Week 1 Blog

            I think that reflecting within the group about our own career choice made me think about why I am in this program. I was forced to answer questions that I honestly never thought about when it came to my academic path at Millersville.

            I never really had a "process" when it came to choosing my major. Honestly, it all stems from a psychology class I took in high school. I earned an A and the material interested me. There wasn't an "aha" moment for me that allowed me to realize my "dream occupation/career". I just went with what I achieved in at the time. As it would turn out seven years later, I love it. This is something that I really think I will enjoy for the remainder of my life.

            As far as the reading for this week went, I'd like to discuss my thoughts on the section regarding need for career development services. In 2009, the unemployment rate was at 10.2 percent or about 15.7 million people (Brown, 2012). I think this number is staggering to many because of the individuals we are surrounded by on an everyday basis. We may not notice all the individuals without work or jobs because we do not actually see it first hand. Even though the small section under this heading deals primarily with numbers, the question remains. "Why?" Did these individuals fall through the cracks in the school system? Were they not educated at an early age about careers? Did they simply not care at the time? Or did they just make a poor decision along the way? 

            Perhaps a career intervention would have helped some of these individuals along their career pathway. As defined by Brown in our textbook, this is a deliberate act aimed at enhancing some aspect of a person's career development. This includes the career decision- making process and its influences (Brown, 2012). Career education would have also been a strategy used to help some individuals with career related difficulties. This is a systematic attempt to influence the career development of students and adults through various types of educational strategies (Brown, 2012). Brown outlines some strategies as providing occupational information, infusing career related concepts into academic curriculum, and establishing career internships and apprenticeships. These are just two ideas that are covered in the first chapter and I think many of the others listed in the book would have been beneficial in tackling the 15.7 million individuals who were unemployed in 2009.

Reference:
Brown, D. (2012). Career information, career counseling, and career development (10th ed.). New York: Pearson Education, Inc.