Career Day is a simple event, with a low budget and dependent on volunteers for most schools.
PARTICIPATION
For most schools, participants are volunteers from different fields, including parents.
COST
The cost of organizing a Career Dayvary depending on the type of school, its size, and structure of the event. For example, at Albuquerque Academy, a private college preparatory day school, grades 6 through 12, the expenditures were under $1,000 for the event. Meanwhile, Clague Middle School in Ann Harbor spent close to $100 in 2018.
EFFECTIVENESS
PARTICIPATION
For most schools, participants are volunteers from different fields, including parents.
COST
The cost of organizing a Career Day
GRADES
- Career Days can be effective for K-12 students. Career counseling in high schools has been seen to increase students’ educational aspirations and attainment.
- Casey Doose, a teacher and coordinator for Career Day at Garrison Elementary, noted that the Career Day is great for elementary kids because they realize the importance of learning in their early academic careers. She also added that it helps the children to see the purposefulness of their learning by "getting them thinking before they have become disenchanted with learning and before too many negative attitudes have developed."
- Exposing middle school students to broad career fields may help them make informed decisions about high school course selection. Career-oriented, experiential learning opportunities are known for helping students stay engaged. Exposure to career development early in schooling is important for supporting academic achievements and student retention, and Career Day may be a valuable contributor.
EFFECTIVENESS
- When children and adolescents actualize aspects of their identity through the process of "identifying and choosing an occupation, they can develop a sense of purpose and set a course for the contribution they will make to their communities". This theory suggests that young people are not only looking to understand how their post-secondary aspirations are integrated with identity tasks, but also how their work will allow them to contribute to the communities and society in which they live.
- Most scholars agree that individuals’ knowledge of themselves and the world of work is formed during school years. The choices that young people make in school inevitably facilitate or constrain career options later in life. This perspective highlights the importance of career decisions made in school. Additionally, career development in school has also been found to increase the likelihood of college enrollment and college graduation.
- Career Day can help students make a real-world connection to their career aspirations and to “build knowledge of career fields and topics”, allowing students to see themselves in the career they aspire.
- A study discovered that participating in a job fair or Career Day is associated with a significant increase in the likelihood of graduating from high school versus dropping out. The study indicates, however, that this could also be a sign that a school that devotes energy toward coordinating a job fair or Career Day may also be a school that provides other resources
to students to help them reach graduation, or creates a supportive environment where graduation and career goals are part of the school’s culture. - In 2013, Wilmot Union High School used their experience with previous Career Day events and implemented targeted panels, such as Finance Cluster Career Panel, with panel members representing entry-level to professional level positions within the cluster. For the Finance Panel, they had a president of a wealth management firm, a certified public accountant, a branch manager at a local bank, a controller, and a student enrolled in a Finance Degree Program. The panels were planned in advance, and students could pre-register for the panels for which they had an interest.
- After the panels, students were asked to complete a survey, and 90% of students found the career panels to be an overall positive experience, and 91% of instructional staff members stated that the panels have educational value.