Stay engaged with the career planning of your student. Your support can give them a significant advantage in their future career opportunities.
Greater Peoria Pathways is your resource hub for helping your student prepare for their career well before senior year.
You are the #1 influence on a student’s career planning, but do you know parental involvement in a student’s education starts to rapidly drop off at 6th grade?
If you can stay connected with your student and guide them toward preparing for their future in the workforce, they’ll have an advantage over the competition!
While they may not always listen to your advice or opinions, your student will be influenced by your guidance, direction, and example. GP Pathways gives you the tools to guide them to career success.
First, use Career Coach
High school is a time of many changes for young people. The decisions your child makes now will affect the rest of their lives. You need to make sure you have the right information to help guide them. Fortunately, you’ve got a resource for information on careers and education; it’s called Career Coach and it’s available for free from Illinois Central College!
Career Coach has all sorts of tools and information to help you and your child as they prepare for the next chapter in their life. With Career Coach, your child can:
- Take a Career Assessment! Career Coach’s assessment will tell you and your child about their personality traits, and what careers will fit them best
- Browse through all kinds of careers! Each career listing will say what a person in that job does, the average salary for the job, and the education required for the job; you can also learn about what degree and certificate programs at ICC that will put your child on the path towards the career they want
- Build a resume! Career Coach’s Resume Builder makes writing a resume very easy. All your child has to do is create a profile, and then they’re ready to go! It does all the hard work for them.
How to Access Career Coach
Career Coach is an exciting new tool that can help you get a head start on your future! Just go to Career Coach and get started! You don’t even need a profile to use most of the features of Career Coach!
Next, understand the Greater Peoria job market
What are today’s hot jobs? Healthcare, technology, and manufacturing.
- Registered Nurse
Average Salary: $68,030
Education: 4-year program - Licensed Practical Nurse
Average Salary:$44,870
Education: 2-year program - Certified Nurse Assistant
Average Salary: $25,260
Education: 1-semester program - Medical Assistant
Average Salary: $31,230
Education: 2-year program - Medical Lab Tech
Average Salary: $43,070
Education: 2-year program - Physical Therapy Assistant
Average Salary: $32,970
Education: 2-year program
- Engine and Machine Assemblers
Average Salary: $37,330 - Welder
Average Salary: $37,710
Education: 1-semester & 1-year certificate programs - CNC Machinist
Average Salary: $47,430
Education: 1.5-year degree program - Maintenance Technician
Average Salary: $48,180
Education: 1.5-year certificate & 2-year degree program - Process Engineer
Average Salary: $79,120
Education: 2 & 4-year degree programs - Mechanical Engineer
Average Salary: $84,420
Education: 2 & 4-year degree programs
- Computer Systems Analyst
Average Salary: $85,500
Education: 4-year degree program - Applications Software Developer
Average Salary: $85,740
Education: 4-year degree program - Database Administrators
Average Salary: $80,850
Education: 2 & 4-year degree programs - Network and Computer Systems Administrators
Average Salary: $77,520
Education: 1-year certificate, 2 & 4-year degree programs - Computer Programmers
Average Salary: $74,060
Education: 2-year certificate, 2 & 4-year degree programs
See a career you think you might like? Access your Career Cruising account to learn about area schools and programs where you can get the education or training you'll need. Don't have your Career Cruising account info? Ask you school counselor.
- Electricians
Average Salary: $69,940
Apprenticeship: 3 & 5-year paid - Boilmakers
Average Salary: $64,270
Apprenticeship: 4-year paid - Bricklayers
Average Salary: $70,910
Apprenticeship: 3.5-year paid - Elevator Constructors
Average Salary: $83,020
Apprenticeship: 5-year paid - Heat & Frost Insulators
Average Salary: $78,420
Apprenticeship: 5-year paid
- Cement Masons
Average Salary: $58,030
Apprenticeship: 3-year paid - Iron Workers
Average Salary: $79,600
Apprenticeship: 3-year paid - Painters
Average Salary: $57,020
Apprenticeship: 3-year paid - Plasterers
Average Salary: $76,620
Apprenticeship: 4-year paid - Plumbers, Steamfitters, & Sprinklerfitters
Average Salary: $71,810
Apprenticeship: 5-year paid
- Roofers
Average Salary: $46,440
Apprenticeship: 4-year paid - Sheet Metal Workers
Average Salary: $65,230
Apprenticeship: 4-year paid - Operating Engineers
Average Salary: $69,980
Apprenticeship: 4-year paid - Carpenters
Average Salary: $56,860
Apprenticeship: 4-year paid - Construction Laborers
Average Salary: $51,630
Apprenticeship: 3-year paid
Not every career requires a college degree. Check out the great careers in the Building Trades.
