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HOME PAGE
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LIFE IS ABOUT MAKING CHOICES
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THE FIVE PILLARS OF LIFE
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TOP CAREER FIELDS
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YOUR
PERSONAL
CAREER PLAN |
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THE RIGHT
CAREER |
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THE RIGHT
SCHOOL |
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THE RIGHT
PLAN |
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PERSONAL
CAREER
ADVISOR
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ACADEMIC
TUTORING
SERVICES
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PRIVATE
CAREER
COLLEGES
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EMPLOYMENT
AGENCIES
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YOUR FIVE
OPTIONS
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DESIRABLE OUTCOMES
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UNDESIRABLE OUTCOMES
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TRANSFERABLE SKILLS
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NETWORKING
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VOLUNTEERING
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PAYING ATTENTION TO DETAIL
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HIDDEN JOB MARKET
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NOTES FROM
THE EDITOR
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LETTERS FROM STUDENTS
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REFERENCE
WEB SITE
LINKS
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SPECIAL
PRESENTATIONS
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HOW TO
CONTACT US
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STRATEGIES
FOR
STUDENTS
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STRATEGIES
FOR
PARENTS
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STRATEGIES
FOR
TEACHERS
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INSIDE
EDUCATION
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RADIO TALK
SHOW
CKLU 96.7 FM
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 THE
SECOND
KEY TO UNLOCKING
YOUR DREAMS
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CHOOSING THE RIGHT SCHOOL |
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Know Your Options When It
Comes To Selecting Your Post-Secondary Education Path |
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Making career and education choices has never been
easy, especially in today’s marketplace where well over 70 percent of all job
openings require some form of post-secondary education.
Not only will you
have to invest in education and training immediately after high school,
but as adults you will be required to upgrade your skills and education
over the entire course of your working life to take advantage of
opportunities in the ever-changing job market.
Whether you are in
secondary school, or already well established in a chosen career, the
accelerated pace of technological development will demand that you be
prepared to learn and acquire new skills readily and continually in order
to adapt to the changing workplace.
MAIN OPTIONS AVAILABLE TO STUDENTS TODAY
Your Career Planner is a web site that deals with the four main
post-secondary education options, namely: university, community
college, apprenticeships, and private career colleges.
At the same time,
we recognize that up to 50% of all Grade 12 graduates will decide to go directly
into the workplace - some for a short period of time, but some for the
rest of their life. We will deal with this matter elsewhere in this web site.
Universities offer various levels of degree programs
leading to a Bachelor’s degree (the three or four year undergraduate
degree), a Master’s degree, or a Doctorate program. Students find that
these degrees, for the most part, are general and broad in nature,
designed to help them become good critical thinkers, develop their writing
and communication skills and provide them with knowledge in a particular
area of study. In Canada we are fortunate to have many world-class
universities involved in virtually every type of research. University
graduates can go in a multitude of directions with this type of education.
| For more information about
universities |
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Community colleges provide students with the opportunity to develop the
skills that can lead to rewarding careers in business, applied arts,
technology, and health sciences. Community colleges offer a variety of
full and part-time career-oriented programs for secondary school graduates
and for mature students who may not have completed secondary school.
Most community college programs are either diploma
programs, (which may be either two or three years in length), or
certificate programs (which run one year or less). Some courses of study
lead to official certification in skilled trades that are regulated by
professional associations. Every Canadian province has its own system of
government-run community colleges.
| For more information about
community colleges |
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Apprenticeship programs are also becoming more and more
popular as the demand increases for workers within the skilled trades.
With an apprenticeship a student must find a company that is willing to
allow him or her to work while learning a trade. Some classroom
instruction is necessary but, for the most part, the student is able to
earn some income while learning a skilled trade. After a pre-determined
number of apprenticeship years the student is able to qualify for
certification within the chosen trade. Today, in Canada, there are many
skilled trades suffering from a shortage of qualified workers. Thus
apprenticeships can lead to many rewarding careers.
| For more information about
apprenticeship programs |
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Private career colleges offer students an
alternative to the traditional post-secondary school options described
above. These colleges provide diplomas equivalent to community colleges,
but they still tend to be used more by older mature students, even though
they are available to secondary school graduates, and are starting to
become more of a "preferred choice" for this age group.
What you
will find is that the private career college has become the "back
up" choice for many students who may not have made very wise choices
as they left high school.
Private career colleges are also becoming a preferred option for
graduates of traditional post-secondary universities and colleges who are
looking for an "entry strategy" for their chosen career.
| For more information about
private career colleges |
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Once You Establish Your Career Goals
You Must Select The Education That Will Qualify You For Entry Into
Your Career |
| Once you have
established your career goals, your next step is to select an
education path that will get you qualified for entry into your
chosen career. This is where your guidance councillors become very
important. You must make sure that you select the proper courses in
secondary school so that you have the credits needed to qualify for
entry into a post-secondary school program.
Then, you must do your research to make a list of all of the
institutions that offer the diploma programs that you require.
Once you have a complete listing of all of the schools which
offer your program, then comes the task of choosing the school you
wish to attend. For high school students who establish their career
goals by Grade 10 or 11, there is plenty of time to do proper
research. In fact, I would suggest that once you narrow your choices
down to three or four, you spend time during vacations to visit the
campus and have a good look around. Talk to current students to get
their feedback on the institution. After all, you may be spending up
to four or more years going to school there, to say nothing about
spending tens of thousands of dollars to obtain your diploma or
degree. It would be nice take a tour of the facility and get a first
hand look at the campus before you send in your application.
The selection of a post-secondary school is a very personal
thing. The final decision will depend on a number of factors, not
the least of which will be financial.
In any event, the selection of which school to attend will likely
be the easiest part of the career planning process. Do your
research; visit the campus; talk to current students; take a good
look at your financial situation; and you should narrow your choices
down to three possible options. It is always advisable to have three
options in case your first or second preferred choices are not
available.
At the end of this stage, you will have your career goals in
place and you will have a good idea of the college or university
where you would like to receive your training and education. |
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