3

Exploring
Careers
You Already Know…
• work will be an important part of
your life
• there are thousands of occupations
• knowing yourself helps you choose
the right career
• you can learn about careers in
many ways

You Will Learn…

• what career clusters are and how they
can help you make a career choice
• what to find out when you do career
research
• how to find career information in books
and on the Internet
• what informational interviews and job
shadowing are
• how to try the work that interests you

For your portfolio, you will profile

three occupations that interest you.
As you read, think about which
occupations appeal to you.

52 Unit 1 Planning Your Career

Before You Read
Preview Find the photos in
this chapter. Read the caption
below each photo. Based on
the photos and captions, write
three sentences predicting
what this chapter will be
about.

53
 Section 3.1
Narrowing Your
Career Choices

Key Terms Main Idea

career cluster You need to narrow your career choices before you can
business make a career decision. You can narrow your career choices
management by learning about the 16 career clusters.
training
finance Thought Organizer
health science Make a chart with two columns. As you read, write each
hospitality career cluster name in the first column. Write two
and tourism occupations from each cluster in the second column.
information
technology Career Cluster Sample Occupations
manufacturing
marketing
Agriculture, Food, and farmer, food-processing worker
Natural Resources
engineering
Architecture and
Construction
Arts, Audio/Video
Technology, and
Communications

Narrowing Your Career Choices Means

Picking Options
There are thousands of occupations. With so many
options, how do you choose? By narrowing your
choices. Narrowing your choices means picking some
options and putting aside the rest. Narrowing your
career choices will help you make decisions about your
future occupation.

54 Unit 1 Planning Your Career

Learning About Careers Helps You Narrow
Your Choices
How do you narrow your career choices? By learning
about careers.
You cannot choose a career without knowing what
careers there are. Can you imagine trying to order food
in a new restaurant without a menu? You would not
know where to begin. The same is true for choosing a
career. You need to know what types of careers there are.
In this section you will learn about many different
occupations. As you read, think about which
occupations appeal to you. Which seem fun and
interesting? Which do you want to know more about?

Career Clusters Are Groups of

Occupations
It would be pretty hard to learn about every single
occupation. Luckily, you do not have to learn about
them all. You can learn about many kinds of work by
learning about career clusters. A career cluster is a career cluster ■ A group of
group of related occupations. related occupations.
Read about the 16 career clusters. Then choose two or
three clusters that seem interesting. Right away you
will have narrowed your choices.

While You Read

Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources Question What do agriculture
Agriculture is growing plants and raising animals for and natural resources have in
people to use. People who work in agriculture are common?
called farmers or agriculturists.
Agriculture is the first step in making food. The
second step is food processing. Food processing means
turning farm products into foods you can eat. As a
baker, you would make grain into bread. As a butcher,
you would cut and prepare pieces of meat.
Natural resources are useful things found in nature.
Coal, metal, soil, trees, and water are natural resources.
You could harvest natural resources as a logger or
fisher. You could protect natural resources as a
conservationist or ecologist.

Chapter 3 Exploring Careers 55

 Architecture and Construction
Workers in architecture and construction design and
build structures such as houses and bridges.
As an architect or civil engineer, you would design
structures. You would make sure they are safe, useful,
and attractive.
As a construction worker, you would build structures.
There are many specialties in construction. A specialty is
a focus on one type of work. For example, as a carpenter,
you would build and install things made of wood.

Arts, Audio/Video Technology, and

Communications
The arts are about sharing thoughts and feelings. As
an artist, you could make objects with your hands. You
could express yourself with your body, face, or voice.
As a journalist, you would write news stories. As a
printing equipment operator, you would operate
machines that make books, magazines, or newspapers.
Audio/video technology means knowledge and tools to
make sounds and pictures. As a camera operator, you
would take pictures with a television or movie camera.
As a cable installer, you would hook up cable television
systems.

