{"id":19,"date":"2018-03-20T09:45:59","date_gmt":"2018-03-20T13:45:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nacacadmitted.wpengine.com\/wordpress\/?p=19"},"modified":"2018-03-20T12:45:20","modified_gmt":"2018-03-20T16:45:20","slug":"occupational-outlook-handbook-helps-students-explore-careers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/admitted.nacacnet.org\/wordpress\/index.php\/2018\/03\/20\/occupational-outlook-handbook-helps-students-explore-careers\/","title":{"rendered":"Occupational Outlook Handbook Helps Students Explore Careers"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Editor’s note: A version of this post was originally published on Admitted in December 2015.\u00a0It\u2019s being republished as part of NACAC\u2019s Best of the Blog series.<\/em><\/p>\n

For Gail Grand\u2019s students, the college search process is about more than just picking a campus.<\/p>\n

Teens complete an aptitude and interest test and explore careers before ever submitting applications. The strategy is a smart one.<\/p>\n

Fewer than four in 10 college students graduate in four years, federal data show. And as tuition rates continue to grow, extra years in school can often mean additional debt.<\/p>\n

Tapping into resources like the Bureau of Labor Statistic\u2019s Occupational Outlook Handbook (OOH)<\/a> helps teens make wise college choices, said Grand, an independent college counselor based in California\u2019s Westlake Village. It also increases students\u2019 likelihood of graduating on time, she noted.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a great jumping off point,\u201d said Grand, a member of the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC). \u201cI use it to go more in-depth with students. We look at what the career entails, and which fields really appeal to them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Each OOH occupation profile includes on-the-job duties and entry-level education requirements. Students can see if the number of jobs in the profession is projected to grow or shrink over the next decade, and check out the median salary.<\/p>\n

Teens who access that data while making college decisions \u201cbecome more informed consumers,\u201d said Dana Ponsky, co-director of college counseling at Bullis School in Potomac, Maryland.<\/p>\n

The OOH can also help students learn more about careers they might have otherwise written off. Ponsky, another NACAC member, recalls counseling a student at her previous school. The teen had completed an online assessment that showed he would be well-suited to a career in floral design.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was very clear about saying: That\u2019s not me. I\u2019m not going to be a florist,\u201d Ponsky said.<\/p>\n

But by using the OOH, Ponsky was able to get the student to reflect on other occupations that might be of interest.<\/p>\n

\u201cI asked him to think about the fact that the flower business in the United States is one of the biggest export\/import businesses in world,\u201d she recalled. \u201cThat shifted the conversation. He used the handbook to investigate options in international business. Ultimately, that was what he pursued for undergrad.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ponsky and Grand agree: Not every high school student can (or should) select an occupation prior to college admission.<\/p>\n

Nonetheless, OOH and other career exploration resources are an invaluable part of the college application process.<\/p>\n

One of the OOH features that Grand finds most helpful is the \u201cMore Info\u201d tab, which commonly includes links to professional groups associated with each occupation. She encourages her students to use those resources to pursue mentorships or job shadow opportunities.<\/p>\n

\u201cLots of times kids are going to change majors, but I think when they have an idea of what they want before they go they\u2019re more likely to finish in four years \u201d said Grand, who worked as a school-based counselor for 22 years before founding her company, The College Advisor, Inc. \u201cThey have a purpose. They have a passion.\u201d<\/p>\n

Admitted <\/a>writer\/editor Mary Stegmeir welcomes additional comments and story ideas at mstegmeir@nacacnet.org<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Editor’s note: A version of this post was originally published on Admitted in December 2015.\u00a0It\u2019s being republished as part of NACAC\u2019s Best of the Blog series. For Gail Grand\u2019s students, the college search process is about more than just picking a campus. Teens complete an aptitude and interest test and explore careers before ever submitting … Continue reading Occupational Outlook Handbook Helps Students Explore Careers<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[26,10,23],"tags":[324,52,48,50,49,47,51],"class_list":["post-19","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-career-exploration","category-college-admission","category-college-readiness","tag-best-of-the-blog","tag-bullis-school","tag-bureau-of-labor-statistics","tag-dana-ponsky","tag-gail-grand","tag-occupational-outlook-handbook","tag-the-college-advisor-inc"],"featured_image_src":null,"featured_image_src_square":null,"author_info":{"display_name":"Mary Stegmeir","author_link":"https:\/\/admitted.nacacnet.org\/wordpress\/index.php\/author\/mstegmeir\/"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/peWmJq-j","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/admitted.nacacnet.org\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/admitted.nacacnet.org\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/admitted.nacacnet.org\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/admitted.nacacnet.org\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/admitted.nacacnet.org\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/admitted.nacacnet.org\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/admitted.nacacnet.org\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/admitted.nacacnet.org\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/admitted.nacacnet.org\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}