The indispensable first step to getting the things you want out of life is this: decide what you want.
–Ben Stein
This academic year, students at CTI participated in the ASVAB Career Exploration Program. Over 180 Junior and Senior students from all 13 supported districts actively participated in the ASVAB Career Exploration Program that is provided by the Department of the Army, as a free aptitude testing that students can use to plan their secondary and post-secondary careers. The program is broken into three phases. The first phase allows students to get an interpretive evaluation of their current aptitudes, Mrs. Susan Anderson, an education specialist from the Albany Testing Division conducts the evaluations about 5 days after testing results are scored. The second phase involves the students understanding their scores and then taking a 90 question interest inventory based on the well known Dr. Holland RIASEC code, which aligns their career interests to their ASVAB scores and gives them a 3-letter RIASEC code. The RIASEC code which stands for Dr. Holland’s interpretations on personality and career interests, gives them aligned careers based on their career interests. For example, the code looks at six personality/interest areas; they are Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising and Conventional. These six interest codes can be used to describe your likes and dislikes, your top interest codes show your three strongest interest areas based on how your scores compare with the scores of high school students who have taken the FYI interest survey. Why the interest inventory? The first step toward finding a career is to spend some time finding out about you. Grades and test scores are only part of the picture. Knowing your primary interest areas can help you determine career fields or occupations that are potentially satisfying.
Below are excerpts from “The ASVAB Career Exploration Guide”:
Your ASVAB scores can help you see what your current strengths are. You may not have the skills for a certain job now, but you can often learn them!
USING YOUR SCORES
Your ASVAB results provide information on your current levels of skills and abilities. These scores do not predict success or failure. Just as a high score does not guarantee success, a low score does not necessarily mean failure in a n occupation. In addition, you can work toward improving your skills through training and/or experience. Phase Three is using the OCCU-Find that provides information about many aspects of occupations, including the importance of Verbal, Math, and Science and Technical Skills. When you compare your skills against the OCCU-Find information, keep in mind that you will need additional training before entering most occupations. Training may include college education or vocational training. You can also explore opportunities outside of your school such as finding a mentor or volunteering in a given field. Trying out new things is a great way to increase confidence in a given area. 
HOW CAN YOU IMPROVE YOUR SCORES?
If your scores on the ASVAB were lower than you expected, you should ask yourself why. For example, you may not have had the opportunity to develop some of the skills tested by the ASVAB. You may want to talk to your counselor or teachers for suggestions on how to improve your skills.
WORK VALUES 
Understanding what you value is important in exploring various occupations and planning your future. In fact, some people believe that values are the most important thing to consider when choosing an occupation. You can start now to decide the kind of occupations that will be consistent with your work values. As you consider the importance of various work-related values, ask your parents, school counselor, or other interested adults about their work values. Also, we encourage you to discuss work values with someone employed in an occupation that interests you.
Research has shown that people who choose occupations that support their values are generally more satisfied with their jobs. For some people, job satisfaction comes from performing the work itself; for others, it is a result of factors such as the work environment or earning potential.
EXPLORATION
Using the “CAREER EXPLORATION PROGRAM” you will be able to explore occupations in line with your interests and skills; you will gain career exploration experience that will last a lifetime.
TAKE ACTION!
PARENTS, TEACHERS AND COUNSELORS… if you want more information about the ASVAB Career Exploration Program, contact Mr. Bonefont, Coordinator of Work-Based Learning Programs at 845-486-8001, ext. 307
While this program is run by the Department of Defense, there is no active military recruiting allowed during testing; military recruiters are assigned as testing proctors for all ASVAB testing sessions. As a school, you can decide the option to either release or not to release any student information to military recruiters. As a policy at CTI, we have opted NOT TO RELEASE student information to local military recruiters.
For further direct information contact Ms. Susan Anderson or Ms. Lisa Kalfin at the Albany MEPS STP, at 518-320-9868
ctitechtrainer Thursday, July 30, 2009