Communications
Technology This
worker is holding
telephone wires.
She works in the
arts, audio/video
technology, and
communications
career cluster. List
several ways people
use technology to
communicate.

56
Business, Management, and Administration
Business is selling goods or services. The goal of business ■ Selling goods or
business is to make a profit. You make a profit when services.
you receive more money than you spend.
Management is a big part of business. Management management ■ Making
means making decisions and planning. As a manager, decisions and planning.
you would tell workers what tasks to do. You would
check that workers are doing a good job. You could
work at a company, a government, a school, or a charity.
Administration means making sure that an
organization runs smoothly. Administrative workers
take care of the day-to-day work. As a receptionist, you
would greet people and answer the phone. As a
bookkeeper, you would keep records of money.

While You Read

Education and Training Connect Think of five jobs that
Over ten million people work in education and people do at your school.
training. Education means teaching and learning.
Training is education in a specific skill, such as training ■ Education in a
computer programming. specific skill.
The biggest career in education and training is
teaching. There are nearly four million teachers for
kindergarten through 12th grade.
Schools also need workers besides teachers. For
example, they need counselors and librarians. As a
counselor, you would answer students’ career and
personal questions. As a librarian, you would run a
library and help people find information.

Finance
We all use money to pay for goods and services such
as food, housing, and transportation. Because money is
so important, finance is a very important field. Finance finance ■ Managing money.
means managing money.
Finance workers help people and businesses use
their money wisely. As a bank teller, you would help
customers at a bank. As a financial planner, you would
help people handle their money. As a tax preparer, you
could help people fill out their tax forms.

Chapter 3 Exploring Careers 57

 Government and Public Administration
The government keeps order and provides services.
What do government workers do? As a legislator, you
would vote on laws. As a soldier, you would protect the
country.
In public administration, you would do tasks that
keep the government running. As a mail carrier, you
would deliver mail. As a census clerk, you would
collect information about the population.
Public administration also includes nonprofit
organizations. Unlike businesses, nonprofit organizations
do not try to make a profit. The Red Cross and the
Salvation Army are large nonprofit organizations.

Reporting Illegal Behavior

José has a summer job as a receptionist at a small
financial company. He answers the phone and greets
visitors. The company helps people handle their money
wisely. As part of their job, the workers at the company
give money advice.
José overhears two workers talking about the president
of the company. They say that she has a lot of money
invested in a certain stock. She wants this stock to rise in
value so she can earn money from it. The president
pressures the workers to tell their clients to buy that stock.
The workers know it is illegal to do this, but they do it
anyway. They want to protect their jobs.

You Make the Call What should José do with the

information he heard? What would you do?
For help in answering this question, visit
ewow.glencoe.com/tips and select the Smart Tip for the
Chapter 3 Making Good Choices.

58 Unit 1 Planning Your Career ewow.glencoe.com/tips

Health Science
Health science is about helping people stay healthy health science ■ Helping
and recover from sickness. There are many specialties people stay healthy and
in health science. recover from sickness.
Some health science workers work in hospitals. As a
surgeon, for example, you would perform operations in
a hospital operating room. Some health science
workers work in labs. As a laboratory technician, you
would use lab equipment to test blood and other
samples. Some health science workers work in offices.
As a medical records technician, you would work in an
office organizing medical files.

While You Read

Hospitality and Tourism Visualize Recall a time
Hospitality and tourism includes services for when you went to a hotel or
people who are traveling. What do people do when restaurant. What jobs did you
they travel? They stay at hotels and eat at restaurants. see workers doing?
They rent cars. They relax and go to special events.
There are jobs in all these areas.
hospitality and tourism ■
As a travel agent, you would help people plan their
Services for people who are
vacations. As a front desk clerk, you could check guests
traveling.
into and out of hotels. As a chef or waiter, you would
cook or serve food in a restaurant. As a guide, you
would show visitors through a museum, a city, or even
a whole country.

