Career Research Essay Guidelines

Career Research Essay Guidelines

Career options seem limitless to today’s face-to-face and virtual realm.
Some careers today were not ‘invented’ even 10 years ago. Some other careers are no longer necessary or relevant in today’s society.
Exploring career options is something students should seriously consider before choosing a major.

Select a field and specific career you wish to know more about for your future. Be specific. If you want to teach, do you want to teach elementary (K-2? OR 3-5^th??), middle school, high school, college? If you want to go into the medical field and become a nurse, what department/field are you interested in for a career (neonatal, pediatrics, adult oncology, geriatrics, etc.).
After viewing and researching your career, develop a tentative thesis and submit it to the Research Essay Thesis Forum for peer review by two of your classmates.[unique_solution]
The focus of the thesis will be an overall guiding focus of your essay.
Once your thesis is peer reviewed by your classmates and approved by your professor, compose a six (6) paragraph, minimum 1,200 word, Research Essay with a minimum 1,200 words.
Include three to five scholarly research sources within your essay as well as a Works Cited section using correctly formatted MLA documentation.
PLEASE NOTE: At least two sources must come from the SPC Library Online Database. All sources must be credible scholarly sources.
Review the Research Essay Rubric as your guide for organizing, drafting, revising and editing this essay.
This essay will require an informational interview with a professional in the field. You may find your own professional or work with an SPC Career Service Specialist (in person, by phone, by Skype/FaceTime, or by Text (more information to follow).

1st Paragraph: The Introductory Paragraph – Provide a Hook, Bridge, and Thesis for the career.
Remember, this will be a four-part thesis where you state the central focus of the essay and then preview the four areas you will be discussing: Education Requirements, Salary, Future Prospects, and an Explanation of the Job Duties.
2nd Paragraph: Body Paragraph, Educational Requirements – Provide a discussion of what educational requirements are necessary for the job (AA, AS, BS, MBA, etc.).
3rd Paragraph: Body Paragraph, Salary – Discuss the salary (including range) for this career. **Avoid such statements as “a decent salary” as that terminology would be subjective by person.
4th Paragraph: Body Paragraph, Prospects Discuss potential prospects for this career. Is it growing? Is it (or will be) in demand? What is the growth expectation? (I will provide a resource to gain this information.
5th Paragraph: Job Duties: Discuss job duties associated with this position. This paragraph will be where you include the information from your informational interview.
6th Paragraph: Conclusion: This is your opportunity to sum up what you have learned and to make your recommendation regarding this career.
Use transition words between ideas.
The entire essay must be written in 3rd person only (a person, an employee, one, an individual, etc.).
No 1^st person (me, I, my), 2^nd person (you, your, you’re), or 1^st/2nd person (we, us, our) is allowed.

Total Possible Points = 100