Career Discovery Week
Introducing public high school students to the world of work and the extraordinary range of career choices that New York City employers offer.
About Career Discovery Week
Launched in 2020 as a joint initiative between the Partnership for New York City and New York City Public Schools, Career Discovery Week brings high school students into some of the city’s most vibrant and important workplaces for exciting hands-on career exploration.
To date, more than 200 of the city’s major employers have joined forces to build a bridge from the city’s classrooms to its workplaces. More than 11,000 public high school students have had the chance to gain a better understanding of the future job opportunities available to them as they spend a day at worksites, learning about varied industries and wide-ranging career possibilities.
Career-Connected Learning
Career Discovery Week is part of FutureReadyNYC, a NYC Public Schools Student Pathways initiative that focuses on career-connected learning, and provides work-based learning opportunities and career exposure to high school students.
Schools have been matched with public and private sector employers based on alignment between curricula and industry sector: students from the Bronx Academy of Letters visited Hearst to learn about the world of publishing; students from the Business of Sports School visited the NBA; students from the Theatre Arts Production Company School participated in programming by the Shubert Organization.
Career Discovery Week builds on a 2018 research report developed by the Partnership and Oliver Wyman. It demonstrates the impact that the business community and employee volunteers can have on young people in New York City by exposing them to career paths.
Career Discovery Week Activities
The organizations hosting students come from a broad cross-section of New York City’s diverse and dynamic industry base in the public and private sector, including financial services, transportation, technology, media, aviation, consumer goods, real estate, healthcare, government, and entertainment.
Past hosts and activities include:
Hearst – Students toured the Good Housekeeping Institute, decorated cupcakes with Food Network Magazine, wrote their own headlines, and learned about careers from colleagues across the organization.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. – Students participated in technology-themed career development programs, joined a build-a-thon with employee volunteers, and met with the data and analytics team to learn about their work.
NBA/WNBA – Students learned about a career in sports, how to build their personal and professional brand, and what the business of basketball looks like.
New York City Transit – Students rode in the MTA’s new EV bus to tour the Zerega Bus Maintenance and Training Facility and participated in an MTA bus simulator exercise.
NYSE – Students toured the historic stock exchange and presented mock company pitches.
PwC – Students attended a creative computing and technology demonstration followed by a career readiness workshop, panel, and hands-on activity requiring collaboration and teamwork.
The Howard Hughes Corporation – Students visited the brand-new Tin Building & Pier, and worked on a “build your own city” project.
Tishman Speyer – Students got a behind the scenes tour of Rockefeller Center and Radio Park, learned best practices for interviewing, and heard from employees with a range of career pathways during a panel and Q&A.
Career Discovery Week Impact
200+
Employers
11,000+
Public High School Students
5
Boroughs Reached