Hospitality
and Tourism
Is Growing
Hospitality and
tourism is a growing
career field. List
three activities
people like to do
when they are on
vacation. Then list
two jobs that relate
to each activity.

59
Study Tip Human Services
Skimming means going Human services are services that improve people’s
through a text and reading only lives. Human service workers help people in all kinds
the most important parts. Skim of ways. As a social worker, you would help people live
chapters in your textbook better at home, school, and work. As a consumer credit
before you read them. Read counselor, you would help people who have money
the chapter objectives, the problems. As a child care worker, you would look after
headings, and the key terms. children. As a hairstylist, you would help people look
This will help you prepare their best. You could even work as an event planner, a
for reading. soup kitchen manager, or a spa attendant.

Information Technology
information technology ■ Information technology means designing and
Designing and using using computer systems. Why are computer systems
computer systems. called information technology, or IT? Because
computers are information machines. They store, sort,
and use information.
Some IT workers work with computer hardware, or
parts. As a network manager, for example, you would
set up and run office computers.
Other IT workers work with software, or programs.
As a programmer, for example, you would write
computer programs. As a web designer, you would
create Web sites.

While You Read

Question Besides police Law, Public Safety, and Security
officers, who protects public Workers in law, public safety, and security protect
safety? people and property. They prevent crimes and help
during emergencies.
Important occupations in this career cluster include
lawyer, police officer, firefighter, and security guard. As
a lawyer, you would answer people’s questions about
the law. You would help them write legal papers. You
would stand up for them in court. As a police officer,
you would see that people obey the law. You would
catch and arrest people who break the law. As a
firefighter, you would put out fires and help during
medical emergencies. As a security guard, you would
protect people and property.

60 Unit 1 Planning Your Career

Manufacturing
Manufacturing means making products by hand or manufacturing ■ Making
machine. Many manufacturing jobs are in factories. products by hand or machine.
Factories make things. Each factory makes just a few
kinds of things, but it makes many of them.
Most manufacturing workers use tools and
machines. As a welder, you would use a torch to bond
metal pieces together. As a material mover, you would
use a forklift to move heavy objects.
Today, many manufacturing workers work with
computers. For example, some workers use computers
to control robots.

Designing Cities on Mars

One year ago, Patrick Wong had
no interest in science. Then he
learned about the International Space
Settlement Design Competition.
Building a city in outer space isn’t easy. “It is 100
degrees below zero on Mars, so we had to keep
10,000 people from freezing,” says Patrick. “We had
to pump in oxygen and grow enough plants to feed
everybody. It all had to be based on science.”
Patrick’s team didn’t make it to the finals in the
competition. However, Patrick gained a lot. Today
Patrick is planning to study engineering after high
school. “In engineering you can do practically
anything. It’s a good job, and you learn a lot.”
It’s Your Turn Patrick built his science and math
skills by joining a school team. What activities could
you join at your school? What skills could they help
you build?
For help completing this activity, visit
ewow.glencoe.com/tips and go to the Smart Tip for
the Chapter 3 Point of View.

ewow.glencoe.com/tips Chapter 3 Exploring Careers 61

 Marketing, Sales, and Service
marketing ■ Deciding Marketing is about deciding which goods and
which goods and services services people will want to buy. As a marketer, you
people will want to buy. would decide what your company should sell. You
would decide how and where you should sell it and
what the price should be.
Sales, or selling, is helping people decide to buy. As a
salesperson, you would tell customers what is good
about what you sell. As a store manager or assistant
manager, you would make sure your store is a success.

Science, Technology, Engineering, and

Mathematics
Science is the study of our world. As a scientist or
science technician, you could study animals, plants,
atoms, oceans, or even the stars.
engineering ■ Using science Engineering is using science and mathematics to
and mathematics to make make things that help people. Mathematics is the study
things that help people. of numbers, shapes, and patterns. As an engineer or
engineering technician, you would look for better,
faster, and cheaper ways to do things.

