7 Interesting Career Games For High School Students

Greetings, future career conquistador! Are you feeling like you’re standing at the crossroads of life, trying to choose which path to take, as choosing the right career is there on your bucket list, but you are perplexed at the moment? Don’t fret; it’s not as scary as it seems.

In fact, it’s an exciting adventure filled with endless possibilities. Have you considered taking a spin on the career discovery carousel? Yes, that’s right! There are career games that are designed to show you the ups, downs, and everything in between different careers. So, why not grab a seat, buckle up, and let’s take a wild ride into the whimsical world of career exploration?

Career Games to help high schoolers choose the best for them 

Career and a few career exploration games can come as a breather before exploring and coming to a decision about which career path to choose. Hence, the below-mentioned classroom games can be the ideal fit for much-needed information and confidence. 

1. Career Role Play 

Career Role Play

Career role play is a dynamic and immersive way for high school students to grasp the complexities and intricacies of various professions. Here’s how you can facilitate this activity in the classroom:

  1. Select professions: Select a diverse range of professions for students to simulate, including but not limited to, a physician, an attorney, an educator, and an engineer.
  2. Offer scripts: Offer students detailed scripts for each profession, highlighting essential duties, obligations, and decisions that may arise.
  3. Assign partakers: Assign students to specific roles, or allow them to opt for their preferred profession.
  4. Recreate the setting: Transform the classroom into the corresponding professional setting, using props and materials as necessary.
  5. Encourage engagement: Urge students to actively participate in the simulation, employing critical thinking and problem-solving skills to navigate the challenges and responsibilities of their assigned roles.

Through this game, students will gain a more nuanced understanding of the intricacies of various careers and develop essential skills such as critical thinking and problem-solving.

2. Career Matchmaker

Career Matchmaker

Career Matchmaker is a dynamic and engaging way for high school students to explore their interests, strengths, and values in relation to different careers. Here’s how you can facilitate this activity in the classroom:

  1. Assess interests, strengths, and values: Have students take a career assessment or questionnaire to determine their interests, strengths, and values.
  2. Research careers: Have students research a variety of careers, gathering information about the duties, skills required, and personal characteristics that would make someone a good fit for each career.
  3. Create profiles: Have students create profiles for each career, including information about the duties, skills required, and personal characteristics that would make someone a good fit for each career.
  4. Match students with careers: Have students match their interests, strengths, and values with the profiles of the careers they researched.
  5. Debrief: After the activity, have students debrief with the class, sharing the careers they were matched with and what they learned about themselves and the careers they explored.

This game is a fun and interactive way for students to explore different careers and gain insight into their own interests, strengths, and values. It also helps them develop research and critical thinking skills, as well as their understanding of the career exploration process.

3. Career Trivia

Career Trivia

Career Trivia is an educational activity that aims to provide students with information about various careers and professions. It can be used as a way to help students explore their interests, skills, and values, and make informed decisions about their future careers.

To conduct Career Trivia in a classroom, you can follow these steps:

  1. Select the careers to be included in the trivia: Choose a variety of careers from different fields and industries, such as medicine, technology, law, arts, and education. You can also consider including both traditional and unconventional careers.
  2. Prepare the questions: Develop a set of questions for each career, covering topics such as the duties, requirements, skills, and education needed. You can also include information about earning potential and job outlook.
  3. Divide the students into teams: You can divide the students into groups of 3-4 individuals, or have them work individually.
  4. Conduct the trivia: Ask the questions one at a time, and have each team or individual write down their answers. You can award points for correct answers, and the team or individual with the most points at the end of the game wins.
  5. Discuss the answers: After the trivia, you can go over the answers with the students, and provide additional information and insights about the careers discussed.

Career Trivia is a fun and interactive way to educate students about various careers and help them make informed decisions about their future. Additionally, it can also help to foster teamwork and collaboration among students and provide opportunities for students to learn from each other.

4. Career Speed Networking

Career Speed Networking

Career Speed Networking is a fun and interactive way for high school students to learn about various careers and the paths people have taken to get there. Here’s how you can facilitate this activity in the classroom:

  1. Invite professionals: Invite professionals from a variety of careers to come and speak with students. You can reach out to local businesses, alumni, or other community members to participate.
  2. Set up the event: Arrange for the professionals to be stationed at different tables or stations in the classroom. Set a timer for a specific amount of time, such as 5 minutes, for each station.
  3. Assign students to stations: Assign students to rotate through the different stations, meeting with each professional and asking questions about their careers.
  4. Encourage questions: Encourage students to ask open-ended questions about the professional’s career path, their day-to-day tasks, and the skills and experiences needed to succeed in their field.
  5. Debrief: After the event, have students debrief with the class, sharing what they learned from each professional and what careers they found most interesting.

