Planning a Career:

Which Road
Do I
Take?
Where do I begin…?
Don’t allow the situation confuse you..

• Planning one’s path involves pinpointing

one’s interests, skills, and values.
Remember, one’s interests, skills, and
values are important factors to consider
in choosing a satisfying career.
SMART MOVES
• I will assess and clarify
my interests, skills and
values.
• I will identify my career
options and then narrow
it down to one or two
options
• I will determine my
career goal.
• I will map out a career
plan.
 The Career Plan

A career plan has four main

aspects. First is, My SMART
Career Goal, you should
creates a goal for yourself
that is…
Be determined in achieving your
goals...
Career Goal should be:

S – pecific
M – easurable
A – ttainable
R – elevant
T – ime-bound
 Specific

The more well-defined and

detailed your goals are, the
better your chances of
succeeding. It says exactly what
you want to do or accomplish.
Example:

I want to finish high school!

Instead:

By the end of March 2008, I will

Complete all my requirements for a
high school so I can join my
batchmates on the graduation day
and receive my DIPLOMA!
 M – easurable
Be sure that your goal can be
measured in the sense that you can
evaluate its progress, i.e.,
improvement of grades or passing
grades in all subjects will enable
you to measure how you are doing.
 A – ttainable

• You must make sure that your goal

is within reach before committing.
It should be realistic, achievable,
but challenging.
For instance, finishing college is
attainable for you because you
have the dedication and willingness
of doing so, considering that you
have five more siblings that your
parents want to send to school.
With this limitation, you have to be
flexible and ready to face the
challenges that you may encounter.
What considerations can you do to adjust
yourself to the situation?

- You may have to make target of finishing

college after five years instead of four.
- You may want to add some other conditions
such as attending night classes to earn extra
income in a day
- With this, your goals requires you to do
something which will allow you to grow and
improve yourself. It becomes stimulating
because you commit yourself to actions that
stretch you to do your best.
 R – elevant

How does the student’s goal fit into

a larger context? Where will it lead
him?
A crucial test
• Have you selected goals that will be
most relevant to bridging the gap
between where and what you are now
and where and what you want to be?
• Will a second year report card or a high
school diploma contribute towards your
goal of finding a job?
 Time-bound

“goals are dreams with deadlines”.

Every goal must have a realistic
time frame.
Example:
• My goal of graduating with a college
degree will be at the end of school year
2010-2011.
• I will submit all my requirements before
the end of February 2007.

You should select a reasonable time limit

in which you can accomplish your goal.
What I’ll need to achieve my goal?

You will enumerate the

requirements you will be
needing to attain your career
goal
e.g. TO BE A TEACHER OR GUIDANCE
COUNSELOR
• A Bachelor’s degree in Education,
Psychology or Guidance and Counseling
• Ability to work in different personalities
• Patience
• Communication skills
What I already have that may
help me achieve my goal?
You will list down your current
interests, skills, and values
that will help you achieve your
goal
• Motivation to learn
• Experience working with children,
young adults and special kids as
volunteer in your Parish
• Creativity
• Facilitating skills
What I need to do in the time
frame I have given myself
You will lists the strategies
and approaches you will aim
for to accomplish your career
goal
• Apply to a university that offers the
course that you want
• Continue volunteering yourself in
teaching kids in your community
• Finish your academic requirements in a
given time
I need to have a career road map.
It will help me
set concrete
goals for
myself, and it
will show me
the steps I
need to take in
order to reach
my goals.
Now is the right time for me to make
a career plan.
I can make good use of the time I
have now to plan for the future.
Doing this will save me a lot of time in the
future because having a plan will help me
make more focused choices.
Problem Solving Skills
 Case 1
• Ryan has been friends with Marty, Marky, and
Jonathan since grade school. They have done
everything together from homework to gimmicks.
The time has come for all of them to decide on a
college to go to. All of Ryan’s friends have decided on
College X, the only problem is that College X does
not offer the course that he wants to take up.
Because Ryan has been used to his barkada’s
company, he is worried about going to a college
where he will be alone. If you were in shoes, would
you risk going to a different college or would you
decide on another course so you could be with your
barkada?
 Case 2
• College Z is one of the most prestigious
universities in the country. They offered
Miguel a full scholarship on the
condition that he takes Mechanical
Engineering. He has always been good
in Math but it was never his passion. He
had his mind set on taking up Fine Arts.
Let’s help Miguel…What do you think he
should do?
 Case 3
• Sarah’s parents are both nurses. Her older
siblings are also taking up nursing. She has
considered it but would rather take
Education. Her teachers are encouraging her
to pursue Education as well because she has
the potential to become a good teacher. Her
family frowns upon her career choice, they
want her to follow their footsteps and
become a nurse. How would you think Sarah
should handle the situation?
 Case 4
• Karla’s parents can afford to send her to
College Y. It is the only university in her
region that offers the course she wants to
take, however College Y is 12 hours by boat
away from where she lives. Studying College
Y would require her to stay in a boarding
house. Due to the lack of finances, her
parents can only afford to send her a ticket to
go home once every two years. What would
you do if you were in her shoes?
Jumping the Hurdles Outside of Me

