Career · Video Lesson
How Do I Choose a Career?
This lesson walks students through a practical, seven-step approach to choosing a career: self-reflection, industry research, skill evaluation, mentor guidance, internships and practical experience, goal-setting, and adapting when plans change. Built to be flexible across middle school, high school, and adult education.
For Teachers
Lesson at a glance
- Topic
- Career
- Grade Level
- Grades 7–12 + adult
- Resource Type
- Video Lesson + Worksheet
- Estimated Time
- 45–60 minutes
- Format
- Class discussion + small-group activity
- Materials
- Video, worksheet, pen and paper, internet access
What Students Learn
Learning objectives
- Explain why self-reflection on interests, strengths, and values is the starting point for a career decision
- Use basic research to map a few possible career paths to their education, training, and earning potential
- Identify the role mentors, career counselors, and informational interviews play in career planning
- Describe how internships, part-time jobs, and volunteering let students ‘try on’ careers before committing
- Set short- and long-term career goals using a simple SMART-style framework
- Explain why adaptability matters — few people stay in one career for life
Video Lesson
Watch: How Do I Choose a Career?
Materials
What you’ll need
- Internet access for the video and for research
- Printed copies of the quiz worksheet (one per student)
- Notebooks or worksheets for self-reflection notes
- Optional: free online career-interest inventory (links provided in class)
Key Terms
Vocabulary
- Self-reflection
- The process of thinking carefully about your own interests, values, and abilities.
- Career path
- The series of jobs and skills that lead toward a longer-term career goal.
- Mentor
- An experienced person who shares advice and feedback to help you grow.
- Informational interview
- A short, low-pressure conversation with someone who works in a field you are exploring.
- Internship
- A short work experience — paid or unpaid — that lets you learn what a job is really like.
- SMART goal
- A goal that is Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound.
- Transferable skill
- A skill (like writing, problem-solving, or leadership) that is useful across many different jobs.
For Teachers
Lesson plan
Estimated time: one 45–60 minute class period.
Lesson sequence
- Warm-up (10 min). Ask students to write down (privately) three things they enjoy doing and two things they are good at. Then ask: “Has anyone ever told you that you should do a specific job because of one of these? How did that feel?”
- Watch the video (8–10 min). Play straight through. Ask students to note the seven steps the video describes.
- Group discussion (15 min). Break the class into small groups. Each group picks the two steps they think matter most for a 16-year-old today, and the two that matter most for a 25-year-old already working. Share back.
- Self-reflection + interest inventory (15 min). Have students complete a free online career-interest inventory (e.g., O*NET Interest Profiler) and write one paragraph on what surprised them.
- Role-play (15 min). In pairs, students practice a 5-minute informational interview — one student plays the “professional,” the other asks three prepared questions about the job.
- Quiz (10 min). Students take the 10-question quiz based on the video.
- Wrap-up (5 min). Each student names one concrete next step they will take this month (talk to a mentor, sign up for a club, apply for a summer job, research a specific career).
Activities
- Three careers, one student. Each student picks three careers that interest them and writes a short comparison: typical education path, starting salary range, day-to-day work, and personal fit.
- Mentor map. Students list five adults in their life or community they could ask for career advice. For each, they note one specific question they would want answered.
Assessment
Students complete the printable 10-question quiz on the video content. Class participation in the role-play and reflection writing also count toward the assessment.
Extension
- Career research presentation. Each student picks one career to research in depth and presents a 3-minute summary to the class: education needed, growth outlook, salary, what an average day looks like, and one quote from someone in the field.
- Five-year sketch. Students write a one-page sketch of where they would like to be in five years — education, job, location — and the steps that would have to happen between now and then.
Discussion
Discussion questions
- Why is it important to start a career decision with what you enjoy and what you are good at — not just what pays well?
- What does “adaptability” mean in the context of a career? Why is it more important now than it was for previous generations?
- How can a mentor or career counselor change how you think about a future job? Have you ever had advice that changed your direction?
- What is the difference between a job and a career? Why does the distinction matter when you are planning?
- If your first-choice career disappeared in 10 years because of technology, what skills would still make you valuable?
Printable Quiz
How Do I Choose a Career? — Quiz & Answer Key
10-question multiple choice quiz based on the video. Includes answer key on a separate page for teacher use.
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