This game is a great way for students to learn about different careers in a hands-on and engaging way. It also helps them develop their communication and networking skills, which will be valuable as they continue to explore their career options.

5. Career Mad Libs

Career Mad Libs

Career Mad Libs is a fun and engaging activity that allows students to explore different careers by filling in the blanks of a career-related story. It is a great way to introduce students to a variety of careers and help them understand the different aspects and requirements of each one.

To conduct Career Mad Libs in a classroom, you can follow these steps:

  1. Choose the careers to be included: Select a variety of careers from different fields and industries, such as medicine, technology, law, arts, and education.
  2. Prepare the Mad Libs stories: Create a Mad Libs story for each career, including blanks for the type of work, required skills, education, salary, and other relevant information.
  3. Divide the students into teams: Divide the students into small groups of 3-4 individuals, or have them work individually.
  4. Conduct the activity: Give each team or individual a copy of the Mad Libs story, and ask them to fill in the blanks with the appropriate words or phrases. You can provide suggestions or guidelines for the words or phrases to be used.
  5. Review the completed stories: After the students have completed the Mad Libs, ask each team or individual to read their story out loud. You can discuss the stories as a class and provide additional information and insights about the careers discussed.

Career Mad Libs is a fun and interactive way to educate students about different careers and help them understand the various aspects of each one. Additionally, it can also help to promote creativity, critical thinking, and collaboration among students.

6. Career Mind Mapping

Career Mind Mapping

Career Mind Mapping is an educational activity that allows students to explore different careers and understand their own interests, skills, and values in relation to potential careers. This activity involves creating a visual representation of the relationships between various careers and personal attributes.

To conduct Career Mind Mapping in a classroom, you can follow these steps:

  1. Choose the careers to be included: Select a variety of careers from different fields and industries, such as medicine, technology, law, arts, and education.
  2. Prepare the materials: Provide each student with a large piece of paper and markers, or have them create a digital mind map using a tool such as Popplet or MindNode.
  3. Introduction: Provide an overview of the activity, and explain the purpose of Career Mind Mapping. Encourage the students to think about their interests, skills, and values, and how they relate to different careers.
  4. Conduct the mind mapping: Ask the students to create a mind map, with the chosen careers as the main branches, and personal attributes such as interests, skills, and values as the sub-branches. Encourage the students to connect the branches in a way that represents their personal understanding of the relationships between the careers and their personal attributes.
  5. Review the mind maps: After the students have completed their mind maps, ask each student to share their map with the class and explain their connections and insights. You can also lead a class discussion to compare the different mind maps and provide additional information and insights about the careers discussed.

Career Mind Mapping is a powerful and engaging way to help students explore their interests, skills, and values, and understand the relationships between these personal attributes and different careers. It can also promote critical thinking, creativity, and self-reflection, and help students make informed decisions about their future.

7. Career Charades

Career Charades

Career Charades is a great activity that allows students to learn about different careers through acting and guessing. This activity involves acting out various career-related scenarios and having the other students guess which career is being represented.

To conduct Career Charades in a classroom, you can follow these steps:

  1. Choose the careers to be included: Select a variety of careers from different fields and industries, such as medicine, technology, law, arts, and education.
  2. Prepare the materials: Create a list of career-related scenarios, such as “performing a surgery,” “building a bridge,” or “representing a client in court.”
  3. Divide the students into teams: Divide the students into small groups of 3-4 individuals, or have them work individually.
  4. Conduct the charades: Ask each team or individual to take turns acting out the career-related scenarios, without speaking or making any sounds. The other students should try to guess which career is being represented based on their actions.
  5. Award points: Award points for correct guesses, and keep track of the score for each team or individual.
  6. Review the answers: After the charades have been completed, review the answers with the class, and provide additional information and insights about the careers discussed.

Career Charades is a fun and interactive way to educate students. Moreover, it also helps to promote teamwork, communication, and critical thinking skills and provides opportunities for students to learn from each other.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the journey of discovering your career path can be a fun and enlightening experience. By playing career games and other activities like public speaking and robotics activities, you can explore different careers, gain insights into your strengths and interests, and make informed decisions about your future. So, embrace the journey and remember, there’s no wrong choice. The most important thing is to follow your passion and find a career that brings you joy and fulfillment. So go forth, and may the career discovery be with you!

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