Career & Financial Management Students Present Projects

Career & Financial Management course students at Huntington High School recently presented projects on a unit titled “The Cost of Education.

“Classes had until early March to determine two possible careers they would be interested in pursuing after high school and all of the requirements needed either academically or physically to obtain that job,” teacher Bryan Outsen said. “Next, they were asked to research any school they would like to attend to obtain the degree needed for the career and calculate the total cost of what that education would be. Finally, with all of this data students had to find the ‘break-even point’ of how long it would take them to pay off their education based on the median salary for the career of their choice and then make a decision on their preferred career based on their findings.”

The annual “discovery week” when students do research is always eye opening to them, but the most impressive part of the project is the presentation week. “Each student goes on stage in the Heritage Room and presents their project to the class, with their prepared slides behind them,” Mr. Outsen said. “After explaining their job, college, and break-even point research, they face a Q & A session from the crowd, followed by a brief reflection on the performance, as the audience grades each presenter based on Pacing/Sense of Urgency, Clarity, Professionalism and Content Knowledge.”

A wide range of careers were explored this year, from both those that required little to no college, such as cosmetology, electrical lineman, military personnel, department of transportation worker and bakery owner, to those that required extensive degrees, like criminal defense attorney, clinical therapist or international financial manager.

“This was my fourth year doing this project and this was one of the best groups of presentations I have seen in all of my time at Huntington,” Outsen said. “Students were calm and confident on stage and utilized all of our public speaking skills we focused on in the beginning of the semester to deliver professional quality presentations. I am excited to continue this project next year when CFM will be offered for three college credits through Stony Brook University during the 2026/27 school year.”