Plan Your Career Path
Exploring Your Career Options
DSF has partnerships with the Educational Opportunity Center (EOC) at the Community College of Denver (Auraria campus) and Denver Economic Development & Opportunity (DEDO) to provide career assessment and counseling services to DSF scholars.
Educational Opportunity Center (EOC)
EOC offers free one-on-one educational advising and career exploration services, as well as admissions assistance and financial aid planning and support. To learn more about EOC’s services, or to schedule an appointment, please visit their website or call 303-352-TRIO (8746). Please be sure to mention that you are a DSF Scholar. EOC also offers drop-in advising on Fridays from 10:00am-3:30pm (no appointment needed). Stop by with your questions – located on the CCD campus, Cherry Creek Building, Room 137.
Denver Economic Development & Opportunity (DEDO)
DEDO offers free career exploration and job searching services at four Workforce Centers located around Denver. DEDO offers career assessment tools and workshops on online job searches, resume-writing, interviewing skills, and one-on-one support. To see the monthly calendar of Workforce workshops, to locate the center nearest you, or to sign up for an appointment or a workshop, please visit their website.
Other Resources
- The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment website provides detailed information about careers in Colorado, ranging from top occupations and employers to the skills and training needed for specific jobs. The site also offers tools for students to analyze their own skills and interests, then match those skills to different occupations. Click here to try out the many tools available.
Already know what industry you’re interested in? Check out these new interactive websites from the Colorado Department of Higher Education:
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- Build Colorado – learn about growing workforce shortage and career pathways in the construction industry, with many options for hands-on training through on-the-job mentorship, apprenticeship, and college-level programs
- Colorado Advanced Manufacturing Careers – discover the many career paths available in Colorado’s manufacturing industry (including logistics, quality assurance, engineering, and production), then explore hot jobs and educational options to prepare for those careers
- My Colorado Journey also offers tools to think about yourself and your interests to explore a variety of career options.
- ONet Online is another great resource for career exploration and information which provides detailed information about work activities for different careers plus salary and job opening data for Colorado and nationwide.
Preparing for Your Career: Education + Training Options
Once you’ve decided on a career you’d like to pursue, the next step is to get the education and training you need to get hired.
The Colorado Community College System offers an online tool to help you find programs in your chosen career field. Click HERE to try it out.
Considering Certificate or AAS Programs?
If you graduated from high school with a GPA between 2.0 and 2.749 and have met the other DSF Scholarship requirements, you will be required to enroll in a certificate or AAS (associate of applied science) program at one of our partner technical or community colleges in order to receive an award payment from DSF for your first year of college.
To be considered for a payment, you must:
- Enroll in a certificate or AAS program
- Declare which certificate or AAS program you are participating in (this step is not necessary at a technical college)
- Satisfy all other DSF Scholarship requirements
Financial Aid and Certificate Programs
Please be aware that some certificate programs DO NOT qualify for financial aid because they do not require sufficient credit hours. Often, certificates that are completed with fewer than 16 credit hours do not qualify for financial aid. Please contact your college’s financial aid office to determine whether the certificate program you’re considering is eligible for financial aid.
Declaring Your Certificate or AAS Program
For college-specific information about how to declare a certificate or AAS program, please contact your DSF college advisor or DSF Campus Contact.