Ambassador Questions
As a volunteer speaking to students about your occupation and industry, you are likely to encounter some questions. Here is a list of common questions that students and their educators might ask you:
Expected from event participants
- About your Job
- What do you do? Describe the activities of a typical work day.
- Any challenges? | Is every day the same?
- What is the pay range for your job?
- What is your work schedule like? Holidays? Overtime?
- Skills and Training
- Do you use math on the job? What about science?
- What subjects are important to take while in middle and high school?
- What training or education is required of your job?
- What classes and training most prepared you with the necessary skills?
- What other skills are required of your job?
- Describe the importance of soft skills including work ethic with regard to your career.
- What does it cost to go to school for your job?
- About You
- What was your motivation for entering your career?
- Describe what you enjoy about your career.
- What are the most interesting things about your job?
- How did you get started working for your company?
- About your Organization
- Give a brief history of your company.
- What type of products does your company make?
- What benefits does your employer offer? Retirement, Medical Insurance, Vacation, Education Reimbursement, Possibility for Travel, etc.
- Do females work in the plant or only males?
- What attracted you to your company?
- About your Industry
- What is it like to work at a plant (Quality of life, etc)?
- Is the manufacturing industry family friendly?
- What are the industry expectations concerning attitude, background checks, drug testing, and safety?
- What advice would you give to students who are undecided on a career choice?
- How important is safety? What steps do you take to make sure the plant is safe?
- Secondary (High School) Educators Concern/Questions:
- Why should we steer students towards the manufacturing industry?
- Answer: There are many high-wage, high-demand careers available in the Southeast Texas area. Most only require 2-year Associates Degrees and related certifications. Additionally, most area community colleges offer Dual-Technical Credit whereby students can earn multiple certifications before graduating from high school. Therefore, they will be work-ready as soon as they graduate
- How do we get students interested in the manufacturing industry?
- Answer: By doing the following:
- Bring in speakers/ambassadors from manufacturing
- Manufacturers offering tours and open houses for high school students
- Manufacturers offering opportunities for Career Preparation students to work in the industry
- Manufacturers partnering with schools to provide mentors for students
- Manufacturers offering summer staff development training for teachers, counselors, and administrators to make them more familiar with the industry
- Representatives from manufacturing participating in CTE advisory boards
- Answer: By doing the following:
- What skills need to be developed early on?
- Answer: Both hard and soft skills. Hard skills will help get you the job, but a lack of soft skills will cause you to lose a job. Soft skills include personal skills (integrity, initiative, dependability, reliability, adaptability, professionalism), people skills (teamwork, communication, respect), workplace skills (planning, organizing, problem solving, decision making, business fundamentals, customer focus, working with tools and technology), and applied knowledge (reading, writing, mathematics, science, technology, critical thinking).
- Why should we steer students towards the manufacturing industry?
- Post-Secondary (College) Educators Concern/Questions:
- How do students get experience while obtaining their education?
- Answer: Companies such as Dow Chemical allow internships that provide students with the opportunity to learn and hone skills while getting paid for their training.
- What skills are needed to increase employability?
- Answer: Both hard and soft skills. Hard skills will help get you the job, but a lack of soft skills will cause you to lose a job. Soft skills include personal skills (integrity, initiative, dependability, reliability, adaptability, professionalism), people skills (teamwork, communication, respect), workplace skills (planning, organizing, problem solving, decision making, business fundamentals, customer focus, working with tools and technology), and applied knowledge (reading, writing, mathematics, science, technology, critical thinking).
- How do students get experience while obtaining their education?