Workers in the building trades construct our buildings, infrastructure, and physical systems like electric, plumbing, and more. Your student can step into the building trades right out of high school and earn a great living. Apprenticeships are the entryway into the building trades, and most apprenticeships are paid. Start exploring the building trades today.
Get Started with the Building Trades
For more information on the types of building trades careers and how to begin apprenticing, download the Union Building Trades Apprenticeship Programs booklet.
Tuition Reimbursement for Students Living in Peoria
Peoria Promise is a scholarship fund available to many students living in the city of Peoria. The fund offers tuition reimbursement for Illinois Central College courses.
Get Involved with Hands-On Career and Education Exploration
Give your middle-schooler the college experience!
Illinois Central College’s College for Kids
For two weeks this summer, your student can see what it’s like to be a college student and attend classes ranging from foreign languages, to culinary arts, to science, and more! Grades 4-10. Learn more →
Bradley University’s World of Wonder
These two week-long sessions expose your student to the university atmosphere while fostering their critical thinking and creativity with classes like “Sensory Science”, “Patterns in Nature” and “The Science of Frozen“. Grades 1-8. Learn more →
Start a club and let your student explore the world of technology
FIRST
FIRST (For Inspiration & Recognition of Science & Technology) is an international youth organization that inspires students in engineering and technology fields through cooperative competitions.
Learn more →
Find a Local League →
Girls Who Code
Only 18% of today’s computer science graduates are women, but Girls Who Code is out to change that! Providing a thorough custom curriculum, teach girls programming, web development, mobile app, or robotics. Learn more →
Local opportunities for your student to get their science on!
Bradley’s BEST & CREST Summer Internships
The Building Excellent Scientist for Tomorrow (BEST) and the Clinical Research for Excellent Scientists for Tomorrow (CREST) summer internships are for high school and undergraduate students interested in pursuingscience and technology-based careers. Interns research in labs throughout Greater Peoria, working side-by-side with top researchers and their teams to learn first-hand about the research process. Learn more →
4G Camp, Gadgets, Games, Girls, And GENIUS!
Girls entering grades 7 & 8 explore exciting engineering and scientific fields through daily field trips, hands-on activities, and group projects during this weeklong summer camp. Hosted by the Bradley University Center for STEM Education, University of Illinois Extension, Greater Peoria Economic Development Council, University of Illinois Graduate School of Library and Information Science, and Illinois Infomatics Institute. Learn more →
Peoria Riverfront Museum Children & Teen Classes
The Peoria Riverfront Museum offers a variety of classes and workshops for children and teens that build science, technology, engineering, art, and math (STEAM) skills.
CU Community Fab Lab
The Champaign-Urbana Community Fab Lab is an open and collaborative workshop space for computer-driven innovation, design and fabrication where you can imagine, design and create using open source software and DIY equipment. Visitors can explore the space, get help from staff and volunteers, use tools, and purchase materials at-cost. Families and individual adults may wish to attend their low-cost weekly orientation sessions to learn about more specific tools and activities like laser engraving, 3D printing or digital embroidery. Learn more →
Utilize Junior Achievement’s Online Tools
JA My Way
Your student can join JA My Way™ to get tips and tools to put your career on the express track. They can take the Personality Quiz then visit My Career to find job matches. Explore buying a car and saving for college in My Money, create pro resumes at My Resume, or get tips to start a business at My Business.
JA Build Your Future
JA Build Your Future helps teens, their parents, and teachers break down the cost of achieving young people’s career goals. In JA Build Your Future, teens can assess more than 100 careers, see what levels of education are required, then calculate the cost of education. Teens can then adjust the level of money they and their parents may contribute, combined with student loans they may need to secure.
Don’t miss these Greater Peoria career exploration events
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Don’t overlook the importance of soft skills
Employers are experiencing a talent gap between the existing and the incoming workforce. They are ready and willing to hire new workers, and one quality that will give your student an edge is an employable attitude.
An employable attitude demonstrates that a person has soft skills, skills related to working productively with others.
What are the soft skills?
- A Strong Work Ethic…
- Positive Attitude…
- Good Communication Skills…
- Time Management Abilities…
- Problem-Solving Skills…
- Acting as a Team Player…
- Self-Confidence…
- Ability to Accept and Learn From Criticism.
