Deciding on a career is one of the most important decisions you will make. Your career decision not only determines what you will do, but it determines: where you will work, how much money you will make, who you will work with, and if you will find happiness and satisfaction in your professional life. Remember the old saying:  "Find a job you like and you will never work another day in your life." What SABA can do for you? SABA career exploration specialists work with students (grades 7-12) in school districts affiliated with Oneida BOCES to help students make career decisions.  The career decision process is centered around three (3) questions: Who am I? Where am I going? How am I going to get there?
	Who am I? SABA Career Specialists lead students through a learning process that helps them gain a better understanding of "who they are." The specialists use a variety of surveys and experiences to answer the questions: Am I an introvert or extrovert? What do I value most in a job? What is my learning style? Do I want to work alone or with a team? What is my personality? What interests me the most? What are my skills and abilities? Where am I going? Before you can select a career, you need to know what careers exist and how these careers match with your interests, skills, and abilities.  The SABA Program uses many career exploration programs to help students learn about the variety of career options that are available. And now that we are in the information age, careers are changing so quickly, that students need to explore the new possibilities as well as the careers that have been around for years.  Some of the career sites that help students explore careers include: The New York State Department of Labor maintains a career exploration web site called Career Zone, which includes an interest inventory, a career portfolio, and information on over 10,000 jobs. Career Video Clips are available for many of the occupations listed on the site. The United States Department of Labor provides information about high growth jobs with better wages and a bright future at their Career Voyages site.  The U.S. Department of Education also has an excellent career development website called America's Career Resource Network (ACRN), which can be used to research careers and find out about new career opportunities. How am I going to get there? If you don't know where your going any road will get you there. But hopefully you have spent time learning about your passions, your skills, and your interests, and now you are ready to develop "A Plan."  You will need to research what colleges or postsecondary institutions have the programs that will get you to your goal. An excellent Web Site to research four-year colleges is The Education Trust. Local businesses help students learn about careers. The best way to find out about a career is to ask someone who is already doing that job. The Oneida County SABA Program is extremely lucky to have a business community that is ready to help students learn about careers and the workplace.  Career Speakers Every year, over 100 people from businesses in Oneida County go into the classroom to talk with students about their jobs. These interactions help students gather the information they need to make informed career decisions. Link to a list of businesses providing career presentations during the 2007-08 school year. Career Tours To gather even more information about careers and the environment where these careers take place, students participate in career tours of local businesses. Students are grouped according to career interest and have the opportunity to visit the workplace. Link to a list of businesses hosting career tours during the 2007-08 school year.