Youth Business Guide to Success provides career exploration
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EmailThe Youth Business Guide to Success curriculum includes related jobs and careers to explore.
Do you work with market animals? Are you using the Michigan curriculum, “Youth Business Guide to Success: Make the Most of Your 4-H Market Animal Project?” In addition to helping young people and adults learn about goal setting, record-keeping, budgeting, communications and marketing, Youth Business Guide to Success includes job and career ideas to research. Each of the 14 lessons includes a career exploration section with three or more job and career titles for individuals to explore further.
For example, the goal-setting lesson teaches you why setting goals are important and how to write SMART goals. SMART goals are specific (S), measureable (M), attainable (A), realistic (R) and timely (T). At the end of the lesson, there is a list of job titles:
- Strategic planner
- Office manager
- Event planner
According to the online source Careers in Business, a strategic planner helps an organization gather, analyze and organize information. They watch for industry trends and opportunities and develop action plans. Additionally, they evaluate internal business plans.
A variety of businesses use this type of employee, whether it is part of a market animal business or other type of business. If you are someone that likes to organize and plan things and you get excited about those sorts of processes, you might want to explore a job or career in strategic planning.
An office manager is also used in many business settings, including the market animal industry. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics includes this with the description of administrative services manager and the demand for this job is expected to increase by 10 percent by 2026.
An office manager provides support services such as running the office, record-keeping, communications, payroll, etc. For someone who likes being around market animals and enjoys goals and records, being an office manager in an agricultural setting might be for you.
Another career option is an event planner, a job that is experiencing increasing demand with expected growth of 10 percent by 2026. If your niche is planning market animal auctions, market animal shows or educational events related to market animals, you might be on your way to being an event planner. Perhaps you also have an interest in agritourism, which could fit well here.
You should dig deeper and do your own research if any of these jobs or career titles sparked an interest. Look at how much you can learn about jobs and careers from just the first lesson in the Youth Business Guide to Success curriculum! There are 13 more lessons. Youth Business Guide to Success is available through the Michigan State University Extension Bookstore.
Michigan State University Extension and Michigan 4-H Youth Development help to prepare young people for successful futures. As a result of career exploration and workforce preparation activities, thousands of Michigan youth are better equipped to make important decisions about their professional future, ready to contribute to the workforce and able to take fiscal responsibility in their personal lives.
To learn about the positive impact of Michigan 4-H youth career preparation, money management and entrepreneurship programs, read the 2016 Impact Report: “Preparing Michigan Youth for Future Employment.”
