Resources

Social cognitive career theory (SCCT) consists of five interrelated models. Its original models focus on the determinants of educational and occupational interest, choice, and performance (including persistence) (Lent, Brown, & Hackett, 1994). A fourth model is aimed at satisfaction and other aspects of well-being in academic and career-related settings (Lent & Brown, 2006a, 2008), and the fifth model highlights processes whereby people manage common developmental tasks and uncommon challenges across the career lifespan (Lent & Brown, 2013). Each of the models seeks to integrate relevant

Research has provided substantial information about the properties of interests, but has not provided an answer to the basic question: What are interests? Identifying the essence and origin of interests and developing precise definitions of interests have been elusive tasks. Extant theories of career development and vocational interests, that describe the function of interests, hint at but do not directly address the more fundamental question of what interests are.

People’s work possibilities and developmental trajectories are affected by many variables, including their personal attributes (e.g., interests, abilities, values), learning and socialization experiences, and the resources, opportunities, and barriers afforded by their environments. Occupational paths are forged not by any one of these forces, but rather by the complex interactions among them.

Quantum education at the K-12 levels is just getting started. Currently, the Q-12 community is focused on developing both informal and formal learning opportunities for teachers, students, and families. That encompasses new lessons, events, free access to quantum technologies, and information about careers. This site will provide information on educational resources and careers in this exciting area of STEM.

More and more young people are learning about science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) in a wide variety of afterschool, summer, and informal programs. At the same time, there has been increasing awareness of the value of such programs in sparking, sustaining, and extending interest in and understanding of STEM. To help policy makers, funders and education leaders in both school and out-of-school settings make informed decisions about how to best leverage the educational and learning resources in their community, this report identifies features of productive STEM programs in

The primary goal of the From Learning to Leading: Cultivating the Next Generation of Diverse Food and Agriculture Professionals Program (NEXTGEN) is to enable 1890 institutions, 1994 institutions, Alaska Native-serving institutions and Native Hawaiian-serving institutions, Hispanic-serving institutions and insular area institutions of higher education located in the U.S. territories to build and sustain the next generation of the food, agriculture, natural resources, and human sciences (FANH) workforce including the future USDA workforce primarily through providing student scholarship support

Getting Americans Back to Work EDA’s American Rescue Plan $500 million Good Jobs Challenge is making once-in-a-generation investments in high-quality, locally led workforce systems to dramatically transform America’s communities. With a focus on equity, the program is expanding career opportunities for more Americans to reach their full potential and secure good-paying jobs while producing a skilled workforce to ensure the United States is prepared to innovate, compete, and succeed in a 21st Century global economy. The Good Jobs Challenge highlights workforce development as key to accelerating

Start building our clean energy future with a career in the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE). EERE offers opportunities across its technology offices and on its operations team. EERE is fighting the climate crisis by advancing President Biden’s goal of reaching net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 through cutting-edge research that will bring clean energy technologies to communities all across America. But we need your help. Below are various career maps to help you think about what your career can look like in clean energy, based on your education and experience.

Based on a three-year-long ethnography of the hobby of model rocketry, I present a practice-centered theory of interest relationships—that is, the pattern of long-term, self-motivated engagement in open-ended practices that has been theorized under the concept of individual interests. In contrast to extant theories of individual interests, in which persistent engagement is pegged to a topic-specific relationship (e.g., a model rocketeer has an interest in the topic of rocketry, broadly conceived), I propose that persistence in a practice of interest is best understood in terms of what I call

Career prospects for trainees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) are growing, but today’s opportunities are not always like the traditional science careers of the past. Individuals move in and out of roles and positions in which they consult, start businesses, and hold jobs across disciplines and sectors. People take many paths through school and weave careers around an assortment of circumstances, such as rearing families, serving in the military or volunteer corps, fulfilling caregiving responsibilities, or reengaging with formal education. These experiences bring