Adulting 101 (Six-part Series) Part 2b: Goal Setting – Education to Career

December 1, 2023

By: Danielle Funderburg, SEMCA Young Professionals Program (SYPP) Coordinator and WayneRESA Board Member

Now that you’ve taken a few Personality & Career Assessments (refer to Part 1: Who Am I?) and gotten a strategy and tips on setting goals, it’s time to begin exploring and mapping out your options. Write it down! And place it somewhere you will see it daily. 

The first great resource you have at your disposal is your smart phone!  With just a few strokes or voice command, you can tell your device to search for resources to help me find training or education in the fields your Personality and Career Assessment results revealed. By determining what career you’d like to pursue, how long the education will take you, how much money it will cost, and what jobs are hot or not after you get your certification or degree, you have the keys necessary to begin navigating your options. 

The State of Michigan has a useful career navigation tool called Michigan PathFinder.  You can search for schools, occupations, fields of study and locations. It’s simple and easy to use and gives you several other links to websites and resources that can help you calculate the cost of your education, and other needed resources that can help you pay for a training certificate or degree.  

Give some thought to how much time, money and education is needed to get into a certain industry such as healthcare or information technology. Weigh your options on how soon you want to be employed. Ask yourself, “Can I afford to wait?”.  If you have an immediate need for employment, then consider training programs that help you get a certificate in a few weeks rather than months/years. Explore Apprenticeship opportunities that will teach you and pay you at the same time.  And if your career choice requires more time, money, and education, for a degree, Financial Aid (FAFSA) and scholarships are available to assist.  This WCCAN website is a perfect place to search for ways to pay for school. 

Finally, SEMCA MiWorks! and similar workforce development agencies, are also great resources to help you navigate this space. You don’t have to do it alone. They have counseling services, job placement, and if eligible, funding to help you pay for education.  Contact them today and create your career plan and determine your next move!  It’s a one-stop shop for all things related to careers and employment. 

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