Career Pathways

Careers by choice – not by chance!

Careers by choice – not by chance! Big Lake exposes students to all post-high school options, guides them as they identify the areas they want to explore more, and then connects them to local organizations to gain hands-on experience! It’s all part of our 3e model!

Each of our classes is aligned to one or more career pathways:

Agriculture
Food and Natural Resources
Arts, Communications and Information Systems Engineering
Manufacturing and Technology
Health Science Technology
Human Services; and Business, Management and Administration.

Our students take courses from several different pathways to help them learn about various careers or college majors. Once they find a strong interest, they focus on classes identified aligned with that pathway.

How do we support students through discovering their career interests? Through our 3e education!

Ladder depicting the activities involved in each of the steps of the 3E model.

3e: Exposure, Exploration, & Experience

Exposure

For students to explore their career options, they must be informed about the opportunities that exist!

We expose students to many career paths, which allows them to make informed decisions, broaden their horizons, network, and break stereotypes within industries. Much of this is done as we prepare for and within our annual Youth Apprenticeship and Career Fair, where 100+ community partners, including employers, trade organizations, community and technical schools, and armed forces, showcase opportunities available in their industry.

Prior to the career fair, students prepare by taking a career interest survey. Organizations at the Career Fair are organized by color based on career path to help students explore options that align with their interests.

The best part of the career fair is seeing and learning about jobs you never realized could be an option for you.

Big Lake High School Student

See the Career Fair in Action!

Exploration

In order to help students discover if a career field is right for them, we explore hands-on!

Students gain invaluable insight into career options by taking the next step from exposure to direct-exploration through:

Industry Tours and Job Shadowing
Labs at local colleges and universities (manufacturing, construction, health science, culinary, transportation, business)
Construct Tomorrow through MN Dept of Labor and Industry
High School Classes (see our registration guide for a full list of offered classes)

Experience

Our REAL program is a nationally-acclaimed college and career readiness program partnered with Project Lead the Way that prepares students for life after high school by connecting learning in the classroom with real-world applications in the workplace.

REAL classes include:

Work Experience

This opportunity is available to our special education students looking to gain valuable work place experience.

Learn More about Work Experience

On-the-Job Training

This unique opportunity allows qualifying students the opportunity to make their job part of the classroom experience.

Learn More about On-the-Job Training

CEO

The Creating Entrepreneurial Opportunities (CEO) class through Wright Technical Center is for students interested in starting their own business.

Learn More about CEO

Youth Apprenticeship

Students are matched with an employer in their chosen field, and are employed by the organization under the supervision of a highly skilled mentor.

Learn More about Youth Apprenticeship

Our Local Graduation Requirements Support Career Trajectory!

All our students are coached through their high school career not only on ways to be successful in high school, but in finding careers they are passionate about post high school. Our local graduation requirements put students on a trajectory to choose a career path they are excited about. Learn more about these courses in our course registration guide.

Required career readiness classes:

9th Grade (choose one)
- High School Success Skills
- EXCEL Civics

10th Grade (choose one):
- Financial Literacy
- Money Management Skills

11th Grade:
- Career Planning

12th Grade (choose one):
- Career Exploration
- College Success Skills
- Youth Apprenticeship
- On the Job Training
- Creating Entrepreneurial Opportunities (CEO)

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