Reality Checking It pays to give yourself a reality check. Make choices that are rooted in reality to achieve your goals more fully and efficiently. Align your financial and lifestyle goals with your career goals. Make more strategic education and career decisions. Discover more viable career paths. Experience fewer employment gaps; increase how consistently you are employed. Tools to Align Career, Financial, and Lifestyle Goals MIT Living Wage (Calculator) JumpStart Reality Check (Assessment) MassCIS360 Reality Check (Assessment)* MassCIS360 is free for all Massachusetts residents and highly recommended for: career assessments, occupation research, and education research. If you are not a GCC student, use the "Massachusetts Resident" tab to login. If you are a GCC student, use the following credentials the first time you log into the MassCIS360 site. Username: greenfieldcommc Password: greenfieldcommc Then fill in the short form to create your own MassCIS360 account. This will make it possible for you to save and refer to useful information within the MassCIS360 dashboard. Salary Research When using wage/salary research tools, please keep in mind that salaries can vary considerably from state to state, as well as region to region. For example, people in Western MA make, on average, 65 cents to every dollar made in Eastern MA. Highest Paying Jobs in MA Fastest Growing Careers in MA Careers with the Most Openings in MA Salary Search Tool MyPlan Salary Calculator Take an inventory of what skills and knowledge you have now and what your career(s) of interest would require. Then write down what you still need to learn as goals and action steps in your career plan, SMART Goal Worksheet, and calendar. Financial Literacy Resources Your Money, Your Goals – A Financial Literacy Toolkit by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Your Money, Your Goals – A Financial Literacy Companion Guide for People with Disabilities by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Behind on Bills – A Guide by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Relevant Career Exploration Processes & Resources Time Budget Sheet Career Planning Occupational Research – What do occupations involve and which is the best fit for you? Labor Market Information Research (LMI) – How can work-related data and analysis inform career choices? Marketable Skill / Development – What skills do I need for the careers I am interested in? Experiential Research – What hands-on and real-world experiences will reveal which jobs are the best “fit”? Education Research – What education options will inform and help you achieve your career/life goals?