to know yourself and find a career that will offer enough exciting challenges to satisfy this desire. There could be adventure with the F.B.I., the C.I.A., as an international jewel trader, as an ambassador, a movie stunt person, a competitive athlete, a pilot, fishing camp manager, a jockey, a race car driver, an on-location TV camera person or a foreign correspondent. Understand your interests and your imagination will run away with good, exciting ideas! Click on the number in the arrow that represents you. 0 1 2 3 4 5 No Value Highly Valued If adventure is an important value to you, write job titles you would consider. Chapter 4: What Are Your Values? 55

Design Your Own Life Beauty and Aesthetics There is beauty in everything. Learn to know the beauty you seek...beauty in nature...be a forest ranger, an oceanographer, a landscape architect, or a farmer; beauty in design...be an architect, an interior designer, a painter, a florist, an art dealer, or do whatever you choose to do in a very pretty surrounding such as a plush office, an elaborate resort, or a first class hotel. 0 1 2 3 4 5 No Value Highly Valued If beauty and aesthetics are important values to you, write job titles you would consider. 56 Chapter 4: What Are Your Values?

Design Your Own Life Date: Creativity Bring ideas into life through writing; create a beautiful painting; or fashion a gown. Find a career that offers space to make decisions, allows for follow-through, and grants opportunity to savor the results. Research scientists, teacher, jewelers, craft persons, chefs, and architects are all creative. 0 1 2 3 4 5 No Value Highly Valued If creativity is an important value to you, write job titles you would consider. Chapter 4: What Are Your Values? 57

Design Your Own Life Date: Family Families are important. You may value a special closeness with parents, brothers, sisters, and other relatives. Close organizations and small communities can also offer the feeling of family. Look for career situations that will enable you to have time and to be close enough to enjoy family and friends. When possible avoid shift jobs and irregular, restrictive hours. High pressure corporate jobs are very demanding; sales jobs often require extensive travel time. Medical technology, teaching, carpentry, and farming are examples of occupations that would provide more time for family. 0 1 2 3 4 5 No Value Highly Valued If family is an important value to you, write job titles you would consider. 58 Chapter 4: What Are Your Values?

Design Your Own Life Date: Freedom and Independence If freedom of choice, the opportunity to make your own decisions, is important, seek a career that keeps the boss at a distance or makes you the boss and gives maximum flexibility. E xamples o f s uch c areers a re sales representatives, consultants, freelance writers, dentists, lawyers, and physicians. Examine the many fields t hat h ave i ncome d etermined b y individual effort, those that are not salaried. Look at the working conditions and the opportunities for growth. Caution: a profession can become so demanding that the independence may be sacrificed. 0 1 2 3 4 5 No Value Highly Valued If freedom and independence are important values to you, write job titles you would consider. Chapter 4: What Are Your Values? 59

Design Your Own Life Date: Friendship and Companionship If the area of friendship is important to you, look to careers with close people relationships. You like to talk, to interact, and to develop ties. The following careers would offer that opportunity: counselor, social worker, minister, nurse, librarian, therapist, recreational program director, and public relations director. If off-the-job friends are also important, make an effort to choose a career that has stability and does not require a great deal of travel. 0 1 2 3 4 5 No Value Highly Valued If friendship and companionship are important values to you, write job titles you would consider. 60 Chapter 4: What Are Your Values?

Design Your Own Life Date: Helping Others There are many “people helping” professions: teaching, medicine, recreation, dietetics, counseling, law, coaching, and the hospitality field. Most all careers employ people skills to some degree. If you value being a helper and find an area of special interest to you, there will be a great deal of daily satisfaction in such a career choice. 0 1 2 3 4 5 No Value Highly Valued If helping others is an important value to you, write job titles you would consider. Chapter 4: What Are Your Values? 61

Design Your Own Life Date: Knowledge Archaeologists, zoologists, paleontologists, nuclear physicists, lawyers, research scientists, politicians, and teachers, to name just a few, value knowledge. Writers, librarians, and journalists must always look for new ideas and new methods of presenting data and information. The pursuit of knowledge can always be a personal quest, and, if further stimulated by a challenging profession, will make all of life more exciting! 0 1 2 3 4 5 No Value Highly Valued If knowledge is important values to you, write job titles you would consider. 62 Chapter 4: What Are Your Values?

