🗻 Reality Check Guide CONNECT

Here, you will learn how a student can discover if their career will support their lifestyle at the chosen education level.

The introduction page will explain what the student can expect during the activity: Use the tools below to state your preferences for where you will live, the level of Education you plan to pursue, and the costs for the items you want to have and do in your life. Once everything adds up, you will be able to see the careers that support your desired lifestyle at your chosen education level.

1. Start by selecting "Reality Check" in the left navigation menu and choosing "Location."
2. The "first step to completing the Reality Check is choosing where to live. Living expenses vary by location. For example, if you plan to work and live in a big city, your cost of living and the salary required to cover it may be different from what you would need if you plan to live in a small town. You will see a list of locations in a drop-down menu or organized by population on the right. Select one location. It will display on the map.
3. Click Next: Expenses to view the Expenses page.

4. Choose from common estimates for each expense area. Select the option you prefer from each expense type. (Housing, Utilities, Food, Transportation, Clothes, Health, Entertainment, Personal Care, Misc., Student Loans, Savings).
   • You will begin with Housing. Select your option. Each option displays a default dollar amount reflecting the additional cost to your monthly expenses, or you can enter your own numerical amount.
   • For each utility option, enter a numerical amount or use the default amount displayed on the right. 

• After you make your choice, the cost will be recorded, and a check mark will appear next to the section name in the left-hand menu.
• Click Next Expense: [...] next to the title to move to the next Expense section.
• Be sure to complete each of the sections to the left. If you accidentally select 'Next: Education' before completing all the sections, use the Back button in the top right corner or select 'Expenses' in the left navigation to return.

5. You can edit any of your selections by clicking the expenses in orange type on the left. Each expense must have a dollar amount for the Reality Check to be complete. If no money is estimated to be spent, select $0. It will show your total monthly expenses and your necessary annual salary as you progress.
6. Once you have completed all the expenses, click 'Next: Education' in the top right-hand corner.
7. This will open the window: "How much time are you willing to invest in your education?" Select from the drop-down menu or click the hourly/years graphic to select an option.

8. Click Next: Occupation in the top right corner.
9. You will be presented with a list of career clusters. Review the list and click on the option that interests you the most, or select it from the drop-down menu.

10.  Click Next: Review in the top right corner. This will display your results, including the calculated monthly expenses and the total annual salary required to support your preferred lifestyle, based on your desired location. It will also report how much time you are willing to invest, what general career cluster interests you are most interested in, and a list of careers that match your choices.

11. Edit any of the fields here to adjust your expectations and generate a different list of possible careers.
    • If your list of careers is too small, there are a few ways to broaden your selection:
      • Choose a different time span for Education.
      • Choose a different  Occupation.
      • Revise the Expenses section and select more affordable options. The lower the Total Annual Salary Needed, the more careers you will see.
12. Click any Career to dig deeper, or click the heart icon next to a career to add it to your favorites. You will see only careers that pay at least your total annual salary, require your education choice, or less, and belong to the career cluster you selected.

• Reality Check Guide CONNECT.pdf2 MB