BTHS District 201
College &
Career Readiness
Sophomores
You are still perfecting your plan.
You are persevering in your academics. You are involved.
It’s time to talk about specific occupations more in depth and learn how to align your high school path with your after high school goals.
Career Exploration
Career Cruise
As a career explorer, you have several online tools to help you. If you look back at the previous class pages, you will see some of those tools. Here is one more tool. Choose the one you like best!
Career Cruising is a great resource for all Belleville District #201 students. It is traditionally used in our Career and College Prep classes and in your Sophomore civics class. Career Cruising is a career exploration tool like ILCIS, Big Future, and O*Net.
Questions to Ask Yourself
- What do you want to do after high school? What have you found out so far?
(Here are more resources: Big Future, ILCIS, O*Net.)
- How do you know what you want to do?
- How certain are you, on a scale from 1-5, that this is what you want to do?
- What do you know about how to reach that goal?
- What is your plan?
- What do you need from your counselor to help you reach your goal or to explore more options?
Job Shadow
Now is the time to try on different careers. Job shadowing can be an excellent way to test out what you have selected. Here are three options:
- Do a search on YouTube to find a career you’d like to “try-on.” Search: job shadow (career you’d like to try) Here is an existing playlist of careers on YouTube. Jobshadow.com also has over 400 job shadow interviews from many different career fields.
- Talk with family and friends about their careers. Ask to shadow them for a day.
- Talk with your counselor or Mrs. Guinn about setting up a shadow opportunity with a professional in the community.
Checking In
Here are some questions for the end of your sophomore year:
- How confident are you in your after high school goals?
- What kind of related activities have you done toward your goal(s): Have you taken classes, completed volunteer activities, job shadows, or work experience?
- What kind of encouragement have you received that leads you to believe that you will be successful in your goal?
- Develop a list of activities and goals for the next 2 years to help move you toward your goal. Discuss these with your counselor, teachers, parents, and/or friends. Here is a form to help you organize.
Picking Classes for Next Year
Have you considered taking an AP class, a dual credit class, or a class aligned with your path of career interest? Talk about these options with your counselor and teachers when picking your classes for next semester.
Take the most challenging courses you are able to take.
Know your graduation requirements, but also know the requirements for college admission and opportunities for dual credit.
