What Are Career Pathways?

Did you know that you can explore potential careers or get a head start on preparing for the career you want while you're earning a high school diploma online? With Penn Foster’s High School Diploma with Career Pathways options, you’ll finish your regular subjects and then have five career-focused elective classes that can give you an introduction to a specific job or industry! Here’s what you need to know about how the pathway diploma works, your pathway options, and how to get started.

What are Penn Foster High School Career Pathways?

Penn Foster’s High School Career Pathways allow you to finish your high school diploma and take the first steps toward preparing for a future career or helping you narrow down your career interests, by combining traditional subjects like English, math, history, and science with five career-specific elective courses. Students can select a concentration from several in-demand fields - including healthcare, the veterinary industry, or skilled trades jobs - and take elective courses to learn the fundamentals of their potential career path!

We offer 11 career pathways concentrations; here’s what you need to know about each one:

What do students get out of enrolling in career pathways? | Does completing a career pathway mean you can go right into a job after graduation? | What are the steps you need to take to get a job after finishing a career pathway program? | What's the benefit of doing a pathway program? | Are the career pathway classes included in the cost of the high school diploma? | Do you need to choose a career pathway right away? | How does enrolling in a pathway program affect your transfer credits? | Do you get two diplomas when you graduate?

How the Automotive Career Pathway works

If you’re thinking about pursuing a job as a mechanic after you graduate from high school, the Automotive Career Pathway can be a great way to build some foundational auto repair skills! After you complete your standard high school classes, you’ll move on to your five auto repair electives. These electives will cover the basics, from safety procedures to how to diagnose and repair issues.

Auto repair technicians will generally need further education after graduating high school and earning ASE certification could be helpful to your career. After graduating from the High School Diploma with Automotive Career Pathway, your elective classes can be eligible to transfer to our Auto Repair Technician Career Diploma, which can help you get a head start on finishing your auto mechanic training.

Read more: 12 Biggest Myths About Online High School

How the Carpentry Career Pathway works

If you’re considering a career in construction in the future, you can learn more about basic carpentry and construction skills before graduating high school. In the High School Diploma with Carpentry Pathway, you’ll take your standard high school classes, then complete five carpentry-focused electives.

After graduating, you’ll have a head start on the Construction Trades Career Diploma since your carpentry electives in high school are transferable to the program.

Read more: How to Become a Carpenter Online

How the Childcare Career Pathway works

In the Child Care Professional Career Pathway High School Diploma, you’ll get to explore the fundamentals of becoming a daycare or preschool teacher before graduating high school. You’ll finish your traditional classes, like math and English, then move on to five electives that are geared toward the childcare field.

After graduating, you can either take the next steps toward starting a career – you don’t necessarily need any formal training to begin an entry-level career in childcare, though education can help you stand out to employers and earn more – or further your education through the Child Care Professional Career Diploma.

Read more: How to Become a Preschool Teacher

How the Culinary Arts Career Pathway works

The Culinary Arts High School Diploma Pathway is designed to help you explore your interest in cooking as a potential career while you finish high school. You’ll take five elective cooking courses that cover foundational cooking skills after you’ve completed your standard high school classes. These courses can help you decide whether a career in the culinary arts is for you, and even give you a head start toward furthering your education and training after graduation in the Penn Foster Catering Career Diploma Program.

How the Early College Prep Pathway works

If you know that your end goal is a college degree, you can start prepping for success while still in high school. In the High School Diploma with Early College Pathway, you’ll take advanced electives along with your foundational high school classes in order to best prepare you for the more challenging courses you’ll take in a degree program.

While not considered college-level classes, your college prep electives could potentially transfer to a degree program giving you a head start on the credits you need to earn an associate or bachelor’s degree.

Read more: How to Prepare for College in High School

How the Electrical Career Pathway works

The High School Diploma with Electrical Career Pathway can help you explore the basics of becoming an electrician after graduation. You’ll learn some foundational skills needed for the job while also completing your standard high school classes. Once you graduate, you’ll have a head start toward the Residential Electrician Career Diploma Program.

In order to become an electrician, you’ll need further training and licensure to qualify for employment.

How the Healthcare Career Pathway works

Healthcare jobs are constantly in demand and there are tons of opportunities in a variety of career paths in the industry. If you’re considering working in healthcare after high school, the High School Diploma with Healthcare Pathway Program can help you learn some skills that are fundamental to the field. You’ll also get a head start on a number of administrative focused healthcare careers through five electives that are transferable to our Medical Administrative Assisting, Medical Transcription, or Medical Billing and Coding Career Diploma Programs.

There are some careers in healthcare you can start right out of high school, but others that will require further education, certification, or licensing. So, if you have a specific job in mind for the future, you will want to research what you’ll need to do to qualify and meet minimum employer requirements.

Read more: Top 6 Careers in Allied Health

How the Information Technology Career Pathway works

IT professionals are needed in every industry and you can start preparing for a career in the field while you’re still in high school with the High School Diploma with IT Career Pathway. You’ll take five IT-focused electives after completing your traditional high school classes that cover the basics of working in the industry, helping you get a head start on furthering your training in our Associate Degree in Computer Information Systems.

