Interests & Exploration: Discovering Your Future Path
Middle school is the perfect time to try new things. This hub helps you turn curiosity into clarity by connecting your passions, hobbies, and elective choices to real-world skills and career directions.
Turning Passions into Potential Pathways
Electives & Hidden Talents
A guide to making the most of elective classes (art, music, technology, foreign language) to uncover natural abilities and strong interests.
- How to Choose Electives Wisely
- The Value of Trying New Things
- Skill-Specific Challenges and Projects
Connecting Hobbies to Careers
See how skills developed outside the classroom—like teamwork in gaming or storytelling in writing—can lead to future career success.
- Gaming to Software Development
- Art to Graphic Design or Engineering
- Social Media to Marketing/Content Creation
Early Career Visualization
Interactive tools and guides that help visualize the high school courses and extracurriculars needed for specific career clusters (e.g., STEM, Arts, Trades).
- Career Cluster Roadmaps
- Interviewing Professionals Guides
- Job Shadowing Preparation
External Resources for Interest and Career Exploration
CareerOneStop (Career Exploration)
U.S. Department of Labor site with career profiles and skills matching.
My Next Move (Interest Profiler)
Take a free quiz to link your interests to compatible job zones and careers.
O*NET OnLine (Skill Search)
Search detailed skills and knowledge required for thousands of occupations.
Partner with CSEN
Interested in reaching a dedicated audience of students, parents, and educators? Apply to become a proud sponsor of the CSSN Educational Hub and support future success.