While You Read

Connect What kinds of Transportation, Distribution, and Logistics
vehicles have you seen on Transportation involves moving people and things. As
land, in the air, and on the a pilot, you would fly planes.
water? Distribution involves getting goods to customers. As a
warehouse worker, you would organize goods and
send them to customers.
Logistics is planning the movement of people, objects,
information, and money. As a logistics manager, you
would make sure that the right things get to the right
places at the right time.

Choose Two or Three Career Clusters

You now have a general idea of the 16 career clusters.
Which ones are most interesting to you? Make a list.
Read more about the career clusters that interest
you. The more you know, the better your career choice
will be.
62 Unit 1 Planning Your Career
Section 3.1
Review After You Read
Retell
1. Explain why learning about careers helps you
Check your answers make a career choice.
online by visiting
2. Using your own words, explain what workers in
ewow.glencoe.com/review
information technology (IT) do.
and selecting the
Section 3.1 Review.
Think Critically
3. List three career clusters that interest you.
Explain what interests you about them.

Paying for Advertising

You want to print an advertisement in your local
newspaper. Your budget is $100.00. Advertisements cost
Answer the multiple- $23.00 per inch on weekdays and $32.50 per inch on
choice math questions at weekends. The newspaper sells space in whole inches
ewow.glencoe.com/math. only. What size advertisement could you afford on a
weekday? What size could you afford on a weekend?
Step 1 Divide your budget by the price per inch on
weekdays.
23
100  4.3  4
Step 2 Divide your budget by the price per inch on weekends.
32
100  3.1  3
Result You can afford a 4-inch advertisement on weekdays.
You can afford a 3-inch advertisement on weekends.

Figure It Out
In a neighborhood newsletter, advertisements cost
$13.00 per inch during the school year and $18.00 per
inch during the summer. What size advertisement could
you afford during the school year? What size could you
afford during the summer?

ewow.glencoe.com Chapter 3 Exploring Careers 63

 Section 3.2
Learning About Careers

Key Terms Main Idea

research You can learn about careers by reading, by talking to
Internet people, and by working.
informational
interview Thought Organizer
job shadowing Draw the chart below. As you read, give an example of
part-time job each method of research.
cooperative
education
Way to Research Careers Examples
service
learning reading researching careers online

talking to people

working

Your Next Step Is to Research Careers

Do you have a list of occupations that you think
you might like? Good! Now it is time to find out more
about these occupations. It is time to do research.
research ■ Collecting Research means collecting information. Collect as
information. much information as you can about each occupation
on your list.
There are many things to look for in a career. There
are many ways to find out career information. Before
you begin your research, write down what you want to
find out. What is important to you in your work? What
is not so important?

64 Unit 1 Planning Your Career

There Are Many Important Questions to Ask
There is a lot to learn about every job. There are
many different questions you can ask. Here are some
basic questions to ask about the occupations that
interest you.
You may have other questions, too. For example, you
may want to know what kinds of job accommodations
you will need to do a certain job. You may want to
know what kinds of technology you will need to do a
certain job. As you do your research, you may think of
more questions. Write them down as you think of them.

While You Read

Duties What do people in this occupation do? What
Connect Which of these eight
are the tasks? What will be expected of you?
things is most important to you
in a job?
Working Conditions Where will you work? Will you
work by yourself or with others? Is the workplace noisy
or quiet? Is it dangerous? How will you need to dress
and act in this workplace?

Work Hours When will you work? Are the hours long
or short? Will you work during the day or during the
night? Will you work the same hours every week?

Skills and Talents What skills and talents do you

need for this job?

Education and Training What education do you need

to do this job? Can you learn to do this job after you are
hired? Will you need special training? College?

Pay What pay can you expect to earn? Will you be

able to have the lifestyle you want?

Career Path If you have this job, can you expect to

work up to a better job in the future?

Job Outlook Will this type of job be available in the

future? Is this a growing field?

