NY Times interactive allows students to input a job they are interested in and then tells them what job is most opposite to that one. 

Here's what happened when I input "Secondary teacher:"

Why do I like this interactive? 

• Fun way to get students thinking about jobs/careers that they might be interested in (and careers they would NOT be interested in)
• Identifies the specific skills used in a given job so students can see how those skills might match their own skills/interests
• Gets the conversation started about differences between jobs (e.g., physical strength vs. mental acuity, working with others vs. working independently)
• Having the students use this interactive several times will help them see the commonality of skills required in jobs. 
  • Another NY Times interactive showing graphically where jobs line up based on skills required

Enjoy!

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Looking for engaging activities for your Career unit? Be sure to check out the Career Unit page on the NGPF website. 

About the Author

Tim Ranzetta

Tim's saving habits started at seven when a neighbor with a broken hip gave him a dog walking job. Her recovery, which took almost a year, resulted in Tim getting to know the bank tellers quite well (and accumulating a savings account balance of over $300!). His recent entrepreneurial adventures have included driving a shredding truck, analyzing executive compensation packages for Fortune 500 companies and helping families make better college financing decisions. After volunteering in 2010 to create and teach a personal finance program at Eastside College Prep in East Palo Alto, Tim saw firsthand the impact of an engaging and activity-based curriculum, which inspired him to start a new non-profit, Next Gen Personal Finance.