Introduction
Every Career and Technical Education class falls into one of 16 “career clusters.” A career cluster is a group of jobs and industries that are related by skills or products. Within each cluster, there are cluster “pathways” that correspond to a collection of courses and training opportunities to prepare you for a given career.
Career Clusters provide students with a context for studying traditional academics and learning the skills specific to a career.
What is a Career Cluster?
To have a good career, you must make good choices and work hard. First, you should know what your options are.
What Does it Mean to Plan Your Career?
Good careers don't just happen. Think about when you make dinner. To make a good meal, you must plan what you're going to have, get the food, cook it, and serve. To have a good career, you must also plan, then make good choices, and work hard.
You can plan a dinner in one night, but a good career takes longer to plan. Hard work may not be fun, but it can lead to good things.
The first step in planning a career is to know what your options or possibilities are. To make good choices, you will need to know how to compare your career options.
Learn About Career Clusters and Your Options
A career cluster is group of careers that share common features. If you like one job in a cluster, you will probably find other jobs in that cluster that you will like as well.
Here are examples of three different career clusters.
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Health — Workers in this cluster help people have healthy lives. Some work directly with people, some don't. This cluster contains jobs like home health aide, medical sonographer, pharmacy aide, and medical transcriptionist.
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Business — Workers in this cluster help companies run smoothly. This cluster contains jobs like office clerk, receptionist, credit checker, and janitor.
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Public Safety — Workers in this cluster protect people and enforce laws. This cluster contains jobs like security guard, court clerk, alarm installer, and life guard.
The 16 Career Clusters
Agriculture, Food & Natural Resources
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Agribusiness Systems
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Animal Systems
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Environmental Service Systems
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Food Products & Processing Systems
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Natural Resources Systems
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Plant Systems
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Power, Structural & Technical Systems
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Hospitality & Tourism
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Lodging
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Recreation, Amusements & Attractions
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Restaurants & Food/ Beverage Services
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Travel & Tourism
Architecture & Construction
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Construction
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Design/ Pre-Construction
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Maintenance/ Operations
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Human Services
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Consumer Services
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Counseling & Mental Health Services
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Early Childhood Development & Services
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Family & Community Services
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Personal Care Services
Arts, A/V Technology, & Communications
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A/V Technology & Film
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Journalism & Broadcasting
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Performing Arts
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Printing Technology
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Telecommunications
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Visual Arts
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Information Technology
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Information Support & Services
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Network Systems
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Programming & Software Development
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Web & Digital Communications
Business Management & Administration
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Administrative Support
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Business Information Management
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General Management
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Human Resources Management
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Operations Management
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Law, Public Safety, Corrections & Security
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Correction Services
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Emergency & Fire Management Services
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Law Enforcement Services
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Legal Services
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Security & Protective Services
Education & Training
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Administration & Administrative Support
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Professional Support Services
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Teaching/ Training
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Manufacturing
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Healthy, Safety & Environmental Assurance
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Logistics & Inventory Control
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Maintenance, Installation & Repair
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Manufacturing Production Process Development
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Production
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Quality Assurance
Finance
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Accounting
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Banking Services
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Business Finance
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Insurance
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Securities & Investments
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Marketing
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Marketing Communications
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Marketing Management
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Marketing Research
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Merchandising
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Professional Sales
Government & Public Administration
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Foreign Service
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Governance
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National Security
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Planning
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Public Management & Administration
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Regulation
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Revenue & Taxation
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Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics
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Engineering & Technology
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Science & Mathematics
Health Science
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Biotechnology Research & Development
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Diagnostic Services
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Healthy Information
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Support Services
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Therapeutic Services
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Transportation, Distribution & Logistics
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Facility & Mobile Equipment Maintenance
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Health, Safety & Environmental Management
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Logistics Planning & Management Services
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Sales & Service
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Transportation Operations
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Transportation Systems/ Infrastructure Planning, Management & Regulation
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Warehousing & Distribution Center Operations