Read the three simple steps to help you reach your New Year's financial resolutions.

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Earning Power: More Than a Paycheck

Lesson 3-1 Invest in Yourself

Planning for your future success is the most important investment you can make. Investing in training and education throughout your career can pay off in job satisfaction, salary increases and promotions as well as give you fallback options should you encounter a work interruption such as a layoff.

What You’ll LearnExplore the payoffs of investing in yourself.

Taking it Home

  • Interview one or two adults who are at least 30 years old to find out what has been helpful for their careers or employment situations. 
  • Introduce someone at home to online career exploration resources such as O*Net OnLine and the Career One Stop. Summarize what you have learned from your own career exploration.

Learn More

  • Consider two possible careers for yourself—one that represents your passion and one that would make a good fallback option. Research the two current fastest growing industries. How can you apply your chosen career options to each growing industry?
  • Are you college ready? Check to see how well you perform on a college placement test, and then calculate the cost of remediation, if needed.

Related Resources

Talking Points for Parents

While your teen is learning about income and careers, consider ways to reinforce learning from home.

  • Ask your teen about the kinds of jobs or careers that he or she is investigating. What are the key factors that your teen finds appealing about particular jobs or careers?
  • Share a summary about the types of jobs you have had and how you gained skills and expertise for recent work.