Careers | Blue Ridge Career Pathways

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Career Clusters

There's a perfect career out there waiting for you - and this guide will help you find it! Virginia uses 17 different Career Clusters to organize all the different types of jobs in the world. Think of these clusters like big categories that group similar careers.

What Are Career Clusters? Career Clusters are like family groups - they group jobs that use similar skills or work in related fields. For example, if you love animals, explore the Agriculture, Food & Natural Resources cluster. If you're great with computers, check out the Information Technology cluster. If you want to help people, the Human Services or Health Science clusters might be perfect for you!

A Note to Families

Career Bingo

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Today, you need math, language arts, and technology skills for EVERY job.

Math and science intensive jobs are outpacing job growth at a ratio of 3:1 (meaning there are 3 math and science intensive jobs to every 1 job that is not).

When it comes to earning big without spending big on college, it pays to go with specialized or technical degrees.

Careers in fields such as health care, manufacturing, and information technology offer median earnings of up to $55,000 or more for graduates with an associate’s degree.

Career Consortium

Collaborators

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Agriculture, Foods, & Natural Resources

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Agriculture, Food & Natural Resources: Feed the world and protect our planet using drones, GPS-guided tractors, and fruit-picking robots! Whether you want to grow organic food, create clean energy, or protect wildlife, this field offers over 400,000 jobs in Virginia alone.

Architecture & Construction

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Architecture & Construction: Design and build the future using 3D printers, virtual reality, and brick-laying robots! From creating smart buildings to constructing bridges, this hands-on field is projected to create 225,000 jobs in Virginia alone for people who love to build and create.

Arts, AV Technology, & Communications

Arts, A/V Technology & Communications: Turn your creativity into a career by designing video games, creating viral videos, and building websites using AI, virtual reality, and drone technology! Work from anywhere and share your creative projects with millions of people online while exploring new jobs that didn't even exist a few years ago.

Business Management & Administration

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Business Management & Administration: Run companies and make important decisions using AI tools that predict customer behavior and data visualization software that turns numbers into easy-to-understand charts! This is Virginia's largest career cluster with over 600,000 jobs, where you can start your own business or help any organization succeed.

Education & Training

Education & Training: Use virtual reality to take students to ancient Egypt, create interactive learning games, and help people of all ages discover new skills! With over 350,000 jobs in Virginia, this growing field lets you make a real difference in people's lives while using cutting-edge technology to make learning exciting.

Energy

Energy: Power the future with massive wind turbines taller than skyscrapers, underwater wave generators, and smart power grids that fix themselves! Join over 100,000 workers in Virginia helping create clean energy from the sun, wind, and ocean while building the technology that will power electric cars and entire neighborhoods.

Finance

Finance: Help people buy homes and save for retirement using mobile banking apps, AI fraud detection, and cryptocurrency technology! With over 200,000 jobs in Virginia, this field lets you protect people's money and guide important financial decisions using cutting-edge robo-advisors and blockchain systems.

Government & Public Administration

Government & Public Administration: Serve your community and keep America running smoothly using digital voting systems, smart city technology, and emergency alert systems that save lives! With over 800,000 jobs in Virginia (the most of any career cluster!), you can help citizens solve problems, protect national security, and make your community a better place to live.

Health Sciences

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Health Sciences: Save lives using robotic surgery, 3D-printed organs, and AI disease diagnosis while making a real difference in people's health! With over 400,000 jobs in Virginia and some careers growing by over 30% in the next decade, this field combines cutting-edge technology with helping others heal.

Hospitality & Tourism

Hospitality & Tourism: Create unforgettable experiences for people using VR travel tours, smart hotel rooms, and food delivery robots while working in exciting places like theme parks, cruise ships, and trendy restaurants! This $27 billion Virginia industry employs over 400,000 people and is perfect for those who love helping others have amazing experiences.

Human Services

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Human Services: Help people overcome challenges and live happier lives using virtual reality therapy, smart health-monitoring watches, and digital art programs that let kids express their feelings! With over 200,000 jobs in Virginia and careers growing 25% faster than average, you can make a real difference in your community while using amazing technology to help others.

Information Technology

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Information Technology: Create the apps on your phone, design video games, and protect the world from hackers using artificial intelligence, virtual reality, and robots that can perform surgery! With over 300,000 jobs in Virginia and careers growing 30% faster than average, this field lets you solve problems and build the technology that makes life easier for everyone.

Law, Public Safety, Corrections & Security

Law, Public Safety, Corrections & Security: Protect your community and solve crimes using body cameras, DNA testing, crime-predicting computers, and drones that search for missing people! With over 150,000 jobs in Virginia, this growing field lets you become a detective, paramedic, lawyer, or cybersecurity specialist while keeping people safe with cutting-edge technology.

Manufacturing

Manufacturing: Build the cars, smartphones, and everyday products we all use with 3D printers, precision robots, laser cutters, and augmented reality glasses that show step-by-step instructions! With over 230,000 jobs in Virginia, this field lets you work with cutting-edge technology while creating the amazing products that make modern life possible.

Marketing

Marketing: Create viral social media campaigns, design amazing store displays, and connect businesses with customers using AI-powered personalized ads, virtual reality product experiences, and 3D hologram displays! With over 180,000 jobs in Virginia and fast-growing careers in social media and digital marketing, you can turn your creativity into campaigns that millions of people will see.

Transportation, Distribution & Logistics

Transportation, Distribution & Logistics: Move packages and people around the world using self-driving trucks, delivery drones that fly to your backyard, and GPS systems that track millions of shipments in real-time! With over 200,000 jobs in Virginia growing faster than average, this field keeps the world connected through planes, ships, trucks, and exciting new technologies like hyperloop transportation.

STEM & Information Technology

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Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics (STEM): Change the world by designing rockets to Mars, creating life-saving medicines, and building AI that can diagnose diseases using quantum computers, 3D bioprinters that make human organs, and robots that explore the ocean depths! With over 350,000 jobs in Virginia growing 35% faster than average, this field lets you solve the biggest problems facing humanity.

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