W1: Career Development Research Proposal - Click here to submit

Directions:
You are asked to prepare a short piece of writing indicating the two career paths you have chosen to research for your Career Development Research Paper, and what types of research strategies you will use to complete the assignment. You have the option to research two potential entry level positions you may obtain upon completion of your degree, or you can research career ladder opportunities you may be interested in.

You will compose a proposal in the form of a career-appropriate letter. Please include the following headings in business letter format:
Introduction: Discuss the two career (Medical Assistants and Health Information Technicians) paths you have chosen to focus on and whether they are entry-level positions or career ladder positions. Please include how you chose these two options from the wide variety available to you, and why you chose the focus you did.
Statement of Focus: Identify the criteria you will use as a basis to compare the two positions in the final essay. Some of the examples discussed in class include:
Salary trends
Potential for growth
Educational requirements
Lifelong learning opportunities
Job duties
Methods: Define the primary and secondary sources you will seek out when gathering information on this topic. While sources such as Occupation Outlook Handbook are a good place to get started and can be used, you need to find references that go further in depth on the job descriptions you are interested in. Where might you start finding these?
Limitations: What obstacles do you anticipate facing while researching your topic?
Conclusion: Based on the comparison of the two careers you will present, what do you think will help you choose one position over the other as a future career choice? Which of the criteria are the most important to you at this initial phase of research?