vIdeo games
does not stop with graduation from high school,
information

Brock emphasizes. “A student could then pursue a
Technology cTsOs
developed In Texas Include
two-year degree as an x-ray technician or a four-year
Call of Duty 3, over the heDge,
degree as a radiologist.”
one of the best ways to acquire
You should set up a TAP that takes you through
tony hawk’s ameriCan wastelanD,
experience in your chosen
career preparation after high school, revising your
career is by joining a career and
and reaDy 2 rumble.
blueprint as needed as you go along. If your career
technical student organization
plans include college study, ask your counselor about
(cTso). In Information
tests required for admission to college, such as the
Technology, the most helpful
One of the most helpful is the Occupation and PSAT, SAT, or ACT.
cTsos are:
Skill Computer-Assisted Researcher (or OSCAR,
for short) from the Texas Workforce Commission. seek Out special Programs
• Business Professionals
It is a vast database of information about hundreds Many Texas schools offer innovative programs to of America (BPA)
of professions. You can find OSCAR at www.ioscar. prepare students for specific career areas. These
www.texasbpa.com
org/tx. Another good place to start is O*NET (online. include career and technical education (CTE)
• Future Business Leaders
onetcenter.org). programs, academies, and magnet schools.
of America (FBLA)
Gather information about what you can earn in the Once you’ve decided on a career direction, ask your www.txfbla.org
careers in which you are interested. Find out whether counselor about special programs in your area
• SkillsUSA
the careers you are considering have a promising that may provide related experiences in your
www.txskillsusa.org
future—are they adding or losing jobs? Check out the chosen career.
education you’ll need to enter those careers. Samuel Odamah, an undergraduate student in • Texas Technology Students
The chart on pages 10–11 presents data on 25 architecture enrolled at the University of Texas at
Association (TSA)
possible professions. Remember, though, that these Arlington, found his career calling at Dallas’s Skyline
www.texastsa.org
are just a sampling of careers available in the cluster. Career Development Center, a high school with
Go to OSCAR, O*NET, or another resource to career programs in a number of different fields.
investigate other careers. “Skyline is one of the few schools in the country
that offer programs in architecture,” Odamah says.
Create Your TAP “In some careers, Skyline students could even get
Once you have a better idea of your interests and professional certifications or licenses right in high
abilities, you are ready to plan for high school and school. It was a great place because you could find out
beyond. The Texas Achievement Plan, or TAP, is your whether you really wanted to enter a career.”
plan for preparing for the career of your choice. Odamah says that the career cluster system at
“Students first choose a cluster,” says Terry Brock, Skyline taught him the value of planning for his
“not a particular occupational goal. In the eighth career and his life. “We learned about planning
grade a student might choose Health Science and then ahead,” he says. “Those who plan things ahead of
later become interested in a narrower field such as time don’t have to catch up. It’s just a matter of what
surgery or radiology technology.” a person wants out of life. Planning gives you a better
The program of study you choose—your plan— platform for success.”
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