Discover Careers
Use your assessment results to research careers that interest you. Learn about daily responsibilities, required skills, education and training, starting salaries, and future employment outlook.
Explore:
Discover Your Pathway
Exploring careers before you select an education or training path enables you to find the best option that fits your career interests and goals. Your career assessment results will guide you toward a career pathway that aligns with your interests. Opportunities in high school can help you explore your pathways and rule out careers and majors that don't fit long before you reach college - saving you time and money. Career pathways can help you identify classes that expand your experiences and explore areas of interest you may, or may not, be familiar with. Once you've narrowed down your assessment results to a pathway or career field, try them on for size. These activities can help you experiment with different careers and learn if the day in and day out activities of a career is truly of interest.
- Enroll in a class in a particular area of interest to help you decide if you like the subject and if you have or can learn the skills needed.
- Attend a career and college fair such as Golden Circle or Future Ready and explore the connections between the job you want and the education required to get there.
- Participate in career days and mentoring programs sponsored by your school.
- Check with local organizations and businesses for volunteer and job-shadowing opportunities.
- Search for internships at local businesses or organizations.
- Choose part-time jobs that allow you to gain experience and help you build skills in your chosen career.
- Participate in extracurricular activities and take advantage of leadership opportunities.
- Join clubs that relate to your chosen field.
- Talk to professionals in the field or call a college and ask to speak with faculty members to find out more information.
Career Clusters
The National Career Clusters Framework organizes every career into 14 career pathways to help individuals discover their pathway and align their education and training with workforce expectations and requirements.
- Agriculture
- Advanced Manufacturing
- Arts, Entertainment, & Design
- Construction
- Digital Technology
- Education
- Energy & Natural Resources
- Financial Services
- Healthcare & Human Services
- Hospitality, Events, & Tourism
- Management & Entrepreneurship
- Marketing & Sales
- Public Service & Safety
- Supply Chain & Transportation
Career Research
Training
- How much education or training beyond high school do you need? See education levels (PDF) for the fastest-growing jobs in Iowa.
- What, if any, majors will prepare you for this career?
- What types of high school classes relate to this occupation?
- Will you need any ongoing training or education?
Responsibilities and Skills
- What are the daily responsibilities?
- What are the required basic skills?
- What are the working conditions?
- What are the travel requirements?
- What are the physical demands?
Money and Outlook
- What is the average starting pay? Starting salary and average salary are different. When you are just starting out, you need to look at average starting salary.
- What is the median salary, or the amount of money you can make with a few years' experience?
- What is the outlook (how many jobs will be available in the future) for this career? See fast-growing jobs in Iowa (PDF) and in the United States.
