Syllabus for College Course - 12 weeks

• Career Choices & Changes: A Guide for Discovering Who You Are, What You Want, and How To Get It by Bingham and Stryker (Academic Innovations)

• Lifestyle Math: Your Financial Planning Portfolio by Bingham, Wilhite and Myers (Academic Innovations)

• Personal Profile System assessment instrument (Carlson Learning Corporation)

• The American Almanac of Jobs and Salaries by John Wright (Avon Books)

Lecture: Introduction to class, goals and personal benefits of comprehensive career planning. Assignment to discussion groups of six individuals.

Small Group Discussion: Beginning with the activity described on page 118 of the Instructor's Guide by having the individuals in each group introduce themselves with the limitations described. Hand out whistles to be used when a person describes themselves in relation to what they do or their roles. Then ask the students to individually complete their bull's eye chart on page 27 only after reading definitions on page 26. With this information, go around the group one more time using the bull's eye charts as an introduction to each other in their group of six.

Homework: Complete Chapter One and the beginning of Chapter Two of Career Choices & Changes (pages 1-43).

Week Two

Lecture: Before You Can Choose What You Want to Do You First Have to Know Who You Are.

Optional Guest Lecturer: Trainer who is certified with the Carlson Instrument.

Small Group Discussion: Individually complete and score the Personal Profile Assessment instrument (approximately 30 minutes - 7 to take and 20 to score). Share results with members of discussion group.

Lecture: Interpretations of profiles as it relates to Career Choices & Changes (pages 162-165)

Homework: Career Choices & Changes (pages 44-53). Complete chart on page 27 with new data and make six copies.

Week Three

Lecture: Messages of Expectation or Limitation - How the messages we receive from parents, teachers, peers and society impact our choices.

Optional Guest Lecturer: Counselor/Psychologist

Small Group Discussion: One more time, ask each discussion group to come together and share their new expanded bull's eye chart, giving a copy to each member of the group.

First Career Brainstorm: Given each person's bull's eye chart, the group will brainstorm for each member of the group a list of 10 to 20 careers that match that person's profile. Have group members share their work on pages 52 and 53 of Career Choices & Changes and then, as a group, brainstorm additional messages for each person to counteract the negative or limiting messages each is getting.

Homework: Complete Chapter 3 of Career Choices & Changes (pages 56-71). Make six copies of page 63.

Week Four

Lecture: Open with the activity described on page 129 of the Instructor's Guide, Looking Into the Future.

Optional Guest Lecturers: Two individuals with contrasting lifestyles speak about how they made their choices.

1. Fast track/high achiever
   
2. Avant garde/spiritual over material

Small Group Discussion: Debate: Which should come first, lifestyle choice or career choice? Divide the group into two positions. One group takes the position of lifestyle choice the other argues career choice. Sides can be chosen by drawing a position "out of a hat." Groups share their desired lifestyle with others in group by handing out a copy of page 63.

Second Career Brainstorm: Now adding information from page 63 and their letter completed at the beginning of the class, continue brainstorming possible careers for members of the group. Add or delete from the previous list.

Homework: Read pages 74-92 of Career Choices & Changes. Complete pages 12-47 of Lifestyle Math (change the projected age of the budget from 29 to 34).

Week Five

Lecture: What Cost this Lifestyle - The impact of earning power of lifestyle: pros and cons.

Optional Guest Lecturer: Career counselor or financial planner

Small Group Discussion: Each member of the group share the description of their ideal house and costs. Debate: Do you want to own your house or have your house own you? As a small group brainstorm strategies of sensible home ownership.

Total Group: Groups share their strategies for sensible home ownership.

Homework: Complete pages 48-57, 64-65, 68-69, and 71-73 of Lifestyle Math. Make six copies of page 73.

Week Six

Optional Guest Lecturer: Representative from a women's center

Small Group Discussion: As a group design a creative vacation on page 70 of Lifestyle Math. Discuss your solutions to the child care needs on page 72.

Third Career Brainstorm: Now adding information from page 73 of Lifestyle Math on plans for children, continue brainstorming possible careers for each member of the group, adding or deleting from the previous list.

Homework: Complete pages 74-88 of Lifestyle Math, using the Almanac of Jobs and Salaries as a reference to complete page 88. Make six copies of page 88 for group. Complete pages 95-96 of Career Choices & Changes.

Week Seven

Lecture: Planning for hard times. The role of savings and being financially conservative.

Optional Guest Lecturer: Financial Planner

Small Group Discussion: As a group develop budgets for scenarios on pages 97-101. Choose three and divide into pairs to work on one. Come back together and share and debate line item choices. As a group brainstorm the Hard Times Budget list on page 93 of Lifestyle Math and discuss the assignment.

Homework: Complete page 94 of Lifestyle Math. Complete pages 102-121 of Career Choices & Changes.

Week Eight

Lecture: Money Isn't Everything.

Panel of Self-Actualizers: (beyond 50 years old).

Small Group Discussion: Group discussion of stories on pages 106-107 and activities on pages 111 and 113.

Fourth Career Brainstorm: Review students' continuing lists of possible careers. Evaluate lists to see if they meet each person's top three values (see pages 34-35 Career Choices & Changes). If some of them do not, brainstorm other ways to meet the value that is not directly met by their career. Begin an avocation list of activities and jobs that would address each person's values.

Homework: Complete Chapter 5 of Career Choices & Changes (pages 124-141). Make six copies of chart on page 134.

Week Nine

Lecture: Knowing what you want in a job. Internships throughout your college career.

Optional Guest Lecturer: Someone from the career counseling staff or someone in charge of internships.

Small Group Discussion: Each student shares their chart on page 134 of Career Choices & Changes.

Fifth Career Brainstorm: Now adding information from page 134 of Career Choices & Changes, brainstorm possible careers for each member of the group, adding or deleting from the previous list. Review each person's Entrepreneurial Checklist. For those who scored between 12 and 16, brainstorm entrepreneurial opportunities given their personal data to date.

Homework: Career Choices & Changes pages 144-155. Visit the career center and to complete career research for top three careers using the latest technological search methods.

Week Ten

Lecture: Open the lecture with the activity Seeing in the Mind's Eye on pages 174-175 in the Instructor's Guide. Discuss the process and strategies for shadowing or a career information interview. Make assignment to shadow and write a 2-3 page paper based on the outline on page 157. Have students describe a typical day if they had the career they shadowed.

Final report: Paper due last day of class as part of final report.

Small Group Discussion: Group members share the data for their three careers with the others in the group. Then groups brainstorm for each other who they might shadow (Does anyone know someone in one of the chosen fields?) or where and how they would go about arranging for the shadowing experience in the chosen field.

Homework: Career Choices & Changes Chapters 7 and 8 (pages 168-191). Lifestyle Math pages 104-110. Make six copies of pages 107-110 of the first draft.

Week Eleven

Small Group Discussion: Students share their draft of goals and objectives for the next four years (Lifestyle Math, pages 104-110). Group gives input and other creative ideas.

Final Report: Update Your Plan from page 110 and include in final report on the last day of class.

Week Twelve

Students report out their goals and objectives for the next four years to total group. Whole group gives input.

Celebrate: A social time for everyone to mingle and share their findings over refreshments.