There are many different external

obstacles that adolescents will face
in the path that they choose to
take. Many of these problems may
seem like they are beyond the
adolescents’ control.
Adolescence…

in-between years?
Adolescence
It is a time of extremely rapid change
when young people begin to search for
their identities, develop meaningful
interpersonal relationships, establish a
sense of independence, competence
and self-esteem.
It is a time for making significant
decisions, for taking serious steps in life
planning as in the choice of a career or
vocation.
It is also during this time that young
people become more vulnerable to
destructive, risk-taking behavior patters
such as smoking, engaging in
dangerous sports, violence or crime,
substance abuse, alcoholism and
premarital sex.
Reminders:
• In every situation that occurs, what
matters most is how we deal with it… to
jump the hurdles from outside takes a
lot of strength in decision-making.

• “Control your own destiny or else

someone else will.” Sean Covey
Hurdles

It could be friends or peers, parents or

other external factors that may affect
your career path
Parents
When making a choice for further
education, parents are usually a
significant influence on the adolescent.
Since the parents are the primary role
models of the children, they will
naturally be drawn to follow in their
footsteps.
The Parental Mindset:
• The financial benefits that a career
choice can provide the teenager in the
future, and consequently the family.
• The prestige the chosen career would
bring to the family.
• The current occupation of the parent.
• The parents’ personal vicarious motives.
Finances
• Important factor to consider when
choosing a college and course. If you
don’t have the finances to back you up,
it would be impossible to pursue higher
education.
• SCHOLARSHIP – given to those
students who are well-deserving.
Friends
• In high school, it is common among
teenagers to establish strong ties with a
group of fellow schoolmates. It is for
this reason that peer pressure can also
be a problem for the adolescent when it
comes to deciding on a career path to
follow.
Peer Influence takes its form in two ways:

• A Show of Hands – Teenagers find

security among their peers. Given this,
it would not be far fetched to consider
that students may be highly influenced
by the career choices their peer make.
• Habits of Expectation – The influence
that barkada members inflict on each
other is very powerful. Friends
oftentimes advice each other, and the
opinions of the core group are highly
valued. Students may have the
tendency to base their decisions on
which college and course their friends
think will best suit them, or on which
college and course is “cool.”
Distance
• The location of the school may be a great
obstacle in pursuing one’s career path. The
chosen college of the adolescent may be too
far from home, and this maybe a possible
problem.
- extensive research on the colleges
around its vicinity
- consider the following
- Lodging facilities near the school
- Travel expenses
• Studying in a college or university far
away from home would mean that the
teenager will be separated from his
family. Being away from the family may
be an advantage because it will teach
the adolescent to rely on himself,
thereby making him a more
independent individual. However, one
may grow homesick or the family may
have difficulty with such separation.
What Adolescents Must Keep in Mind
• Adolescents should remember that every
obstacle they face is an opportunity for them
to triumph and advance. Remember, it is not
what happens in life, it is not what happens
in life, it is what you do about it that matters.
Going through obstacles is necessary for
adolescents to truly appreciate what is
worthwhile. Facing these setbacks will make
adolescents become better and stronger
persons
And most of all...

BE
COOL &
SMILE!!!
Have a nice day!!!