How the Pharmacy Technician Career Pathway works

Pharmacy technicians play a vital role in retail and hospital pharmacies. Through the High School Diploma with Pharmacy Technician Pathway Program, you’ll learn some fundamental skills that can help you decide if this is the career for you – all while earning your high school diploma. Your five pharm tech focused electives will cover basic skills that can give you a head start on qualifying for a job in the field or furthering your training.

States have different regulations around the qualifications you need to work as a pharmacy technician. While in some states, you only need a high school diploma to do the job, others require formal training and certification. Make sure you check your state requirements before taking the next steps toward a career in the industry.

Read more: How to Become a Pharmacy Technician

How the Plumbing Career Pathway works

Learn the fundamentals of being a plumber while you finish your high school diploma. Through the High School Diploma with Plumbing Career Pathway, you’ll complete your standard high school classes then learn the basics of plumbing through five elective classes. These classes can be transferable to the Plumber Career Diploma to help you complete your training!

There are often different requirements for being a plumber depending on the state and even county you live in, so it’s best to check into your local requirements before investing in any formal training. Many plumbers do need to have some formal training, licensing, and may need to complete an apprenticeship to fully qualify for employment.

How the Vet Assistant Career Pathway works

If you want to work with animals after graduating high school, becoming a vet assistant can be a great first step. You can get a head start on a rewarding job while earning your high school diploma with our High School with Veterinary Assistant Career Pathway program. You’ll take your standard high school classes, then complete five vet-focused electives that can help you build some foundational skills you may need on the job. These classes can also give you a head start on further training in the Veterinary Assistant Career Diploma.

Read more: How to Become a Vet Assistant

What do students get out of enrolling in career pathways?

There are many benefits to enrolling in one of the career pathways options, from the ability to explore a potential career to getting a head start on earning credits toward furthering your education in the industry you're interested in. Here’s what you need to know about the career pathway options and why they could be a good fit for your online high school experience.

Read more: How to Prepare for College in High School

Does completing a career pathway mean you can go right into a job after graduation?

It depends. Not all jobs require you to have more education than a high school diploma to start and almost all positions will involve some on-the-job training, so for roles that don’t require further education or certification, you can start applying right after graduation.

Other jobs, however, will require you to enroll in a formal training program or earn a degree past high school. And even then, those requirements can vary by state. For example, in one state, you just need a high school diploma to become a pharmacy technician, while others will require you to have formal education after high school, sit for and pass a certification exam, and even register with your state board of pharmacy.

By completing a high school diploma with career pathway electives, you can start with a foundation for the career you want to pursue after graduation and could have a head start on any further education. If you don’t need a diploma or degree to go into the line of work you’re interested in, the career pathway electives you took could help you stand out from other applicants.

Read more: A Parent’s Guide to Online High School

What are the steps you need to take to get a job after finishing a career pathway program?

Again, it depends on the job you’re looking for! For many of the career pathway programs, your next step will be to decide if that’s really the career you want. A big benefit of the career-focused electives is that you get to explore something that might be interesting to you in the future … and if it’s not something you want to do after you graduate, that’s okay; you’ve still earned your high school diploma and can start looking at other job paths.

If you do want to keep pursuing that career path, you’ll move on to the next step in your education, which could be a career diploma or college degree. Your elective classes are generally transferable to a comparable Penn Foster career or college program, so that means you’ll already have a couple courses out of the way.

From there, you’ll complete your next program and, if applicable, sit for any national or state certification exams.

Read more: 10 Jobs You Can Get With an Online Degree

If you don’t choose to further your education with Penn Foster after high school, what’s the benefit of doing a pathway program?

Maybe, after completing your high school diploma, you’ve decided to go the traditional route of in-person education. That’s great! However, the electives you took in your career pathway diploma aren’t necessarily transferable to other schools. That doesn’t mean that your hard work was wasted, though. By completing these electives, you’ve learned some of the basic knowledge and skills that can help you feel confident in pursuing a diploma or degree and give you a bit of a leg up over other students who are coming into the career training completely new.

Read more: How a High School Diploma Can Help Your Career

Are the career pathway classes included in the cost of the high school diploma?

Yes, the career pathway classes are included in tuition and do not cost extra! Your electives, even if they’re career pathway electives, are still part of your standard high school tuition.

Do you need to choose a career pathway right away?

You won’t begin your elective classes until you’ve completed all of your standard courses, so there is time to change your mind if you decide you want to pursue a career pathway or switch pathways. As long as you haven’t started your first elective, you can change your pathway any time.

How does enrolling in a pathway program affect your transfer credits?

If you’re transferring credits from another high school to Penn Foster, it’s important to know that that may impact your career pathway program. In order to complete the High School Diploma with Career Pathway, you need to have five electives available to fill with your career-focused classes. If you completed electives at your previous school and they transfer in, you may not be able to take advantage of the career pathways unless you choose to lose credit for those classes and take the full five electives required.

Read more: Your Guide to Transfer Credits

Do you get two diplomas when you graduate?

No. When you graduate from a career pathway, you’ll receive your normal high school diploma. You’ll also receive a certificate of completion showing you completed the five elective courses, but this certificate isn’t considered a diploma and can’t be used as proof of completing a longer training program.

Learn more about whether a career pathway is right for you

Not sure if a career pathway is right for you or if you should enroll in the standard High School Diploma Program? Our expert Admissions Specialists can help! Give them a call at 1-888-427-6500 to discuss your options and find the best fit for you.