Career Choices Sample Discussion and Essay Topics

You’ll want to use this document to trigger your thinking of your own questions. Some of these questions would be appropriate for written essay responses that could be graded. Consult your Instructors Guide, Section Four for additional ideas.

  1. Introduction and Acclimatization
  2. None for the week.
  3. Chapter One - Envisioning Your Future
  4. What are some synonyms for the terms “vision” and “energy,” and what images do these terms suggest to you?
  5. What do you envision your ideal future? (Please be specific and complete.)
  6. Why do you think people work? (Please be specific and complete.)
  7. Discuss what you do as work, including the activities you do every day and how you feel about these accomplishments.
  8. Describe how you think your favorite public personality or well-known person would define success. Describe how you personally define success. Are there differences? Why do you think that is?
  9. Which techniques do you typically use to make decisions? Which work and which don’t work?
  10. What do you think is the difference between a job and a career?
  11. Chapter Two – Your Personal Profile
  12. Define yourself as completely as you can and describe your perception of your own identity.
  13. Describe some words that you would substitute or that convey the same feelings for the term “passion.” What objects, events, or situations evoke passion for you? Why do you feel that understanding these things is important for your own self-knowledge?
  14. Define the term “value.” What are your top three values? Why do you think values should be considered when choosing a career?
  15. After completing the exercises on p. 39-42 in the text, describe which personality style best fits you and why you think it is important to understand this style when considering a career.
  16. What strengths do you think you possess? How do you think these strengths could benefit others on a team? What ways do you think these skills might benefit you in school or in a career? What additional skills do you want to obtain and why?
  17. What is the difference between a skill, and aptitude, and an interest?
  18. Define the words role, occupation, and vocation. What is the difference between the three terms?
  19. What do you feel are the messages that society gives individuals based on their gender, race, age, physical appearance, physical ability, social status, economic status, intellectual capacity, educational achievement, etc.? What do you believe are the messages that people close to you in your life give to you?
  20. Chapter Three – Lifestyles of the Satisfied and Happy
  21. Where do you feel you currently are on Maslow’s triangle, and how can you continue to move up on the triangle through outside support and your own actions?
  22. How or for what do you want to be remembered in your life?
  23. Envision your life at retirement and write a letter to yourself from someone important to you that thanks you and praises you.
  24. Why do you think it is important to define the lifestyle you want before choosing a career? Write a short 2-paragraph essay titled “A Day in My Life in ______(year).”
  25. Define a balanced lifestyle and state what elements of a balanced lifestyle would be most important to you?
  26. Describe the difference between internal and external needs. Is it possible to be at different levels on each side of Maslow’s Modified Triangle? How?
  27. Write a paragraph about your current lifestyle situation and then shade Maslow’s Modified Triangle to represent the balance in your life. Is there a difference between your paragraph and what you shaded? If so, what needs to change?
  28. Chapter Four – What Cost This Lifestyle?
  1. What things are most important for you to possess, and are you willing to work hard enough to obtain those things?
  2. What way of life do you think will be the most rewarding for you (include family size, where to live, kind of home, where to vacation, etc.)?
  3. What kind of living quarters would you like to have?
  4. What kind of transportation do you see yourself using?
  5. What kind of clothes will you need (casual, formal, work, etc.)?
  6. Write a meal plan for a week in your ideal life.
  7. What kinds of “extras” would you like to be able to enjoy (hobbies, passions)?
  8. Plan a vacation that would work well with your chosen lifestyle.
  9. Research and report on the monthly costs for each of the childcare arrangements on p. 88 of the text.
  10. Refer to the chart on p. 94 of the text for average healthcare costs and report on which would best fit with your chosen lifestyle.
  11. Research and report on the cost of maintaining all of your desired furnishings for the living quarters you have selected.
  12. How much money do you think you will need for emergencies and to put away for retirement given the lifestyle you anticipate having?
  13. Prepare and post a personal monthly budget based on all the lifestyle elements previously listed in the chapter.
  14. Research online and report on the salaries of careers that will align well with your lifestyle. (Remember to factor in taxes and other withholding amounts from the gross pay to get to a “net take home” amount – if this amount is less than your budget, can you cut back some?)
  15. Given the “net take home” amount researched from the last DQ, create a monthly “hard times” budget that includes all the necessary costs involved with “just surviving.”
  16. Choose one of the stories in the text regarding this section of the chapter and create a budget that will work well for the chosen scenario.
  17. Read the statistics on poverty in the text and report on one statistic that you find most interesting. What can you do to avoid living in poverty?
  18. Read the information in the text on the myth that money can make you happy, and write about why you agree or disagree with what you read.
  19. Write a paragraph about a well-known person that has a job that you know something about and explain the sacrifices and rewards you believe this person experiences.
  20. List five careers you have considered and identify which of your work values would be rewarded or sacrificed in each job.
  21. List activities in which you could participate after-hours that would reward any values your job does not.
  22. Complete the math on p. 117 of the text and explain what you think the figures mean.
  23. Complete the bar graph on p. 118 of the text and explain what the graph means to you.
  24. Interview someone who is in a career that you are considering and ask him or her what sacrifices and rewards he or she has experienced. Write a summary of your findings.
  25. Turn back to chapter three of the text and identify 2-3 of your own long-term lifestyle goals, then use the model in chapter four of the text and make some decisions about your own current activities – and summarize your findings.
  1. Chapter Five – Your Ideal Career
