sTudEnT REsOuRCEs
ask osCar
The state of Texas has created a special website for students and others
researching careers. It’s called the occupation and skill computer-
assisted researcher, or oscar for short. You’ll find a wealth of
Online
information about hundreds of career choices. You can look up careers,
for example, by cluster. choose “I want to Take the full flight” from the
home page, then click on “clusters” on the following page. There, you
can choose a career cluster and a career group, which yields a list of jobs.
Info
click on a job title and you’ll get a brief description of the occupation and
a summary of education requirements. choose “report” at the bottom
of the page and you’ll see a detailed look at the job, including job duties,
employment outlook, wages in Texas, and the knowledge, skills, and
abilities needed for the occupation. There are many other ways to click
explore these internet resources for more
through the data to explore your career options, from able seaman to
zoologist. To explore oscar, go to www.ioscar.org/tx.
about your education and career options.
AchieveTexas College for Texans O*nET
www.AchieveTexas.org www.collegefortexans.com (Occupational Information Network)
The AchieveTexas website offers Here is everything a Texan needs to know online.onetcenter.org
information about the initiative and about preparing for, applying for, and paying Also available in schools and libraries,
copies of the programs of study that for college or technical school. And it’s all in O*NET provides full information on
recommend classes to take in high one up-to-date, easy-to-navigate mega-site occupations, including compensation,
school, extended learning opportunities, almost as big as the state itself. Remember: employment prospects, and skill matching
and postsecondary programs. $4 billion is available every year to help for students. Information on compensation
Texans attend college. is available on a state-by-state basis.
America’s Career infonet
www.acinet.org/acinet College Tech Prep of Texas u.s. department of Labor
This is the place to search for occupational www.techpreptexas.org Occupational Outlook handbook
information, industry information, and Tech Prep is a way to begin your course www.bls.gov/oco
state-specific labor market information. of study in high school and continue in This nationally recognized resource offers
a community or technical college. The information on job responsibilities,
Career voyages result is a certificate or associate’s degree earnings, working conditions, and job
www.careervoyages.gov in a career field. prospects for the future.
This is a career planning resource for students,
parents, career changers, and career advisors.
Take a Reality
T
he Texas workforce commission has created an
online resource called reality check to help you
Check
understand how much money you’ll need to live on your
own after high school or college and how you can earn it. • There are three ways to explore careers,
expenses, and earnings. • for the first option, which is called “Get a reality Check,” you choose
an area you’d like to live in, such as austin. You then go through a series of screens with real-world
costs for items such as housing, clothing, transportation, health care, and personal expenses. The site
automatically adds up your estimated monthly expenses, then uses salary information for Texas to
show you careers that will make you that much money. • The second option, called “Future Salary,”
starts with the wages you expect to earn, what education you plan to pursue, and the career cluster that
interests you. Then it generates a list of careers in which you can make that amount of money. • The
third option, “Career Direct,” begins with your career choice and the area where you want to live, then
shows how your estimated expenses subtract from the salary for your chosen job. • The site, which
The results of Reality Check show you how expenses add
is at www.cdr.state.tx.us/realitycheck, is a great way to play “what if” when it comes to mixing your job, up quickly when you are living on your own.
earnings, and expense options.
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