The elementary grades can be a powerful time to begin building awareness of the many different types of careers that exist and how classroom learning connects to various fields and careers. Career learning in elementary school is not about asking students to choose a career path. Instead, it’s about helping students develop curiosity about the world around them as they learn about their own interests and strengths. Giving students years to explore different possibilities and reflect on what interests them can help them to make more informed decisions and set goals as they move into middle and high school. Field trips can be a great way to begin building this important foundation of career awareness.

This is the second piece of a two-part series. For strategies to foster career awareness and curiosity in the primary grades, check out Building Career Learning into K-2 Field Trips. 

Field trips give students opportunities to step outside of their classroom and experience learning in new places, with new people, in new ways. They can bring classroom concepts to life as students see learning in action, make connections, and have opportunities to engage with educators and experts. These experiences can also provide a window into the people, skills, and careers that shape their community.

Field trips offer students a unique look at different careers in action and help them to make connections between their learning and the world around them. Visits to places like city halls, veterinary clinics, or nature centers offer obvious career connections, but career learning can happen on almost any field trip. With a little intentional planning, experiences that might otherwise feel like simply a day away from school can help students to notice the people, tools, skills, and workplaces within their community and help students to make connections between the world around them and future job possibilities.

Expanding Career Awareness and Exploration

As students move to the upper elementary grades, they begin to recognize the variety of jobs within their community and may start wondering about what they might like to do someday. Field trips can broaden those possibilities by introducing them to different workplaces and the people who contribute to their community. Students in grades 3-5 are ready to move beyond naming jobs and tools and begin exploring what people do, the skills they use, and how their interests and strengths might connect to different possibilities. 

• Connect with field trip sites before visiting. Before a field trip, reach out to the locations to let them know students are interested in learning about careers while on the trip. Ask if it is possible to incorporate opportunities to meet a few different employees with varied roles. Simple introductions of the people in the roles, along with an opportunity to ask a few questions, can be a valuable way for students to learn about careers.  
• Look beyond the obvious. Encourage students to notice not only the careers at the center of the field trip, but also the support positions and behind-the-scenes roles that make the work possible. For example, students might interact with tour guides or museum educators, but jobs such as custodians, maintenance workers, office staff, technology specialists, or security personnel may also play an important role. Give students a mission to identify as many different jobs as they can. This challenge works to encourage students to slow down, look closely, and pay attention to the people and work happening around them.
• Prepare questions. Similar to K-2, students benefit from thinking of questions before a field trip. Working in small groups can help students to build on one anothers’ ideas and develop more thoughtful questions. Consider giving each group a category—such as tools, community impact, skills, training—and challenge students to create questions that will help them learn more about the careers they encounter. 
• Notice skills in action. Encourage students to look beyond the jobs represented on the field trip and notice the skills people use as they work. Problem solving, communication, collaboration, creativity, and leadership are some of the durable skills students are likely to see in action. Naming these skills ahead of time can provide a frame of reference for students and give them something specific to watch for on the trip and something to reflect on afterwards.  Noticing how durable skills transfer across roles and careers can reinforce the importance of the skill-building happening in their classroom. 
• Extend gratitude. Work as a class to identify all of the people that made the field trip meaningful. Assign small groups of students to write thank you notes to specific people or roles, describing what they learned or appreciated about their work. This practice reinforces students’ understanding of the different contributions that make an experience possible and an organization run smoothly. It also provides an authentic way to express gratitude and can help to keep the door open for future career connections and conversations. 

Offering More Opportunities to Explore

Most elementary students are limited to 1-2 field trips each year. The cost of transportation, in particular, can make it challenging for schools to offer more frequent opportunities to learn outside of the classroom. But, expanding students’ access does not necessarily mean adding expensive or elaborate field trips. 

Look beyond traditional field trip locations to find budget-friendly experiences close to the school building, including walkable destinations. Consider opportunities available within the district such as theaters, makerspaces, or art studios. Similarly, a trip to a community garden, local business, library, park, or municipal building can offer valuable opportunities to observe, ask questions, and make connections. Virtual field trips can also extend learning beyond the school building. Virtual tours, live conversations with professionals, and online exploration can give students a look at careers they might not otherwise encounter. 

Wherever students visit, field trips can provide powerful learning opportunities that encourage them to explore their communities, make connections to careers, and discover new possibilities for their future.