Design Your Own Life Date: Money or Wealth If making money is high on your list, check the earnings of the professions and pick the one that best suits your interests and values and has a high potential for big money. Keep in mind that it is possible to work up from a low paying entry level job to a position of power and wealth. That is if you are prepared and have the proper temperament and personality. Take your other values into consideration as you select the high paying job. Such jobs demand long hours and many years of training and will take time from family. Remember, it is possible to work smarter instead of harder. Knowledge and preparation are the keys. Networking within your selected field is important. Make an effort to meet people with influence. Jobs might include: President of Major Corporation, Wall Street Investor, International Banker, or Sports Team Owner. 0 1 2 3 4 5 No Value Highly Valued If money and wealth are important values to you, write job titles you would consider. Chapter 4: What Are Your Values? 63

Design Your Own Life Date: Moral Judgment and Personal Consistency Do something that you consider worthwhile! Look out at the world and decide what needs doing as far as you are concerned. You could write to influence o thers, become a m edical professional a nd serve those who have the greatest need, be a public defender or a judge. Be fair in all your dealings, consistent with your values. It might be well to consider as high a degree of education and expertise as you can achieve. You will want to make your own policy decisions whenever possible and not be carrying out the wishes of a boss with whom you might not agree. It is possible to exercise moral judgment and personal consistency in any career. Everyday life and the world of work will present difficult challenges to your values. 0 1 2 3 4 5 No Value Highly Valued If moral judgment and personal consistency are important values to you, write job titles you would consider. 64 Chapter 4: What Are Your Values?

Design Your Own Life Date: Power Power in a profession requires expertise in the field. Look to higher education and specialization if power is important to you. Consider developing good people skills because those who wield power must know how to exercise a certain amount of control over others. Learn different management styles and develop decision making skills. Get to know those who are influential. Decide how much power is necessary. You might be satisfied with local control over an enterprise. Or, become a major politician, or a Mayor. 0 1 2 3 4 5 No Value Highly Valued If power is an important value to you, write job titles you would consider. Chapter 4: What Are Your Values? 65

Design Your Own Life Date: Recognition Acting, broadcasting, lecturing, writing, and entering politics will all bring recognition? It pays to develop a special talent and capitalize on it. Decide how intensive the recognition needs to be. It is impossible to be a “big fish in a little pond” and find it very satisfying... mayor of your town. There is pleasure in being recognized as the best employee in the company, no matter what the size. 0 1 2 3 4 5 No Value Highly Valued If recognition is an important value to you, write job titles you would consider. 66 Chapter 4: What Are Your Values?

Design Your Own Life Date: Security Teaching jobs, government jobs with good retirement programs, Officer in the military, except in time of war, are all careers with security. Positions in companies with long standing records of achievement and careers in areas of human service are likely to offer steady employment and stability. 0 1 2 3 4 5 No Value Highly Valued If security is an important value to you, write job titles you would consider. Chapter 4: What Are Your Values? 67

Design Your Own Life Values Summary Worksheet Date: Top Five Scoring Values 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. The Next Step Examples on how you can align your values to the everyday work. Now that you’ve identified your values that are of critical importance to your career, you should explore ways to include them into your work or school life. You may not be in a position to change the way work is done at your place of work, but there are ways to blend your values within your situation. For example, if health is one of your values, organize a lunch-hour walking group, getting junk-food removed from the workplace or campus, or suggest to the human resources department or school to hold a health fair, or gather a small group and go to a health fair or an Earth Day Celebration. Do something as simple as parking on a different side of the parking lot and walk through other parts of the building, or wear leg weights to work. 68 Chapter 4: What Are Your Values?

Design Your Own Life Research Company Values For example: As you are going through the interview process, craft your questions in a way that you can determine if a company’s values mesh with your core values. Ask questions such as: “The work group that I would be part of…is it structured around competition or teamwork?” Getting answers to these types of questions will guide your decision as to whether or not the company is a good match for you. Many companies post their mission statement, values and philosophy on their website. You can cross-check website information with what is being said about the company online, and within the local community. With all the business media channels on television and the web, it is rather easy to investigate companies. If you are considering a brand new business, do research on its top executives, and managers. If you are already considering specific companies that you would like to work for in the future. Complete the following worksheet and measure your values against those of the company’s. Chapter 4: What Are Your Values? 69

Design Your Own Life Does the Company’s Values Match Yours Worksheet? Company Name  Company Values  My Values  Company Name  Company Values  My Values  Company Name  Company Values  My Values  70 Chapter 4: What Are Your Values?

