Helping Students Discover What’s Possible By Making Career Exploration Interactive
What do you want to be when you grow up?
It’s a question young people hear all the time but answering it isn’t always easy. With hundreds of career possibilities, students may only be familiar with a small number of options. They may also have questions about what different careers actually involve, what education or training they require, how much they pay, or whether a career fits their interests and the life they envision for themselves.
At Building Bridges, Inc., we believe career exploration should be about discovering possibilities, not feeling pressured to already have all the answers. That’s why we created Building a Bridge to the Future You! Career Game 2nd Edition, an interactive career exploration experience designed to help young people learn more about themselves while discovering where their interests could take them.
120 Careers. More Possibilities.
The Career Game 2.0 has expanded to support 120 careers across STEM, business, humanities, and skilled trades, giving students an opportunity to explore a much broader range of career pathways. The experience encourages users to think about their interests, strengths, preferences, and the type of lifestyle they may want in the future. Their responses help connect them with career possibilities that may align with what matters to them. Some careers may already be familiar. Others may be paths they have never heard of or considered before, and that's part of the experience.
Our goal isn't to tell students, “This is what you should become.” Instead, Career Game 2.0 provides a starting point for exploration, helping young people discover possibilities, ask questions, and learn more about pathways that could fit their future.
More Than a Career Title
Knowing the name of a career is only the beginning. Career Game 2.0 helps users go further by exploring information such as education and training pathways, salary ranges, lifestyle considerations, and real-world career connections.
As students explore their matches, we want them to start asking questions like:
What would I actually do in this career?
What skills would I need?
What education or training could help me get there?
Does this career align with the lifestyle I want?
What other careers connect to my interests?
Is there a pathway I hadn't considered before?
These questions can turn a fun career exploration activity into meaningful conversations about education, skills, goals, and future opportunities.
Who Is Career Game 2.0 For?
Building a Bridge to the Future You! was created with middle and high school students in mind. These are important years for students to begin connecting what they enjoy in and outside of the classroom with the many possibilities available after graduation. For middle school students, the game can provide an early introduction to careers they may not know exist. For high school students, it can help them think more intentionally about career interests as they consider college, skilled trades, training programs, certifications, and other postsecondary pathways.
But career exploration doesn't stop after high school. We also welcome college students and early-career professionals to take Career Game 2.0. Interests and goals can change as we gain new experiences, and the game can be a fun way to discover career possibilities that may align with where you are now or where you'd like to go next. And adults, we have a challenge for you too: Take Career Game 2.0 and see if your current profession appears among your career matches! You might confirm that you're exactly where you belong or discover a completely different career you never considered.
Bringing Career Exploration Into Schools
Career Game 2.0 can also be incorporated into classrooms, advisory periods, counseling programs, career days, after-school programs, and other college and career readiness activities. Educators can use students' results as a starting point for deeper conversations and activities around career pathways, education and training, goal setting, and the connection between classroom learning and the world of work.
For Building Bridges, Inc., this is especially important. Career exposure has always been connected to our work because we don't just want young people to participate in engaging learning experiences. We want them to understand where those experiences can lead.
Start Building Your Bridge
Your future doesn't have to be figured out today. Career exploration is about learning what's possible, discovering more about yourself, and being willing to explore paths you may not have considered before. Whether you're in middle school beginning to wonder what's out there, a high school student thinking about your next step, a college student exploring your options, or an early-career professional wondering where your skills could take you, Building a Bridge to the Future You! Career Game 2.0 is an opportunity to explore.
Ready to see where your interests could take you?