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Middle School Career Exploration

hands tinkering with robot

Discover Your Path: Middle School Career Exploration

Middle School (Grades 7–8) is the ideal time to bridge the gap between curiosity and career. Through hands-on exploration, students build essential skills—like creative problem-solving and teamwork—that form a foundation for high school, college, and beyond.

Taking a career inventory through the guidance program’s Naviance software, and then using the inventory to explore careers through elective courses is one way to start finding out what interests a student. Career exploration through hands-on, project-based activities in elective courses is available at several IUSD middle schools. 

Courses vary among the middle schools, depending on the facilities and staff, but may include; 

  • 🤖 Engineering & Robotics
  • 🎬 Video Production
  • 📱 Digital Media
  • 👗 Fashion Design
  • 🍳 Culinary Arts
  • ⚙️ Technology Wheel

Engineering fabrication lab programs is one of the developing programs at IUSD middle schools, where students will use the Design Thinking Process to design a product to solve a problem. Students will work in teams to design and build prototypes out of readily available materials, such as paper and cardboard, or program a 3D printer to build the prototype.

All IUSD middle schools have opportunities for students to learn skills in Digital Media and Video Production, either as separate elective courses or as activities within the schools program. Several IUSD middle schools are developing elective courses that include career exploration in Engineering and Robotics.

Ask your counselor about specific opportunities available at your school.

Coming soon!