#5 The World of Work Introduction Not knowing what you want to be is okay for now, but it can be fun to explore your options. Begin your exploration with theses websites: Youth Rules is an excellent website to see what other teens are saying about the world of work. You can find rules that govern teens in the workplace and the do’s and don’ts for youth employment situations. The Occupational Health and Safety Administration provides a Youth Workers website. The Bureau of Labor Statistics focused website Exploring Career Information. The Small Business Administration has a focus on young-entrepreneurs website. They also have the Teen Business Link website. Their site and services focus on how to turn young entrepreneurial dreams into reality. The National Science Foundation website is a great place to go hangout and see all the amazing discovers that will have an impact on future jobs and our way of life. For example: This image depicts a 3-D visualization of the TV genome. Credit: Philip DeCamp and Deb Roy. Follow the Twitter related story. 71

Design Your Own Life Job Classifications The United States Department of Labor classifies jobs into occupational clusters. At this stage in the journal, you should know your “worker personality”, “skills” and “values”, and have discovered several possible career matches. Now begin your research of jobs that match your personality, existing skills, and values. One place to begin is: O*NET. O*NET provides comprehensive information on key characteristics of workers and occupations. The O*NET program is the nation’s primary source of occupational information. Central to the project is the O*NET database, containing information on hundreds of standardized and occupation-specific descriptors. The database which is available to the public at no cost, is continually updated by surveying a broad range of workers from each occupation. Information from this database forms the heart of O*NET OnLine, an interactive application for exploring and searching occupations. The database also provides the basis for its Career Exploration Tools, a set of valuable assessment instruments for workers and students looking to find or change careers. Research Tools and Methods Most students use online resources for their information gathering. You can still discover great things at the school and community library. The librarian can be your personal guide in reaching hard to find information. Once in college, the career center should be a high priority even in your freshman year. Seek help from family members and friends. Do an in-depth study of at least three careers. The following are excellent places to begin your research. The Occupational Outlook Handbook (OOH) describes job duties, education and training requirements, employment outlook, earnings, and 72 Chapter 5: The World of Work

Design Your Own Life working conditions for over 500 occupations that require similar abilities, interests, education, and training. It is available in Spanish. The primary federal employment website is USAJOB.gov. It has special links for students and recent graduates, veterans, individuals with disabilities, and executives. In addition to these websites, there is a wealth of other career information available from the Department of Labor, they sponsor a Summer Jobs website. The United States Department of Defense: MyFuture.com is a career search database that provides information related to training, including both college and military training options. For those with disabilities the following websites are good starting points: Disability.gov - employment; OPM.gov, and USAJOBS.gov. Chapter 5: The World of Work 73

Design Your Own Life Career Choice #1 Worksheet Use the knowledge of your personality, values, skills and interests and the information gathered to do an analysis of your top career choices. Date the charts and save them. The experience of filling out the three charts may open up your thinking to new career possibilities. Date Career Choice #1 Job Training Work Environment Occupational Salary Range Requirements (Degrees, Pro and Con Characteristics Certificates, License, Apprenticeship) Does this career match? Personality Yes No Somewhat Values Yes No Somewhat Skills Yes No Somewhat 74 Chapter 5: The World of Work

Design Your Own Life Career Choice #2 Worksheet Date Career Choice #2 Job Training Occupational Characteristics Requirements (Degrees, Work Environment Salary Range Certificates, License, Pro and Con Apprenticeship) Does this career match? Personality Yes No Somewhat Values Yes No Somewhat Skills Yes No Somewhat Chapter 5: The World of Work 75

Design Your Own Life Career Choice #3 Worksheet Date Career Choice #3 Job Training Work Environment Occupational Salary Range Requirements (Degrees, Pro and Con Characteristics Certificates, License, Apprenticeship) Does this career match? Personality Yes No Somewhat Values Yes No Somewhat Skills Yes No Somewhat 76 Chapter 5: The World of Work

Design Your Own Life The Next Step How are you feeling about your career search experience? Are the jobs matching your personality, skills, and values? Planning your life isn’t easy, it requires serious thinking, planning and careful implementation. If your job search matches all three (personality, skills, and values) then you are on the right track. If this isn’t the case come back to this activity and try again after additional discussion with the school counselor, family, friends and other members of your team. Chapter 5: The World of Work 77



