Dear Students,

Welcome to Learn More! It’s time to start thinking about your future. It might seem like a long way off, but you can begin planning now for the future you want. In Learn More, you will learn about careers in Indiana, how to save for college and what to expect once you get there. This website will also encourage you to think about the skills you have today and how to develop new skills in the future.

We want you to dream big. Think about what you want to do and set goals. Try your hardest every day. Ask for help when you need it, too. Doing these things will help you get ready for high school, college and your future career.

After you finish this digital magazine, talk to your family and teachers about your goals. They can help you succeed.

Have a great school year!

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Discover You!

This website will help you start thinking about your future. Lots of things can change between now and when you graduate high school, but it’s fun to imagine what your adult life might look like. Thinking about what you like to do and what you’re good at can start giving you ideas about the kinds of jobs you might like as an adult.

It’s never too early to think about your interests. Take the Learn More Indiana personality quiz

Before reading through this digital magazine, think about and answer the questions below:

 

  1. What makes you happy?

  2. If you could have a superpower what would it be?

  3. What is your favorite part of a school day?

  4. Who are your favorite characters from books, TV or movies?

  5. What do you like about those characters and what jobs they do?

What is a Career?

A career is a job that you get after you finish school. Your career should be something you like to do. You can start
planning for your career now by thinking about your interests and skills:

DIRECTIONS

Before you go through this website, think about and answer the questions below:

 

  1. What do you like to learn about in school? Maybe your future career will be in that subject.

  2. What is your favorite thing to do after school or on the weekends?

  3. What do you want to be when you grow up? There are a lot of options! Learn about some top jobs in Indiana below.

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DO WHAT YOU LIKE

There are a lot of different kinds of careers, and all careers are important! Your career will depend on what you like to do. Do you want to work outside? Do you want to talk to people all day? Many jobs will require you to go to college after high school. For some jobs, you will only need one or two years of college. For other jobs, you will need a lot of college.

Some People...

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work in an office.

man-driving-machine

operate machines.

it-guy

work with computer.

construction-worker

build or create new things.

gardeners

work outside.

doctor-helping-woman

work with people.

mechanics

go to college for one or two years.

graduates

go to college for four or more years.

College and Career Planning

Indiana Career Explorer (INCE) is a free career and education planning tool that integrates state resources to provide “one tool for all.” INCE offers easily navigable, intuitive support for students of all ages to help with career exploration, skills assessment, high school and post-secondary course selection as well as military options.

Top Indiana Careers

When you grow up, you can be anything you want to be. Just work hard and focus in school so that you can have a great future. Here are five jobs that are very popular in Indiana right now. Which one sounds the most fun to you?

Social Worker

Do you like to help people? You might want to be a social worker. Social workers help children and families to be happy, healthy and safe. Most social workers go to college for four to six years.

VETERINARIAN

Do you love animals? You might want to be a veterinarian. Just like doctors help humans, veterinarians help animals. Veterinarians work with big and small animals. Veterinarians need to go to college for eight to ten years.

Software Developer

Do you like computers? You could be a software developer.
Software developers create new programs or apps for computers or cell phones. Think about your favorite game, that game probably requires a software developer! Most developers go to college for two to four years.

Welder

Do you like to build things? Welders use special tools to join metal pieces to make or fix things. Welders work on buildings, cars and bridges! To be a welder, you need training that takes a few months to a year.

Sales Manager

Have you ever sold something? If you like trying to get people to buy things, you might like to be a sales manager. Sales managers help businesses sell products to customers. Sales managers usually go to college for two to four years.

Getting Ready for your Career

Work hard in school—it’s your job right now!

  • Learn as much as you can about careers that interest you. Read about them and talk to adults. Learn more about what kinds of questions to ask below.
  • Ask a parent or another adult if you can visit a job that interests you.
  • Practice helpful skills.

Ask An Adult…

It can be hard to imagine what your life will be like in the future. What kind of career will you have? Where will you live? It’s OK not to have the answers to those questions – after all, you’re just a kid!

Talking to an adult about their education and career can help you understand how to set goals and be successful.

Think about the adults in your life who you might want to be like when you grow up. It might be a friend, a teacher, a relative, a parent or a coach. Ask one of those adults a few questions about their life and write down or draw their answers.

 

  1. When did you know what you wanted to be when you grew up?

  2. Did you ever change your mind about what you wanted to be?

  3. Who helped you along the way?

  4. How much education did you have?

You’ve Got Skills!

Everybody has skills – things that they are especially good at. Nobody is good at everything! If you think about the things you are good at, activities you enjoy or the school subjects you really like, it can help you plan for the type of career you might like or be good at.

If you are good at helping people…

You might want to be a Teacher, Doctor, or Social Worker.

If you are good at reading…

You might want to be a Writer, Lawer, or Teacher.

If you are good at building legos…

You might want to be a Construction Worker, Architect, or Engineer.

If you are good at Science…

You might want to be a Pharmacist, Electrician, Computer Scientist.

If you are good at Math…

You might want to be an Accountant, Computer Programmer, Business owner.

If you are good at doing lots of things at once…

You might want to be a Restaurant Manager, Administrative Assistant, Pilot.

What is College?

College is a school people go to after high school. In college, you will learn more about your future career. Learning more about your future career will help you get a good job and live a happy life. No matter what you want to do when you grow up, you will probably need some sort of education and training after high school.

