Career Research Essay
Writing your Essay
Use the research you have gathered to write an eight paragraph essay about your chosen career.

 Begin with an introductory paragraph stating who you are and your career plans.  Explain why you are interested in your career. When did you become interested in this career? What events in your life have led you to have this career goal? What major will help you reach your career goal? Explain your choice of career and what qualifications you feel you have for your chosen career? What is unique about your background? 
Using the information you received from the Clifton Top 5 Strengths assessment (Links to an external site.), explain how your 5 strengths (Links to an external site.) will help you as you pursue your career and as you enter your profession.

* Extra Credit Option: Gain some experience with your field.  Complete any of the following and include it  at the end of your essay or attach your an artifact to your essay (see your professor for details).

Upload a Resume in CareerHubLinks to an external site. for Career Services Review
Attend an overview of services appointmentLinks to an external site. with Career Services
Attend an HCC Career FairLinks to an external site.
Complete a Mock Interview in CareerHubLinks to an external site. for Career Services staff to review

Click Here to learn how to access the CareerHub (Links to an external site.)
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3.  Your third paragraph should summarize the national information you found in the Occupational Outlook Handbook (OOH) (Links to an external site.). Give the annual salary, job outlook, a brief description of the jobs responsibilities and the required education.  Describe your educational goals, will you need a certificate, bachelors, master or doctorate degree? What are the skills you will need to reach this career goal? Include your plans for financing your education. Please note this information is to be written in your own words. You are required to cite this information in your research paper and on the reference page.
4.  Paragraph 4 should summarize the LOCAL information you found about your career using Career Coach (Links to an external site.), Career OneStop (Links to an external site.), or another reputable local source. Give the annual salary, job outlook, a brief description of the jobs responsibilities and the required education for the HOUSTON area.
5.  Now its time to talk about your financial future according to the Texas Reality Check (Links to an external site.) report. Use the information from your financial assignment to write a paragraph that addresses the following. Give the amount of money you will need to earn to maintain the lifestyle you desire to live in the future.  Describe the lifestyle you intend to live and explain whether the expected annual salary (local or national) for your career will allow you to live that lifestyle. If it doesnt, describe what steps you will take to deal with this situation. If you will have excess income, discuss what this will mean for your future.
6.  Compare the annual salary you will need to live in Houston to the salary you would need to live the same lifestyle in two other cities. Use the information your financial assignment and the CNN Money Calculator. (Links to an external site.) Discuss the differences in the cost of living in the two other locations versus the cost of living in Houston. Identify and report the largest percentage differences between the cities. Discuss whether family, groceries, housing or transportation are significant factors. Discuss whether your career is dependent upon location. Based upon your analysis, write a final statement that explains where might you decide to live.
7.  Think about how you can help your community as you learn the transferable soft skills employers find valuable as you study. Find two places where you could possibly volunteer in the future that could use the skills you will acquire from studying and working in your profession.  Use the information you found at http://Volunteermatch.org (Links to an external site.) or another volunteer website to write this paragraph.  List the two places and explain what type of help they are requesting. Finally, explain how this volunteer experience could help you build your professional network. What personal characteristics, skills, etc. will enhance your prospects for success in this career? What specific experiences (including work experiences) have furthered this interest? What impact do I want to have on society?
8.  In conclusion, write your long-term career goal as a SMART goal. Refer to the Goal Setting assignment. State your goal and what date you plan to achieve it. Tell the reader three specific steps you will take to make the goal a reality. Acknowledge obstacles that will get in your way and say what you plan to do about those obstacles. End your essay with a narrative statement describing how your life will look and how you will feel when you reach your goal. What are my short-term and long-term career goals? Where do you see yourself in ten years?
Your essay must be typed, 12 point Times New Roman font, double-spaced, and formatted according to MLA or APA style. You must create a reference page according to MLA or APA style. When you use data from your research, you must follow that data with in-text citations. See the examples provided and use the citation generators suggested.