College Planning for Adults

What is your desired job or career?

If you had trouble answering this question, it is good idea to figure out what you want to do for work before you go to college. Students who enroll in college with a specific career goal in mind are the students who often complete their programs.

STEP 1: What are your career goals?

These websites provide you with online support to help you identify your skills and potential career goals.

Career One Stops
Sometimes it’s easier to talk to someone in person about your skills and career possibilities. The Department of Labor has set up OneStop Centers throughout the United States to help people get information on different careers, education opportunities, and various other opportunities. You can find the OneStop Center in your state by scrolling down the blue column on the right to the Find box. Click on OneStop and then type in your zip code. OneStops offer a variety of services and not all of them offer the same services. If you’re interested in doing a Skills Assessment or you need help researching specific careers, call the OneStop Center to find out if it offers these services.
http://www.careeronestop.org/

Live Career (website)

Livecareer.com is a website that helps people figure out what careers they might be interested in. You only need to register and take a pretty simple (and free) Career Test. There are 100 questions. Each question has three statements. You only have to decide which statement you like the most and which you like the least. After you answer all 100 questions, Livecareer.com gives you a report of which fields would suit you the most.
http://www.livecareer.com/?ref=22

Unfortunately, if you want more information on these career fields, you’ll have to pay a fee. Before you spend the money, check out some of the other options like the One Stop Center or Occupational Outlook Handbook

Career Activities:
If you don’t have time to visit your local One Stop Career Center or still need help after looking at the websites listed above, try some of the following activities.

If you are incarcerated or if you are an ex-offender:

People with certain criminal history records may not be able to study or work in certain fields, especially health care or work with children. This can depend on your record. For example if you have drug crimes on your record, you probably won’t be accepted into a pharmacy school. Colleges research criminal background before accepting students. For this reason, it’s important to be honest, and find out about your options before spending money and time taking classes to prepare for a job. Talk to the director of the program at the school you are thinking about, or attend a college information session and speak privately with the presenter afterwards about your own criminal history record and find out if you can be accepted into that program.

Remember that some employers can choose not to hire a person with a particular criminal history for a certain amount of time after the conviction. It’s also possible that the employer can decide not to hire the person at all. This can be a good situation for you if your crimes are old enough, or if the employer likes you. For this reason, its important to do these things:

• Educate yourself about what’s on your report. (Keep reading to find the
  section Resources about how to get your record, interpret it, and clear it
  up).
• Know how to present your record in the best way on an interview. Talk about
  what you learned and how you changed for the better.
• Make a folder with letters from probation officers, clergy, counselors, treatment people, or anyone (except a relative) whose opinion would be respected. Ask these people to write why they think you won’t commit a crime again. Ask them to explain that you are working hard and trying to be a

  valuable member of society now.

Don’t assume you can’t study or work in the field you want! Remember: Even if you had problems when you tried to get a job in the past, most people with criminal history records are still eligible for financial aid and can get into college. If people see your record with misdemeanors, or your crimes are from a long time ago and you had no problems after that, you may not have difficulties. And even if a criminal history record might prevent you from some jobs, getting a college degree is one of the best ways to be able to have options to work in other jobs.

Resources about how to get your record, interpret it, and clear it up: It is very important to get a copy of your criminal history record so you can see what schools and employers may be able to see about you, if they have permission to look at your records. Most states have an office where they keep criminal history records. To find these offices, go to the National HIRE website Resources and Assistance section:

http://www.hirenetwork.org/resource.html. Ask at the state criminal records office if they

have all your records or if you need to go to the agency that put the items on your record, for example the local police, the county house of correction, or the parole board. You may have to pay to get a copy of your records. The records have codes that can be

difficult to understand, so be sure to ask what they mean.

Another reason it is important to see your records is that there are often mistakes. There may be inconsistent or untrue items and perhaps crimes you were acquitted of or that were dismissed, or other special situations. You may be able to have some items sealed (most people won’t see it on your record because it is so old or the case ended in a good way for you) or expunged (removed). Some crimes, such as sexual assault, may stay on

your report for life.

If you committed a felony and went to state prison, you may be able to get a pardon or a certificate of rehabilitation so you can get back rights and privileges you have lost. You may need help from a lawyer to do these things. You can look on the National HIRE

website http://www.hirenetwork.org/resource.html to find one. Also some training programs

will help with this for free. STRIVE is a national resource offering services such as training, job placement, and career advancement. For more information, visit their

website: http://www.strivenational.org/

Go to Room 102: Educational Counseling >>