Students
College and Career Readiness
Being college and career ready means graduating from high school with a career goal and a plan for how to get there. Scroll down to find resources that will help you get started determining your interests and learning about the jobs available in the San Diego economy...
Career exploration: Identify the Problems You want to solve
Career Assessments
Career Assessment: Interest Profiler
Complete the assessments to see what jobs align with your skills and interests. You may be surprised to learn about a career you didn’t know existed!
Career Assessment: Work Importance Profiler
Complete the assessments to see what work environments align with your values. You may be surprised to learn about a career you didn’t know existed!
College Assessment:
College Readiness
If you're considering a 4-year university, this college-readiness quiz can help prepare you.
Labor Market Data
San Diego's Priority Sectors
Learn about San Diego’s high-growth, high-wage industry sectors with reports by the San Diego Workforce Partnership and the San Diego Imperial Counties Community Colleges Regional Consortium for Workforce Development.
California Occupational Guides
Look up information on California wages, job outlook, education, and licensing requirements for 300 occupations with the California Occupational Guides.
Salary Data
Find in-depth career salary information with the Salary Surfer tool.
Work Based Learning
Work-based learning activities connect you with employers to learn about careers you're interested in. The activities can be presentations by professionals about their work, tours of a work site, internships, and jobs. Check out our current opportunities, including hiring events.
If you can't make the live events, you can find recorded activities at the virtual databases below. These videos introduce you to the working lives of professionals in key industry sectors, including the skills required, annual income, prospective growth, and more.
Hone your skills: Education and training
High School Training
CTE Program Finder
Use this mapping tool to determine which career technical education pathway programs are offered in high schools near you.
Graduate Prepared
Keep your grades up and make sure you meet “a-g” requirements for college entry.
Post-Secondary Training
Community Colleges
Know the types and levels of education required to enter different occupations. Some will require a certificate or associate’s degree, offered at San Diego County’s community colleges.
scholarship dashboard
Many companies and foundations offer funds to help students pay for college, certificate programs, and other professional training after high school. Review our list of currently available scholarships to determine which you are eligible to apply for. We update the list several times throughout the year.
Note: Be sure to check the scholarship due date before applying!
Start your career: Job application and preparation resources
"Learning to Adult" Business Technology and Professional Skills Courses
Google suite Job Skills Course
Professionals use business tools in Google "Suite" daily. This quick course will train you in the fundamentals of Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Sites and then coach you in how to craft a resume and cover letter for your job application.
Microsoft Suite Job Skills Course
The other most common business tools are created by Microsoft. Similarly to Google Docs, Sheets, etc., Microsoft has Word, Excel, Powerpoint, and Sway. This course will train you in Microsoft's business products and how to use them to create a resume and cover letter.
Sketchnoting
Sketchnoting is a flexible form of note-taking where information, concepts, thoughts, and ideas are expressed through both words and visuals. This course will teach you how to sketchnote to improve your note-taking, memory, and learning.
Learn Better
This course will develop your cognitive learning skills to increase motivation, self-efficacy, and success. By the end, you will understand how people learn and how to improve your abilities!
Work Smarter, Not Harder
Executive skills help you complete tasks, make decisions, and solve problems. This course will help you cultivate executive skills so that you can work more efficiently and perform at your best.