Exploring Program Announces Top Student Career Interests

WASHINGTON, Sept. 19, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Creating a viable workplace that provides today's young people with real-world career experiences is critical for jobs that will pay a middle-class wage.  Many careers will be in high demand in the near future, but in what careers are today's students interested?  The Learning for Life Exploring program, which was highlighted at the Opportunity Nation Summit, is highly valued by businesses because it enables them to cultivate future employees and to transition young people from school to work.

Exploring recently released the results of their 2011 Career Interest Survey of more than 271,000 young adults and found that the top ten career interests among responders were nursing, military service, musician, attorney/law, teaching, business, health care, acting, fashion design, and psychology.  As a result, Exploring aims to provide a platform for young adults to investigate opportunities in these specific fields, as well as other, high-ranking careers from the survey.  A similar program currently in the pilot phase allows for students in grades 6–8 to experience a variety of careers. To view the survey, visit www.exploringyourcareer.org.

Exploring, a national career education program for men and women ages 14–21, identifies career interests of youth and connects them with subject matter experts. Exploring brings classroom theory to life with real-world career experiences, inspiring students to continue school and pursue post-secondary degrees in their career field of choice. Since 1997 more than 2.8 million young adults have participated in the program, and it currently is offered in more than 5,200 locations nationwide.

The program provides meaningful career experiences and leadership development opportunities in various fields, as well as volunteer opportunities for professionals to contribute real-world skills. It is supported by thousands of national organizations, ranging from health care to law enforcement, communications, government and social services, skilled trades, engineering, and business.

"Providing opportunities for real-world career experience at an early age is imperative not only for young adults, but also for the business community as a whole," said Dr. Diane Thornton, manager of Learning for Life. "The Exploring program helps build an understanding of various career paths, stimulates continued education, and creates a pipeline for future employees nationwide."

About the Learning for Life Exploring Program

Exploring is Learning for Life's career education program for young men and women who are at least 14 (and have completed 8th grade) and not yet 21 years old. Adults are selected by the participating organization for involvement in the program. Color, race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, ethnic background, economic status, and citizenship are not criteria for participation.

Exploring is all about helping young adults make a more informed decision about future careers and determine if a particular career is the right one for them. Typically, a young adult will either (1) get involved, learn about a career, and decide to pursue it, or (2) learn enough about a career to determine it is not the right fit for them. It is better to learn as a young adult that a career is not for you than to discover after spending lots of money on an education that you don't like the career!

Exploring leaders volunteer their time to provide real-world career experiences for young adults. Exploring is not about lectures and slide shows—it's about gaining practical experience in a career field. The result is a program of activities that helps youths pursue their special interests, grow, and develop.

For more information about the Learning for Life Exploring program, please visit http://exploring.learningforlife.org.

SOURCE Learning for Life