Chapter 3 Exploring Careers 65

 There Are Three Ways to Research
Careers
There is a lot of information about careers. How do
you find it? Three ways to research careers are to:
• read
• talk with people
• try jobs yourself

While You Read

Connect Is there a library close You Can Read About Careers in Books
to your home? Where is it? Books are good sources of career information. Visit
your school library or public library. Look up the
occupation or career cluster that interests you. A
librarian can show you how to look up books in the
library’s catalog.
Larger libraries usually have a career section. Career
sections include books related to work, occupations,
careers, and jobs. Your library may also have career
information on CDs, DVDs, or CD-ROMs. Ask your
librarian to show you.

Finding
Information
Books, magazines,
newspapers, and
the Internet are all
good sources of
career information.
Why is up-to-date
career information
more helpful to
you than career
information from
the past?

66 Unit 1 Planning Your Career

Reference Books Make Information Easy to Find
Look at the reference books on careers. Reference
books are books that you use to look up information in
the library. They are usually kept in a section near the
librarian’s desk. Ask for these books:
• Occupational Outlook Handbook. This handbook
describes hundreds of occupations. It is printed by
the U.S. government and has very accurate
information. A new version of this book comes out
every two years.
• Encyclopedia of Careers and Vocational Information.
This encyclopedia tells you about over 650 different
occupations. It also gives you information on
industries and career areas.

While You Read

You Can Read About Careers on the Internet Question What is the World
The Internet is a worldwide network of computers. Wide Web?
A network is two or more computers linked together. It Internet ■ A worldwide
lets people all over the world share information. network of computers.
You need the Internet to get to the World Wide Web.
The World Wide Web (the Web) is a collection of words,
images, and sounds. The Web has billions of pages. A
Web page is a document on the World Wide Web. A Web
site is a group of Web pages.
The World Wide Web is easy to use. It is fast. You can
find the answer to almost any question.
Ask whether you can use the Internet on a computer
at your school. Your public library may have computers
that allow you to use the Internet.

Type in a Web Address to Find a Web Site There

are several ways to find information on the Internet. S tudy Tip
One way is to type in the address of the Web site you Do you know how to read a
want. Web site addresses usually begin with the letters reference book? Do not start
www. You can find Web site addresses in books and reading from the beginning.
magazines. You can also ask a counselor or librarian. Instead, skim the table of
Type in the address of the Web site. The computer finds contents. Skim the index. Then
the Web site for you. go directly to the pages that
There are many good career Web sites. Monster.com have the information you want.
is a useful career Web site.
Chapter 3 Exploring Careers 67
 Use a Search Engine to Search by Keywords Another
way to find information on the Internet is to do a
search. You do searches with a search engine. A search
engine is a tool that finds Web sites for you. Type in
keywords, and the search engine finds Web pages that
have these words on them.
Let’s say you are interested in careers in advertising.
You type in advertising careers. Now the search engine
finds Web sites about advertising and careers. Look at
the list of sites. Click on ones that look helpful.

This line is the address bar.

This is where you type the address of
the Web site you want to visit.

Search Engines
Help You Find
Information This
is the Web site of a
popular search
engine. Where do
you type in the words
you want the search
engine to find?

This box is the search field. This is

where you type the keywords for
your search.

68 Unit 1 Planning Your Career

You Can Research Careers by
Talking to People
Talking to people is another excellent way to learn
about careers. Do you know someone who works at a
job you like? Ask if he or she will talk about the work.
Talk to friends or family members. Talk to neighbors.
Talk to anyone you can. Ask them what tasks they do in
their jobs. Find out what they like about their jobs. Find
out what they do not like.

Informational Interviewing Is Talking to a Worker on

the Job The best way to learn about a specific
occupation is to do an informational interview. An
informational interview is a discussion with a person informational interview ■
who has a job that interests you. A discussion with a person
Informational interviews are very useful. You learn who has a job that interests
what it is like to have a certain occupation. This helps you you.
see whether the occupation would be a good fit for you.