#6 Setting Career Goals Introduction Each of us at some point in our life may have stated, “When I grow up, I’m going to be a writer, doctor, model, school teacher, carpenter, environmental scientists…” Think seriously of your dream life: a what, a where, and a why. At this stage in your life, you are discovering your work personality and values in association to the boarder work world. Think of who you know (in the world of work) who does what you would like to do. Examples: 1. My goal is to be in broadcasting. My dream is to live in a big city, be an anchor person on TV, meet and interview important people. 2. My goal is to be a research scientist because I like to know the “why” of things. I would choose to work for a large university where I could study, research and write. 3. My goal is to be an airline flight attendant with a home base in a large eastern city. I will learn several languages and travel extensively in other countries. I like to serve people and would welcome the excitement of travel and the challenge of learning about other countries and cultures. 4. My goal is to design and engineer realistic high definition 3D computer games. I am good at playing computer games. I have a vivid and creative imagination and can create interesting characters without much effort. 79

Design Your Own Life EVERYTHING THAT HAS EVER BEEN ACCOMPLISHED IN THIS WORLD BEGAN WITH A WISH AND A DREAM… Wright Brothers First Flight, 1903, National Archives 80 Chapter 6: Setting Career Goals

Design Your Own Life Dream – Belief – Action – Achievement – Success I wish I could... I can do it... I am doing it... I did it! The following video is a clear demonstration of how dreams, belief, action, achievement and success can come true. View Girls enrolled in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Programs: STEM Video featuring young women scientists and engineers who wowed the nation at the White House Science Fair, shines a spotlight on these extraordinary young women role models and their exciting projects—ranging from a machine that detects buried landmines, to a prosthetic hand device, to a lunchbox that uses UV light to kill bacteria on food. Pick your favorite life dream. The other one is an alternate bench warmer, to be called in if needed. Since even the best plan can go awry, ALWAYS be ready with Plan B, and sometimes C. Now formulate Life Dream Plans A and Plan B for yourself. The activities will help you work out the details of your plans. Reflect on your dream live. Then draft two separate plans. Save the work and return your plans often. They will sever as a general road map. The will not show every aspect of your journey but they will keep you focused in the right direction. Plan A: Life Dream One Plan B: Life Dream Two Chapter 6: Setting Career Goals 81

Design Your Own Life Establish goals to care out Plan A. A goal is a target, a specific action or event due to be completed or to happen at a definite time. Create short and long term goals. Goals break down into objectives, smaller units of accomplishment, another step to the larger goal. Objectives can be accomplished hourly, daily, monthly...all leading to the ultimate “life design”. Objectives are the action part of the plan to turn the dream into reality. Commitment, which is a pledge or promise, it forms the bridge between the dream and the reality. You now have ideas, skills, talents, and energy: You must have commitment! The degree of your personal commitment will bring out a special toughness and makes the impossible, possible. 82 Chapter 6: Setting Career Goals

Design Your Own Life Career Plan A Example: Goal —Learn a foreign language and become an international airline flight attendant by age 21. Present situation: Junior in high school, 17 years old. What can be done now to make this happen? Set Objectives: 1. Go online and learn the requirements for becoming an international airline flight attendant. 2. Read all the information available on this career. 3. Download and save detailed information for later review. 4. Talk to a school or career counselor. 5. Interview people working in that career. 6. Learn or brush up on a foreign language. Write down the results of your research. File all the materials for future use. Chapter 6: Setting Career Goals 83

Design Your Own Life CHARTING THE ACTION ACTION TODAY TOMORROW CREATE GOAL Do Something ACTION moves forward from TODAY to TOMORROW. You create a GOAL and then you DO SOMETHING. Picture your goal and break it down into small segments, define the actions or activities required to make it happen. What must you do and in what order? Industrial and military operations diagram the flow of supplies, equipment or information on what is called a flow chart. The following flow charts will help in defining objectives that lead to the goal. One chart is an example, and the other is for your practice. 84 Chapter 6: Setting Career Goals

EXAMPLE FLOW CHART DIAGRAM FOR PLAN A Take German I See a counselor. Study college Learn German language Learn college entrance catalogs Two years requirements Take college of college prep classes Keep a high grade point Acquire first average (GPS) Sign up for C.P.R. aid certification Design Your Own LifeclassGoal: Chapter 6: Setting Career Goals 85 To be an airline flight attendant by age 21 Take first aid class Be physically fit Take aerobics classes

Design Your Own LifeFILL IN YOUR FLOW CHART DIAGRAM FOR PLAN A 86 Chapter 6: Setting Career Goals Goal

FILL IN YOUR FLOW CHART DIAGRAM FOR PLAN B Design Your Own Life Goal Chapter 6: Setting Career Goals 87