The Complete Career, College, and High School Guide for Homeschoolers

Being a parent of a child entering high school can be a scary thing. We may worry if our child is going to be prepared for college and the future. And without some input, it can be overwhelming. But thankfully all that negative need not occur. We just have to look in the right places for direction.

One of those places is The Complete Career, College, and High School Guide for Homeschoolers by Jill Dixon. Put out by Educational Diagnostic Prescriptive Services, this book provides a well laid out plan for discovering what careers might best fit your personality and what classes and activities you should complete to prepare yourself.

Your first step is to take 4 assessment tests. The Work/Service Preference Test tells you if you are a builder, solver, creator, organizer, helper or leader. The Concise Learning Styles Assessment helps you know if you are an auditory, visual, or tactile/kinesthetic learner. The Personality Profile indicates if you are outward or inward, if you rely on thoughts or emotions, and if you are more structured or flexible. Following each of these assessments is a list of careers that match the different results. There is also a Work Environment Questionnaire to help you understand in what environment you function best.

With the career choices discovered from your assessments, you are ready to begin your high school and career planning forms. Recommended middle school/high school courses are suggested for many popular careers and college majors. Also included are activities to consider being involved in for your career choices. It also lists candidates to interview to learn more about your chosen fields. It even includes questions to ask in those interviews. A list of the usual college preparatory requirements is provided to make sure you are including the necessary classes. As some states require high school graduates to have community service hours, the author has given a list of volunteer opportunities.

Along with career choices and help for class planning, you will find information such as a cutting edge job list, fastest growing jobs, and occupations with the most new jobs. The author does provide curriculum suggestions for different high school subjects. And there is also a small section on CLEP testing and the ACT and SAT.

One part of this Guide that I appreciate is that the author is not saying that every student is going to go on to college or technical school. Nor is she advocating girls to pursue careers at the expense of being a wife or a mother. In fact, one of the careers listed is marriage/mothering with suggested classes that would be helpful. She also lists part-time jobs that combine well with being a homemaker.

This Guide is not just for high school students but can be very useful for adults who are wanting to change their career direction. It is also not just for homeschoolers. I am very impressed with this program and will be implementing it as part of our 8th grade schedule. At $34.95 (E-book) or $39.95 (Printed), the cost of this Guide is well worth the final result of having a roadmap for your children. You will want to read their e-book disclaimer before deciding what format to purchase.

Other products available from EDUDPS include Write With the Best (see my review of level 2) and Roots and Fruits along with several assessment products.

The Career Planning ebook is currently on sale for $26.90.

Please also read other Crew Reviews on EDUDPS' products.

Disclosure:This product was provided to our family for free as members of the 2009-2010 Old Schoolhouse Magazine Homeschool Crew. No further compensation was received. Reviews and opinions expressed in this blog are my own.

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I did want to add that this Guide does not address the needs of those headed into ministry as that is more a calling than a career.