  1. Which career characteristics do you think are most essential to career satisfaction for you? What careers do you think will fit with the characteristics you have chosen?
  2. What level of anxiety tolerance do you think you have? Does your anxiety tolerance level match up well with the job characteristics you find most appealing?
  3. Do you think your personality and the job characteristics you find appealing fit better with being an employee or an employer? Complete the sentence “If I could start a business, it would be ______.”
  4. Of all the careers you can think of, which do you feel deserves the highest status and why? How important is status to you and do you think the careers you have in mind will meet your needs as far as status is concerned?
  1. Chapter Six – Career Search
  1. After reviewing the career interest groups in chapter six of the text, what other jobs do you think might fit into each category?
  2. Consider all the information you have compiled so far about yourself, and with that information in mind, select some specific careers that you would like to study further.
  3. Choose one of the careers you found that matches up with your Career Interest Survey and report on what you think a normal workday in that job would consist of.
  4. Find someone working in your chosen career to “shadow” for a day. Report on what you learned.
  5. What do you think about the four personality styles listed in the chapter of the text? How do you think they would interact in a group setting?
  1. Chapter Seven – Decision Making
  1. What are some things you do every day that require you to make short-term decisions? What are some long-term decisions that you will have to face in the next year?
  2. Review Joyce’s story in chapter seven of the text and write a paragraph about all the things Joyce needs to consider regarding the decisions she has to make.
  3. Considering Joyce’s story in the chapter, write a paragraph about the pros, the cons, and the probability of success if she does not work at all.
  4. Review the chart on page 178 and write a paragraph that best describes all the characteristics in your decision-making behavior.
  1. Chapter Eight – Setting Goals and Solving Problems
  1. After reviewing the problem-solving tools and Hubert’s story in chapter eight, write a short paragraph about how the four problem-solving tools relate to his dilemma.
  2. With one of the careers you are considering in mind, list some goals related to learning about or preparing for that job. Make sure they are quantitative objectives with deadlines.
  1. Chapter Nine – Avoiding Detours and Roadblocks
  1. After completing the chart on p. 197and reading p. 198-199 in the text, choose one of the “I can’t do it because” statements that applies to you and then write a paragraph about the experience.
  2. Choose one of the examples in the “They Did It In Spite Of…” section of chapter nine of the text and write a short paragraph reacting to the obstacles that person overcame to achieve their dream.
  3. Write a paragraph about an excuse you have used to absolve yourself from responsibility for a problem in your life, and then reframe the excuse in a way that accepts responsibility for and solves the problem.
  4. After taking the Startling Statement Quiz in chapter nine of the text, write a paragraph reacting to something you learned about poverty, leaving college without a degree, or another topic discussed.
  5. Choose one of the problem stories in this section of chapter nine and write a paragraph about the long-term consequences of the issue in the story, and what you would do to avoid making similar mistakes.
  6. How many of the careers you are considering require a postsecondary degree? Write about what you think your chances are of being happy and successful if you drop out of school.
  7. Try to find two senior citizens to talk to, one struggling financially and the other who is not struggling financially, and then write a paragraph about the major differences between the two.
  8. What “plan B” can you put in place just in case something happens to prevent some/all of the elements of one of your dreams becoming reality?
  9. What do you think are the special problems that single moms working and raising children have, and what kind of careers should they have to best provide for their families?
  10. Write a paragraph concerning how you would respond to family members that do not agree or support your goals and dreams.
  11. What fears do you have about your future, and what can you do to overcome those fears and plan for potential roadblocks?
  12. Describe a time when you decided for or against taking a calculated risk. What happened? Would you go back and change your decision now? Why or why not?
  13. Describe a situation that you have experienced or heard about that seemed hopeless at first but improved over time.
  1. Chapter Ten – Attitude is Everything
  1. How do you believe that a person acquires excellence?
  2. Choose one of the scenarios on p. 236 of the text and write a short paragraph about how you would handle the situation.
  3. Choose one of the scenarios on p. 238-240 of the text and write a short paragraph about how you would handle the situation.
  4. After reviewing the information about the expectations of the 21st century workplace, write a short paragraph outlining your plan for excelling in the face of these challenges.
  5. What future changes do you think have the greatest potential to affect your chosen career and what can you do to prepare yourself?
  6. After reading the information on p. 244 of the text, what aspects of your attitude do you think will help you in your life and what aspects do you think need adjustment?
  1. Chapter Eleven – Beginning the Job Search
  1. Before reading the chapter, what do you think you will need to prepare to effectively look for a job?
  2. What is the purpose of a resume and what are the elements of an effective one?
  3. List all the strategies you can think of for seeking employment.
  4. Where do you think you can find a person working in your chosen career? List questions to ask in an interview.
  5. What do you feel are the best ways to prepare for a job interview?
  6. What do you feel is the best way that you can deal with rejection?
  7. What should you consider before accepting a job?
  1. Chapter Twelve – Where Do You Go From Here?
  1. What education requirements are needed for your chosen career?
  2. After completing the steps on p. 270-271 of the text, write a short paragraph about how you plan to get the education you need for your chosen career.
  3. What sacrifices do you think you will have to endure while obtaining the necessary requirements for your chosen career? What commitments will you make to obtain your dream?
  4. How do you feel is the best way you can deal with fear and anxiety?
  5. After completing the action plan outline on p. 278-280 of the text, do you feel you can achieve your 10-year goal?

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