Academic Planning

What Path to Choose for Goals after High School? 
 
 
Choosing the right path after graduation means selecting employment, a training program, or a college that reflects the type of learning, environment, and opportunity you are pursuing. 

FAQs

What are career pathways?

Each pathway is a broad grouping of careers that share similar characteristics and whose
employment requirements call for many common interests, strengths, and competencies. A
chosen pathway focuses a student’s elective courses toward preparing for a specific goal
area.
 

Why should I choose a career pathway?
 
  • To help focus on a career area that matches interests in high school
  • To help set goals and discover classes necessary to achieve those goals
  • To create career awareness and encourage planning for post-secondary education
    and opportunities
  • To provide knowledge that relates your high school education to the world after
    graduation
 

How do I choose a career pathway?

You will use Smart Futures as a guide to understanding your interests and what careers are
connected to those interests. Also, talk to your school counselor, parents, and teachers to
assist in choosing.
 

Will there be any change in my major academic studies?

No, you will still follow the graduation requirements for Altoona Area School District.

CAREER PATHWAYS

ARTS & COMMUNICATIONS
This pathway is designed to cultivate students’ awareness, interpretation, application and
production of visual, verbal, and written work.

BUSINESS & TECHNOLOGY
This pathway is designed to prepare students for careers in the world of business, finance,
and information systems.

ENGINEERING & INDUSTRIAL
This pathway is designed to cultivate students’ interests, awareness, and application to
areas related to technologies necessary to design, develop, install, or maintain physical
systems.

HUMAN SERVICES
This pathway is designed to cultivate students’ interests, skills, and experiences for
employment in careers related to family and human needs.

SCIENCE & HEALTH
This pathway is designed to cultivate students’ interests in the life, physical and
behavioral sciences, in addition to the planning, managing, and providing of therapeutic
services, diagnostic services, health information, and biochemistry research development.
Resources