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Career Awareness

Explore What’s Possible

At FIRST®, students build career confidence by exploring real-world STEM roles, collaborating with industry mentors, and learning from alumni and professionals across engineering, healthcare, entertainment, and beyond. Whether they’re heading to college, technical training, or directly into the workforce, students leave FIRST with the skills and insight to take their next step.
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Student Leadership

What Does It Mean to Be Career Ready?

Career readiness isn’t just about knowing what you want to do;  it’s about having the experience, confidence, and skills to pursue it. Every student builds this foundation through hands-on learning and real-world exposure. 
Explore Alumni Resources See Mentorship at FIRST

Within FIRST, students:

  • Collaborate with mentors from leading STEAM fields.
  • Take on real-world team roles in engineering, business, and communications.
  • Practice problem-solving, communication, and project planning.
  • Discover diverse career paths through webinars, blogs, and videos.
  • Gain the confidence to navigate their future, whether it leads to college, certification, or the workforce.

Your FIRST Role Could Be Your Future Job

FIRST teams function like small businesses and every student has a role to play. Whether designing a robot, coding autonomous systems, managing budgets, or building a brand, students gain experience that mirrors real careers in engineering, manufacturing, marketing, and more. These roles give students a safe and supported space to try out future pathways and build valuable skills, all while having fun and solving real-world challenges. Try our Kahoot! quiz to learn how team roles connect to career paths.
Take the Career Pathways Quiz
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FIRST Prepares Young People for the Future

Participation in FIRST has a lasting impact, with students gaining valuable workforce skills and maintaining a strong interest in STEM over time.
Explore FIRST Impact

Career Videos

These short videos and panel discussions feature engineers, innovators, recruiters, and FIRST alumni sharing their personal career journeys and how the skills built through FIRST helped them succeed.
Featured Video: Career Shorts with Executive Recruiter Ilene Rein

Tips from an executive recruiter on how to highlight your FIRST experience in job interviews, resumes, and volunteer work.

 

Also check out Ilene’s blog post, Discussing Your FIRST Experience in a Job Interview

More Career Videos:
  • MASTERPIECE™ Career Connection
    Hear from industry experts who helped shape the FIRST® LEGO® League MASTERPIECE season and use STEM and the arts in their careers.

Get Anywhere with FIRST

Every skill you gain, every challenge you tackle, and every question you ask moves you one step closer to the career that’s waiting for you.
Classroom to Career