Personalized Student Learning Plan 

Name: Dennis Sema Block: 8 Date Updated: 1 - 24 -18

Part I: Career Paths

My Career First Choice Careers: Pathways to this Career: (Military,

Clusters: Apprenticeship, Technical School,
2-Year College, 4-Year College)

● Psychology Cognitive Psychologist 4-Year college

● Film
● Political Film director 4-Year college
Science
Political Scientist 4 Year-college

Bus cleaner Directly entering working force

Second Choice Careers: Pathways to this Career: (Military,

(Backup Plan) Apprenticeship, Technical School,
2-Year College, 4-Year College)

Biologist 4-Year college

Economist 2-Year college

My Top Military My Top My Top My Top 2-Year My Top 4-Year If I started a

Careers: Apprenticeship Technical School Careers: College Business:
Careers: School Careers: Careers:

● Military ● N/A ● N/A ● Economist ● Psychologi ● Bus

Psychologi st cleaner
st

Part II: Career Plan

Refer to the ​Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook​ for information

Career Name Pathway Education/ Salary Benefits Disadvantages

Degree Required

Cognitive 4-Year College Doctoral - $87,330 ● Researching ● Possible

Psychologist Secondary mental large scale
Education perception debt.
of language ● School may
and skill is take long
fulfilling and depending
has been a on work
major ethic and
interest. school.
● High pay.
● Long period
of schooling
is necessary
 and worth it.

Film director 4-Year college Masters - $68,440 ● A “fun” ● An

(optional) Secondary job that occupati
Education can lead on for
to those
relatively that are
good naturally
pay. creative.
● An ideal ● Lack of
job for connecti
those ons may
creative lead to a
and downfall.
ambitiou
s such as
myself
and
many
others,

Political 2-Year college Associates - $57,750 ● A vast ● Finding

Scientist Secondary interest in weak
Education politics sources
and and bias
economi argumen
cs makes ts may
this disrupt
career a study.
potential ● Job may
option. be boring
● Pay is for some.
sufficient.
● Extensive
political
knowledg
e would
make the
job more
fulfilling.

Part III: Choosing a School (if Military, look for an ROTC program)

Majors that will lead to my Career: Other Majors I’m Interested in:

● Masters, Doctoral degree ● Film, Political Science, Sociology

Top 5 Schools: Location: Tuition: Benefits: Disadvantages: Added to

Naviance? Y/N

Pace Univ. NYC $41,333 ● Urban ● Not as Y

environment competitive
, great as other
programs. schools.

Fordham Uni. NYC $47,317 ● Ranked very ● Very high Y

 high tuition, not
academicall the best of
y. locations in
NYC.

Seton Hall Uni. South Orange, $38,072 ● Great ● Surrounding Y

NJ programs area is not
and the best.
sufficient
tuition.

Rutgers Uni. New Brunswick, $32,191 ● Large ● Some Y

NJ school, yet faculty may
easy to be more into
navigate research
● Good than
acceptance students.
rate

Philadelphia Philadelphia, $35,702 ● Great 2-year ● Post-gradua Y

school of the PA school, great tion
arts programs employment
may be
uncertain.

Career Plan​:
The set in stone Career Plan I have chosen is receiving additional schooling to become a
Cognitive Psychologist. I am most interested in this career because not only does it fit my interests of
Psychology and mental perception studies, but it also fits into my criteria of wanting to get a major at
a University which was always a goal of mine and the salary the occupation offers is tolerable and
sufficient. In addition, the career path I chose in order to achieve this is obviously first receive a High
School diploma, go to a community college to get 2 years out of the way before heading to Pace
University with transferred credits thereafter. Once at Pace, I will work to receive a Bachelor’s degree
in Psychology and due to the fact that this action would not be enough to propel in the field of
Psychology in terms of careers offered, I will work to achieve a masters and later a doctoral degree.
The degree needed to progress in the branch of Cognitive Psychology. In terms of what I need to do in
High School to prepare for this career, I must take high-level classes including AP classes next year
and work take as many SAT’s as possible for a better chance to get into my desired University.

Backup Plan:
If my career plan does not necessarily go as planned, I do have something of a backup plan. If
a 4-Year school proves to be more difficult than I had intended or initially thought, or if something
happens in the family which would negatively impact my additional schooling, I would definitely
attend a college to get an associates degree and other degrees to help me progress in Economics or
Sociology. This would be the perfect alternative for me educationally because I have a huge interest
in economic systems, conditions and Social Sciences all together and it is rather simple and easy to
grasp for me. Alternatively, Film is another viable alternative. If a dual-major between Psychology and
Film would not work for me at Pace, and if many options become limited, film seems like a viable
alternative option for me because while I do enjoy it, I feel making a career out of it in my specific case
is rather possible. Nevertheless, the door would be open for a backup plan if my initial career plan fails
to yield any positive results.