Education/Career Genogram and Analysis

An education/career genogram is designed to help you understand your educational and occupational background. Exploring your family history may help you to gain insight into your own current perspectives on both educational and career goals.

You must take it as far back as your grandparents but can go further if you so choose. Incorporate the genogram analysis questions and write a paper (no less than 5 pages, no more than 10) exploring the messages and influences from your family. The focus of this assignment is on your family, not yourself.

You can create your genogram from scratch using the shapes available through Word, the org chart tool in PowerPoint, or by drawing your genogram by hand if you prefer, as long as it is clean, neat, and easy to read.

We have registered for a free educator’s version of GenoPro.com which you can also use. To access it, go to genopro.com and click the “Try it Free” button, saving it to your desktop then installing it on your computer. Once installed, a window will pop us asking you to register. The only field you need to fill in is the one asking for a referrer id (kennanss) towards the bottom. The referrer ID identifies us as an educational/academic group. I have included other login/password/registration codes I received just in case, but you should not need them.

Referrer ID: kennanss

Username: 374606
Password: L8bTBkCJ

Registration Key: XXY-ALH-AZB-ZB5-TMP

Genogram Basics:

  • Circles are women, squares are men.
  • Link individuals together with a straight line.
  • Divorce can be indicated by a slash through the line.
  • Subsequent marriage/partnerships can be indicated by a circle/square connected with a line to the other side of the previous one.
  • Deaths are indicated by an “X” in the circle or square with the death year written beside or beneath the birth year.
  • Write the following information with/in/near each individual’s shape:
  • Name
  • Birth Year & Death Year (if applicable)
  • Highest Education Level
  • Occupations, Skills, Talents
  • Vocational Attitudes and Values

Once you have completed the genogram, reflect on each family member’s attitudes by completing the following sentences for each person:

  1. Work is…
  2. Money…
  3. Success is…
  4. To be a good person…
  5. My advice to you about your work is…

Finally, answer the following questions.

  1. What was easy or difficult about this task?
  2. How would you describe your family’s educational experience?
  3. How would you describe your family’s work experience?
  4. What patterns of occupations/skills/attitudes do you see?
  5. What behaviors and attitudes were reinforced for males? Females?
  6. How do your education/career aspirations fit in with your family history in these areas?
  7. What was your family’s message regarding your career choice?
  8. Do any family members have unfulfilled goals, aspirations, or fantasies that they are living without or trying to live vicariously through others?
  9. What, if any, shoulds or oughts did you find?
  10. Do you see anything that helps you better understand yourself or a family member?
  11. What surprises did you discover?
  12. Is there a family member you most want to emulate? What draws you to that person/career?
  13. If you become what these people want you to become, will you be happy?
  14. What values/interests/attitudes do you seem to have “inherited” from your family?

Example… Yours will include lots more information, this is meant to give you an idea of how the symbols connect and are utilized.