Pathfinder Guide and Checklist
February 26, 2024
At a Glance
To help you pursue quality postsecondary training pathways, we created the Pathfinder Guide and Checklist. This guide enables you to move from thinking about job opportunities to planning for a thriving career by preparing you for success and empowering you to chart your own unique journey.
About: The choice of an education-to-career pathway is a critical step in career navigation.
This Pathfinder Guide and Checklist outlines criteria for evaluating and assessing a quality opportunity or pathway. The rubric provides you with topics to consider when researching and selecting education-to-career pathways. It also has reflection questions to help guide you through your decisions.
Target: This guide and checklist is intended for learners pursuing a postsecondary education and training program, but it can also be used by counselors, teachers, parents, and other decision influencers to help their learners with their career journeys.
The Pathfinder Guide and Checklist will help you understand and select the best education-to-career pathway to begin a successful career journey, whether you’re in the process of completing or have already earned a high school diploma. Almost all careers require some education or training after high school. There are many options, so it’s important to find the postsecondary or training program that’s the right fit for you. You can use the digital form below to download your personalized PDF or download a blank PDF to print and complete with a trusted adult.
Additional Resources
Discover the importance of education-to-career pathways with our comprehensive resources. These materials highlight how embracing diverse educational routes beyond the traditional four-year degree can enhance the diversity of education and career opportunities. Read and review our resources to understand how education systems need to adapt to this new way of thinking, driving diversity of opportunities for learners and empowering individuals with varied skills and experiences.
Up Next: Success, Redefined
If you like the content in the Pathfinder Guide and Checklist, check out our Success Redefined report!
Beyond Degrees
Education to Career Pathways: Students Say Yes, but Are Educators and Parents Willing and Prepared to Help Them Navigate Options? With this paper, we deepen and expand upon our body of research into the public…
Skills-Based Practices: A Journey Map for Employers
This document is a one-stop guide to help employers build business agility, workforce diversity, and resilience through skills-based talent practices. It includes business cases for a skills-based approach and resources to assess a company’s maturity…
Making the Higher Education Act Work for Youth Pursuing Nondegree Pathways
Now more than ever, an expanded and diverse set of education-to-career pathways is necessary for young people to gain employment, advance economically, and meet the needs of our evolving economy. The federal government, through key…