Indiana Colleges

Indiana has more than fifty colleges where you can study more than 100 subjects. That means there are options for everyone!

  • Some students go to college for one or two years.
  • Some students go to college for four or more years.
  • Some colleges are big, with more than 10,000 students.
  • Some colleges are small, with only 1,000 students.
  • Some colleges are close to home.
  • Some colleges are very far away.
  • Some students live at their college.
  • Some students live at home during college.

Learn more about different Indiana colleges. Ask your parents to watch these videos with you so you can talk about it together.

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Getting Ready for College

College is a long way off. But, it is never too early to start getting ready. Here are some ways you can start getting ready for your future now:

  • Do your best in school.

    Some subjects might be difficult, but don’t give up! Work hard and ask a lot of questions.

  • Read as much as you can.

    As you get older, you will have to read a lot. Start reading now to create a good study habit and expand your vocabulary. Reading makes you smarter!

  • Play games and do puzzles.

    Games and puzzles are like exercise for our brains because they make us think. Plus, they’re fun!

  • Learn new things.

    Explore new things as much as you can! Try to learn something new every day.

  • Talk to your teachers, family or other caring adults about college.

    Find someone in your life who went to college and ask them about their experience.

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Why Should You Go to College?

T or F?

College will make you smarter.

TRUE. You will take classes and study what you will need to know for your future career.

T or F?

College will help you be what you want to be.

TRUE. No matter what you want to be, education and training after high school will prepare you for your future career.

T or F?

College will help you grow.

TRUE. You will make friends and learn new things. It is fun to learn and grow!

Explore colleges in Indiana! Use the Learn More Indiana school finder tool.

You’ve Got College Skills

It’s never too early to practice skills you will use in college and your career. No matter how old you are, you can build skills to use throughout your life!

Discussion:

What are other skills you can practice?

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GET ORGANIZED

Practicing organization skills will help you with just about everything. Here are some ways to practice organization. What other ways can you think of?

  • Keep your room clean.
  • Keep your school work in folders by their subject.

MAKE TIME FOR THINGS

Organizing your time is just as important as organizing your stuff! Setting aside time each day for the things you need or want to do, helps make sure you get them done.

  • Do homework at the same time every day.
  • Make sure to get a little bit of exercise every day.

SET GOALS

Setting goals helps keep you focused on the future. Goals can be big or small. What other kinds of goals can you set?

  • Set a goal of getting good grades.
  • Set a goal of continuing your education after high school.

Ask for Help

We all need other people to help us succeed. Sometimes it’s help with our schoolwork, sometimes we need help making a tough decision or need someone to listen to us.

Think about things you might need help with. Who can you ask for help, and how can you ask for help? Below are some examples. Talk about ways you might need help and fill out extra boxes about how to get help when you need it!

If you need help with schoolwork, you can ask…

  • A friend who is good at the subject – Can we work together?
  • An adult – Can you help me with my homework?

If you would like to know about college, you can ask…

  • An adult who has gone to college – Why did you go to college? How did it help you?

If you would like help solving a problem, you can ask…

  • A teacher, school counselor or trusted adult – Can I tell you about a problem I am having?
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College Costs Money…. But It’s Worth it!

Just like a car or a house, college costs money, but it is worth it. College will get you ready for your future career. Your job will pay you money once they hire you.

Scholarships 101

There are a lot of ways to pay for college. Most students get help paying for college. Scholarships and grants are money to help students pay for college. You can earn scholarships for getting good grades or for activities like sports, music or art.

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  1. Work hard, and always do your best.
  2. Listen and follow directions. Pay attention to your teachers and the directions they give you.
  3. Ask for help. Do not be afraid to ask for help.
  4. Don’t give up. When you don’t understand something right away, that’s okay! It’s important to not give up. Keep at it and know you can do it!

Start Saving Today

Do you get money for your birthday or for doing chores? Try saving a little bit of it. You can keep the money in a piggy bank. Or, you can ask an adult to help you set up a savings account. As you grow up, the money you save will grow, too. In the future, you can use some of that money to help pay for college. Your future self will be proud that you were able to save!

ACTIVITY

Draw a picture or write down a few words on a piece of paper about what you would like to be when you grow up.

Learn about all of the different types of scholarships, including the 21 Century Scholars program, for college in Indiana here:

What are Scholarships?

Scholarships are one way to help pay for college. They are given out by different groups, people, schools or government organizations. Scholarships are awarded for many reasons. Some of the reasons include:

  • Financial need

    – People who have less money for college can get scholarships.

  • Academics

    – Colleges give money to students with good grades.

  • Special talents

    – Scholarships are awarded to people who are especially good
    at something, like music, science or sports.

  • Being a good person

    – There are some scholarships that are awarded to people who have worked hard to help others in their community.

There are many other types of scholarships available. The company your parents work for may have a scholarship program for the kids of families who work there. Scholarships are also available for children of military families, police officers and others.

You can practice skills to help your chances of getting a scholarship!

  • Work hard in school to get good grades.
  • If you really love doing something, like music or math or reading, make sure you keep working to get better at it!
  • Help other people whenever you can.

A partnership of the Indiana Commission for Higher Education, Indiana Department of Education and Indiana Department of Workforce Development