Free Career Match
Resources
Helpful links to incredibly useful information about careers, colleges, scholarships, and more
Careers
Explore career options, job requirements, and detailed occupational information.
Simply click on the name and it will link you to that resource.
Highly detailed information from US Bureau of Labor & Statistics (USBLS) on 1,000 jobs
Simplified and concise summary of 1,000 jobs from USBLS
Career information for many jobs which includes step-by-step "how to become" instructions
Outstanding resource for exploration, assessment, videos, training, and job search planning
Additional resource for steps to becoming a certain profession
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National Career Development Association - Self-help career planning
College Info
Research colleges, majors, and educational pathways
Absolutely incredible resource for exploring thousands of colleges giving tremendous detailed information with highly searchable parameters. Best resource ever!
Excellent resource with detailed college and career information
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The Lord's Library - Best Christian colleges in each state
Alternative Credits
Earn ACE (American Council on Education) College Credits at a VERY low cost
Check each college for specific courses and amount of credits they'll accept
Earn college credits at your own pace for a VERY low flat monthly rate ($95 - unlimited classes)
Earn college credits at your own pace for a VERY low flat monthly rate ($99 - unlimited classes)
Fee + per course. More traditional than Sophia or Study but still much less expensive than colleges
Online 4 yr Schools
Earn your Bachelor's Degree 100% online at a fraction of the cost of Brick & Mortar Schools
Respected flat rate competency based college with many majors
Univ of Massachusetts extension offering both instructor-led and self-paced (MyPath) courses at a very reasonable price
Established online school offering both Flexpath (self-paced) and Guided Path (Instructor led) classes
Non-College Based Careers
Explore skilled trades and apprenticeship opportunities that don't require a college degree
Official U.S. government resource for finding apprenticeship programs in skilled trades and technical careers
College Prep & Admissions Help
Get help with test prep, essays, and college admissions process
Local resource for ACT/SAT prep, essay review, & personal counseling (Central Illinois)
Personal help with admissions for elite schools ($4,299 to $10,999)
Free useful resources from College Advisor (US News)
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College Prep Checklist
College preparation checklist for all 4 years of high school. Created by Free Career Match to supplement info from HS Guidance Counselor
Scholarships
Find funding opportunities for your education
Most well-known scholarship search site
Comprehensive scholarship matching and application platform
Scholarship search and application tools from Sallie Mae
Large database of scholarship opportunities and college funding information
Scholarship search tools from the creators of the SAT
Scholarship platform that streamlines the application process
Scholarship search platform with easy application process
College search and scholarship matching platform
Government-sponsored scholarship search and financial aid information
Scholarship search integrated with college rankings and reviews
Specialty Training
Specialized training programs for entrepreneurship and creative careers
Outstanding local (Peoria) resource for prospective entrepreneurs
Excellent online course for video editing taught by industry experts (cost is approx $2,500)
Excellent online video course for content creators (includes free and paid content)
Personality
Understand your personality type and how it relates to career choices
Excellent MBTI resource combined with RIASEC
Popular free personality test based on Myers-Briggs type assessment
Professional personality assessments and career guidance tools
The official Myers-Briggs Type Indicator assessment
Strengths-based assessment similar to CliftonStrengths with free basic analysis and paid detailed reports
Online RIASEC (short form) test with career filtering
Podcasts & Videos
Listen and watch expert advice on careers, debt avoidance, and job searching
In this 24 minute video Jensen Huang details precisely how traditional universities will be forced to adapt - or fail. The significance for parents & students is profound.
Michael Horn of Harvard Business School presents an extremely compelling case about the future of traditional & online schools, boot camps, micro-schools, and more!
Outstanding YouTube video explaining how parents came to think college is the "only way" for their children to succeed.
Revealing look at the challenges of finding a job in 2025 while explaining the BEST way to get your first job after graduating college
12-1/2 min of "must see" video that every parent & student should see to understand how traditional schools are failing to equip their students for the impact of AI.
Dave Ramsey video on the perils of student debt
2023 podcast with John Vanne interviewing Greg Gipp on Student Debt Avoidance and how he came to create this program (now known as Free Career Match)