Career Path Planning: Jobs Made Real Website
Author: Rick Phelan
Published: 04.08.14
A great resource for secondary students interested in developing insights into careers and future vocations is Jobs Made Real.
Jobs Made Real is a website developed and owned by Chop’s Teen Club of Santa Rosa. It has resources and information designed to help teen discover a potential career path. The site features over 2,000 videos of people describing their jobs. Mike and Suzy Marzalek are the creative energy behind Jobs Made Real. They created the website in response to teens saying that they find it difficult to decide on a career direction because they don’t know what people really do in their jobs.
The website has a user-friendly attractive format. Along with the videos, Jobs Made Real features statistical information about different career paths including salaries, education requirements, and need forecasts.
One option encourages users to think about their personality types and what type of work they enjoy. Choices include:
- I’m hands on
- I’m organized
- I like helping others
- I’m good with people
- I’m creative
- I’m a problem solver
When the user makes a choice about their personality type, sample videos are presented that allow an individual to see potential career paths.
Jobs Made Real is a useful resource for secondary students. The website has a place in many different classroom settings, particularly where students are encouraged to think about their futures and possible career paths.
Blog: Technology for Learners