Job Shadowing Is Spending Time on the Job Job

shadowing is another good way to learn about careers.
Job shadowing is spending time with a worker on the job shadowing ■ Spending
job. It can last a few hours, a day, or a few days. Job time with a worker on the job.
shadowing is more in-depth than informational
interviewing. You learn what a job is really like.

While You Read

You Can Set Up a Meeting by Phone or Letter How Question How can you find a
do you find people to interview? Ask your family worker to job shadow?
members, friends, neighbors, teachers, and advisers.
Ask people you see in your daily life, such as your
doctor or your mail carrier. You can even look in the
phone book. Look for a worker who has several years
of experience.
If you know the person, telephone him or her. If you
do not know the person, send a letter. Introduce
yourself. Say why you would like to meet. Explain that
you want to learn more about a career. Ask to set up an
informational interview or a job shadow. Use the letter
in Figure 3.1 on the next page as a guide.

Chapter 3 Exploring Careers 69

 Figure 3.1
Informational Interview Letter

John Singh
1236 Orlando Terrace, Apt. 8
Austin, TX 78757-3596
johnsingh@school41.org
October 13, 20--
Zeenat Walker
Loan Officer
People’s Bank
100 Landmark Plaza
Austin, TX 78750
Dear Ms. Walker:
I am a senior at LaClare Technical High School and am
completing a career preparation program. I am interested in
learning about careers in banking. Your client Michelle Kim
visited our school last week and mentioned that you were very
knowledgeable about banking.
Would you be willing to meet with me for an informational
interview of about 20 minutes? I would like to find out about your
job and what it is like to work at a bank. I would also like to learn
about the skills necessary to succeed as a loan officer.
I will telephone you next Wednesday, October 19, to schedule a
time that is convenient for you.
Sincerely yours,

John Singh

Show Your Writing Skills Introduce yourself in writing to a worker you would like to
interview. Make sure your letter is polite and well written. Why does a well-written letter make
a better impression than a sloppily written letter?

70 Unit 1 Planning Your Career

Be Prepared for Your Interview Do research before an
informational interview or before you spend time job
shadowing. Read about the job. Read about the
industry. Learn the basics. This will give you ideas
for good questions. Here are some useful questions
to ask in an informational interview or during job
shadowing:
• What is a typical day like for you?
• What do you like most about your job?
• What do you like least about your job?
• What kind of person would enjoy this job?
• How did you get started in this field?
• What kind of training did you have for this job?
• What advice would you give to a person starting a
career?
While you ask questions, pay attention to what your
host says. Show that you are interested in what he or
she is saying. If you do not understand something, ask
questions. Take notes so you will remember what you
learn.

While You Read

Question What could you
You Can Research Careers by
learn at a job that you could not
Trying the Work Yourself
learn by reading or by talking to
The best way to find out if a job is right for you is to people?
try it. Of course, you do not have time to try every job.
Start your research by reading and talking to people.
Make a list of the jobs that interest you the most. Then
try the work yourself.
Why try a job yourself? You can find out if you like a
certain type of work. You can see if your personality is a
good match. You can find out whether you want to
continue.
You may not have enough training for the jobs that
interest you. In that case, look for work that is in the
same career cluster. Look for work where you can meet
people who have the occupation that interests you. If
you are interested in being a doctor, for example, look
for a job at a hospital.
Chapter 3 Exploring Careers 71
 Part-Time Jobs Give You Work Experience One way
to get work experience is to look for a part-time job. A
part-time job ■ A job where part-time job is a job where you work up to 30 hours
you work up to 30 hours per per week. Part-time jobs are usually entry-level jobs.
week. An entry-level job is a job that requires little training.
Many retail stores hire part-time workers. Many
restaurants also hire part-time workers.

