fInd ouT wHaT IT Takes To become a
nasa TecHnIcIan, engIneer, scIenTIsT, or asTronauT
aT THe nasa educaTor asTronauT program
websITe, www.edSpace.NaSa.gov/home.html.
are thousands of occupations out there of which you seek Out special Programs
may never have heard. Fortunately, there are plenty of Many Texas schools offer innovative programs to
resources (see inside back cover) for you, and they are as prepare students for specific career areas. These science,
close as the nearest computer. include career and technical education (CTE)
Technology,
One of the most helpful is the Occupation and programs, academies, and magnet schools. Once
Skill Computer-Assisted Researcher (or OSCAR, you’ve decided on a career direction, ask your
engineering &
for short) from the Texas Workforce Commission. counselor about special programs in your area that mathematics
It is a vast database of information about hundreds may provide related experiences in your chosen career.
of professions. You can find OSCAR at www.ioscar. Samuel Odamah, an undergraduate student in
cTsos
org/tx. Another good place to start is O*NET architecture enrolled at the University of Texas at
one of the best ways to acquire
(www.onetcenter.org). Arlington, found his career calling at Dallas’s Skyline
experience in your chosen
Gather information about what you can earn in the Career Development Center, a high school with career
career is by joining a career and
careers in which you are interested. Find out whether programs in a number of different fields.
technical student organization
the careers you are considering have a promising “Skyline is one of the few schools in the country
(cTso). In science, Technology,
future—are they adding or losing jobs? Check out the that offer programs in architecture,” Odamah says.
engineering & mathematics, the
education you’ll need to enter those careers. “In some careers, Skyline students could even get
most helpful cTsos are:
The chart on pages 10–11 presents data on 25 professional certifications or licenses right in high
possible professions. Remember, though, that these school. It was a great place because you could find out
• SkillsUSA
are just a sampling of careers available in the cluster. whether you really wanted to enter a career.” www.txskillsusa.org
Go to OSCAR, O*NET, or another resource to Odamah says that the career cluster system at
investigate other careers. Skyline taught him the value of planning for his career
• Texas Technology
Student Association (TSA)
and his life. “We learned about planning ahead,” he
www.texastsa.org
Create Your TAP says. “Those who plan things ahead of time don’t have
Once you have a better idea of your interests and to catch up. It’s just a matter of what a person wants
abilities, you are ready to plan for high school and out of life. Planning gives you a better platform
beyond. The Texas Achievement Plan, or TAP, is your for success.”
plan for preparing for the career of your choice.
“Students first choose a program of study,” says
Terry Brock, “not a particular occupational goal. In the
eighth grade a student might choose Health Science
and then later become interested in a narrower field
such as surgery or radiology technology.”
The program of study you choose—and your
plan—does not stop with graduation from high
school, Brock emphasizes. “A student could then
pursue a two-year degree as an x-ray technician or a
four-year degree as a radiologist.”
You should set up a TAP that takes you through
career preparation after high school, revising your plan
as needed as you go along. If your career plans include
college study, ask your counselor about tests required
for admission to college, such as the PSAT, SAT, or ACT.
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