Vocations · Career Exploration

One day inside
a job you might want.

A shadowing day shows what no career quiz can: the paperwork, the pace, the part nobody mentions. Get it ready with eight preparation steps, bring questions about real days, and write down what you saw before it fades. The organizer reminds you of the thank-you and adds up the hours and careers you have seen.

Plan a shadowing dayWhat you get
$5one-time · every device you sign in on
Buy · $5

Included with the Caveat Academy pass and Whole-school licenses. Or get it in the Job search kit, $29 for 34 items.

Your shadowing days

The worked example is made up: a morning with a physical therapist, done and thanked, and a day with an electrician in eight days with three preparation steps left. Saved on this device only.

Loading the shadowing day form. If nothing appears, turn on JavaScript.

What you get

Vocations · Career Exploration$5

What you finish with
A record per shadowing day with career, workplace, host’s role, how it was arranged, date, hours and status; eight preparation steps; questions with the answers you heard; what the day was like, a fit rating, the next step and the thank-you. Flags a thank-you not sent, a past day still marked planned and steps left close to the date; totals hours and careers.
Who it is for
High school and college students exploring careers, and the counselors and CTE teachers who arrange shadowing.
Format
Browser organizer with a saved record per day. Prints one day’s plan and notes, every day as a table or a blank sheet to bring along; downloads a spreadsheet (.csv); exports and imports a file.
Access
$5 one-time, yours on every device you sign in on; the tool opens once you are signed in with it. Included with the Caveat Academy pass and Whole-school licenses. Also in the Job search kit ($29) and the Vocations Suite pass ($99), and 1 more bundle. Everything you type stays in this browser; nothing is sent to Caveat.
Where it lives
The Career Exploration space in Caveat Vocations.
Support
Questions about access, an order or a correction: team@caveatacademic.com.

How to use it

  1. Ask through your school, a family friend or the workplace directly, and log it as asked.
  2. Work through the preparation steps once it is confirmed.
  3. Write at least five questions about real days.
  4. Write down what you heard and saw the same evening.
  5. Send a thank-you within two days, and note your next step.

Plan a shadowing day

Asking well

Questions that get real answersInstead ofAskDo you like your job?What did you do yesterday, hour by hour?Is it hard?What part of the work takes the most out of you?Does it pay well?What did you earn in your first year, roughly?Any advice?What would you tell yourself at 17?Ask about a real day and you hear about the job, not the brochure.Questions that get real answersDo you like your job?What did you do yesterday, hour byhour?Is it hard?What part of the work takes the mostout of you?Does it pay well?What did you earn in your firstyear, roughly?Any advice?What would you tell yourself at 17?Ask about a real day and you hear aboutthe job, not the brochure.
A host may not want to share pay. Thank them and look up the range in the Occupational Outlook Handbook instead.

Watching, not working

Shadowing means observing. If a workplace asks you to do real work, that becomes a job or an internship, with its own rules for young workers, including limits on hours and hazardous tasks for anyone under 18 under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act. Ask your school or host if you are unsure.

Look it up after

The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Occupational Outlook Handbook lists the training, pay range and job outlook for hundreds of careers, and O*NET OnLine lists the daily tasks. Check what your host said against them, and note the differences: one person’s job is one version of a career.

Sources

  1. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Occupational Outlook Handbook (bls.gov/ooh).
  2. U.S. Department of Labor. O*NET OnLine (onetonline.org).
  3. U.S. Department of Labor, CareerOneStop. Informational interviews and career exploration (careeronestop.org).
  4. U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division. YouthRules: rules for workers under 18 (youthrules.gov).

The worked example is made up, including the workplaces. Follow your school’s and the workplace’s rules for visits. Nothing you type is sent to Caveat. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.