Cooperative Education Gives You Work Experience

A cooperative education program can also give you
cooperative education ■ A work experience. A cooperative education program is
program that combines a program that combines school with a part-time job.
school with a part-time job. Cooperative education programs are sometimes called
co-op programs or work study programs. In these
programs, you can work at a job while you are going to
school. You learn skills at school and then apply them
on the job.

Volunteering and Service Learning Give You Work

Experience Volunteer (unpaid) work is another kind
of work experience. Many organizations use volunteer
workers. You could volunteer at a library, a hospital, or
a nursing home. You could volunteer at a nonprofit
organization, such as Big Brothers Big SistersTM.
Look for service learning programs at your school.
service learning ■ A Service learning is a program that combines school
program that combines school with volunteer work. Service learning helps the
with volunteer work. community. It also helps you build your skills.

While You Read

Question What does “keeping
Keep an Open Mind as You Do
an open mind” mean? Career Research
Keep an open mind as you do your research. Look at
all the facts. You may find that a certain occupation is
not right for you. Let’s say that you are interested in
being a veterinarian. You learn about the work and see
that you need many years of science courses. This does
not appeal to you. That is okay. Use this information to
find a job that you like better. Maybe you would rather
work as an animal trainer. Research can show you
different options.
72 Unit 1 Planning Your Career
Communicating With Adults
at Work
You are probably used to talking to people
your own age. When you start to look for a job,
you will also have to communicate with adults a
lot of the time. You will have to communicate
with adults when you are at work, on an
interview, or just talking to someone about their
job. It is important to show respect for anyone
who might be your boss, your customer, or your
co-worker. This will show them that you are
mature.
Some ways you can communicate with respect
in our culture include:
• Face the person to whom you are speaking.
• Listen carefully to what the other person is
saying.
• Do not interrupt.
• Address adults as “Ms.” or “Mr.,” plus their
last name, unless they ask you to use their
first name.
The world of work is a great place to learn
how to talk with different kinds of people.
It will help you become confident in your
communication with adults.

Take the Next Step Set up a short informational

interview with an adult you know. During the S tudy Tip
interview, pay attention to how you are speaking
Taking notes helps you pay
to the adult. Pay attention to how the adult is
attention. It also helps you
speaking to you. Do you feel you are being
remember information. Make
treated like an adult? Why or why not?
your notes brief. Focus on key
For help doing this activity, go to
words and topics. Circle
ewow.glencoe.com/tips and find the Smart Tip
questions you want to ask and
for the Chapter 3 Real-World Connection.
words you need to look up.

ewow.glencoe.com/tips Chapter 3 Exploring Careers 73

Section 3.2
Review After You Read
Retell
1. Reread the section titled, “A Search Engine Helps
Check your answers You Find Information on the Internet.” Explain
online by visiting what a search engine is and what it does.
ewow.glencoe.com/review
2. Write five specific questions you would ask
and selecting the
during an informational interview.
Section 3.2 Review.

Think Critically
3. Which do you think would teach you the most
about an occupation? 1) Reading about it.
2) Talking to people about it. 3) Doing a job
similar to it. Explain your answer.

Paying for Internet Access

You need Internet service from an Internet Service
Provider (ISP). GreatNet charges $199.95 for a year of
Answer the multiple- service. Internet Options charges $15.95 for a month of
choice math questions at service, plus a $49.95 connection fee. Which company
ewow.glencoe.com/math. offers the better deal?
Step 1 Calculate the yearly price of the service offered by
Internet Options.
$15.95
12  $191.40
Step 2 Add the connection fee to the yearly total.
$191.40  49.95  $241.35

Result The yearly GreatNet service ($199.95) is a better deal

than the monthly Internet Options service ($241.35).

Figure It Out
Digital Two Cable Company charges $349.99 for a
year of cable television service. CableWorld charges
$16.99 for a month of service, plus a $99.95 connection
fee. Which is the better deal?

