OVERVIEW

In co-operation with the instructor, you will conduct research to find out what kinds of professional certification may be needed in your career.

First, you will conduct research using the internet and resources available in your major such as professors, your advisor, and written materials.

You should do this research as a team, though, with instructor approval, you may work individually. Your team must be made up with other students from your college only (business, engineering, law, or information technology). Teams should be no more than five students. Ideally, you should work with students who have the same major and specialization as you.

In your research, you must find the answers to the following questions. To prepare for your presentation, you should put that information related to each question on its own slide.

1. Is there a professional certification that will be required for your career?

2. If there is no required certification, is there any other form of certification, training,

or lifelong learning that may be optional but highly beneficial?

3. What are the trends in the types of certification / licensure required for your career?

4. At what point in your career will it be required? (Before you begin, before you

advance past the first couple of years, before you advance to a senior or supervisory position?)

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5. What kinds of institutions will be involved? (Your employer, professional schools or institutes, colleges or universities, government agencies, etc.) Describe this organization in detail and the types of certification it offers.

6. Explain clearly and succinctly the requirements for one or more certifications, including a) education requirements, b) character requirement, c) work experience, d) exam, e) whether any of the above requirements may be waived, and if so, in what cases.

7. Explain all the steps required for professional certification, including a) deciding which certification or training you will choose, b) eligibility determination, c) exams involved if any, d) preparing for the exam, e) taking the exam, and f) any further steps before receiving the certificate.

8. Be sure to consider in which country or countries you hope to work. Certification requirements may be different, and you may have to re-do part or all of them if you move to a different country.

9. Is there anything you can do now to prepare yourself / to streamline the process? x Be sure to consider unique requirements of your career path.

Make use of the following resources:

The internet

Resources available in your major, such as:

Any written and/or library materials

PRESENTATION REQUIREMENTS

Summarize the information above in your own words. Pretend you were explaining the information to an English-speaking friend. Explain it clearly and step-by-step.

Length guideline: Your presentation should be at least 5, minimum to 12 minutes, maximum.

Content: Your first slide must include all the names and student numbers of your team. You also must have a slide that previews your material. Finally, your last slide must consist of a bibliography (which is a works cited page or a list of resources), including any interviews you did. Consult the internet or the instructor for guidelines for how to cite interviews, if necessary. Your bibliography should contain at least three sources minimum.