Career Development
Career Development tests whether you can apply career theory across K-12, not just senior year. Expect items on Holland, Super, Gottfredson, social cognitive career theory, and on Ohio-specific structures for career planning.
Core concepts
- Holland (RIASEC): Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, Conventional. Interest inventories describe person-environment fit, not a verdict.
- Super: life-span, life-space - growth, exploration, establishment, maintenance, decline. Career choice expresses self-concept and changes over time.
- Gottfredson: circumscription and compromise; children narrow options early, often by gender, prestige, and field stereotypes.
- SCCT (Lent, Brown, Hackett): self-efficacy, outcome expectations, and goals shape interests; barriers and supports matter.
- Krumboltz: planned happenstance - curiosity, persistence, flexibility, optimism, risk-taking.
Counselors deliver career development through core curriculum, individual student planning, and connections to work-based learning, Career Technical Education, and financial aid. Ohio students build a Student Success Plan, use OhioMeansJobs K-12, and can earn graduation seals such as the OhioMeansJobs-Readiness Seal, Industry-Recognized Credential Seal, and College-Ready Seal. IEP transition planning must begin by age 16 under IDEA; Ohio begins at 14.
Worked example
A tenth grader wants health care but avoids science. Holland S and I suggest helping plus inquiry; Super's exploration stage says test the self-concept rather than lock in. Instead of saying pick something else, the counselor arranges job shadowing, a health-tech pathway visit, and a plan to retake one science course.
Traps
Treating an interest inventory as a placement test; steering students by gender, race, or income; waiting until junior year; ignoring early circumscription; treating four-year college as the only successful route.