74 Unit 1 Planning Your Career ewow.glencoe.com

 Artist
Artist Training
An artist must develop skill at
Robert Toth
an art form such as painting
North Carolina
or sculpture. This takes years
of study and practice.

Skills and Talents

Career Cluster: Arts, Artists should have the ability
Audio/Video Technology, and Communications to think of new ideas. They
need talent for working with
What does an artist do?
their hands.
“An artist creates things. I make paintings and
sculptures. I also teach art classes.” Career Outlook
Jobs in the arts will grow at
Why did you choose a career in art? an average rate through
“I have always had an interest in art. I am a visual 2012. Illustrators and
learner. I also enjoy doing things with my hands, animators will be in high
like sculpting. When I was a child, my parents gave demand.
me art materials. That helped me discover my talent
for art.” Learn More About It
With a partner, select one of
What obstacles have you overcome? the career pathways in this
career cluster. Find an adult
“I have dyslexia and attention deficit disorder, so I
who works in that career
struggled at school. I couldn’t read until I was 12 years
pathway. With your partner,
old. School got easier for me when I realized that I
write down several interview
learned best by seeing and by working with objects.”
questions you would like to
ask that person. Together,
What advice do you have for students? interview the person. Make
“Let your interests and talents guide you. If you do sure that you and your
what you like most, you will be successful. If you partner each ask some
believe in yourself, you will find your talents. Even questions. Write up your
if you have no one to encourage you, you can interview for a class
encourage yourself.”Artist presentation.

For help with this activity, visit

ewow.glencoe.com/tips.

ewow.glencoe.com/tips 75
 3
Key Term Review
Glencoe career cluster (p. 55) marketing (p. 62)
business (p. 57) engineering (p. 62)
management (p. 57) research (p. 64)
Go to ewow.glencoe.com
training (p. 57) Internet (p. 67)
to find online games and
finance (p. 57 ) informational interview
activities for Chapter 3.
health science (p. 59) (p. 69)
hospitality and tourism job shadowing (p. 69)
(p. 59) part-time job (p. 72 )
information technology cooperative education
(p. 60) (p. 72)
manufacturing (p. 61) service learning (p. 72)

Check Your Understanding

1. Define career cluster. Explain why learning about
career clusters can help you make a career decision.
2. List the eight categories of questions that you
should ask when you do career research.
3. Describe how to find career information in books
and on the Internet.
4. In your own words, define informational interview
and job shadowing.
5. Name three ways to gain work experience.

Write About It
6. Write a Job-Shadowing Letter Choose a job that
interests you. Look in your local yellow pages for a
company that hires workers in that job. Write a
letter asking to set up a half day of job shadowing.
Address your letter to the human resources
department of the company. Use the letter in
Figure 3.1 as a guide.

76 Unit 1 Planning Your Career ewow.glencoe.com

Role Play
7. Practice an Informational Interview Practice
doing an informational interview with a partner.
Pick an occupation you would like to research.
Make a list of ten questions to ask a worker in that
occupation. Then interview a partner, who should
play the role of the worker. Switch roles.

Teamwork Challenge
8. Visit a Workplace Find a local company or
nonprofit organization in a career cluster that
interests you. Arrange a visit with the help of a
teacher. Find out what the company or organization
does. Create a presentation for the class.

Use a Search Engine Visit the Web site of a search

engine such as Google. In the search field, type in the
word careers plus a word that describes one of your
interests. For example, you could type in careers sports or
careers marketing. Click on several search results. Make a
list of ten careers related to your interest.

Do a Career Critique Write profiles for two

occupations that interest you. Make a chart for each
occupation. List the eight categories of questions that
you should ask when you do career research. Under the
name of each category, write one or two sentences that
summarize the information in that category. For
example, under Work Hours one answer might be, “Work
hours are usually eight hours a day, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.”
Go to ewow.glencoe.com/portfolio for help.

ewow.glencoe.com/portfolio Chapter 3 Exploring Careers 77