What’s so special about your program? The CAPS career assessment and exploration programs have been used successfully to help thousands of individuals in business and educational settings for over 15 years. We use a unique way of combining assessment instruments and applying the results to today’s labor market. What types of people do you work with? All sorts of individuals. High school and college students trying to decide on a course of study, career changers looking for a new path in life, unemployed individuals who’d like to re-enter the job market in a job they would enjoy, retired folks who’d like to spend some of their free time in a fulfilling avocation or part-time job, those making a small part-time salary and professionals making over 80k a year. They all have one thing in common… they want to improve the quality of their lives through finding meaningful work. Are you going tell me what I should do for work? Only you have the answer to what would be best for you. However, I can and will provide guidance and make suggestions for you to consider, given your interests, skills, personality, values, and unique mix of abilities and aptitudes. How much work is involved in this program? You are going to have to work hard both in our sessions and outside of our sessions. The ACE Program involves between one and two hours of homework between each session, and the entire process (including homework) involves between seven and ten hours depending on how much assistance you need and how much work you devote to the process. Many clients consider the process to be interesting and fun! How many sessions are involved? There are four sessions involved in the main ACE Program. Most clients leave these sessions with what they need and don’t need additional help. For those that need or want more in-depth help, there is a follow-up program. Learn more about the ACE Program. What happens in the sessions? In the sessions we talk a lot about you, look at assessment results, teach you about the labor market, show you the best ways to do research into the labor market, and help you to decide on the best career matches for you. You'll also create a blueprint of what the ideal career would be for you. This blueprint of the "perfect career", will allow you to be able to look at just about any occupation and see how closely it fits with your ideal career, and how appropriate it would be for you. What do I get to take home with me? You’ll get your assessment results, the blueprint for your ideal career, a picture of the labor market and where you fit in it, the CAPS Career Explorer (a 28 page, up-to-date, document describing hundreds of occupations, the training for those occupations, and the average pay and opportunity for each of the occupations), information on how to do effective career research, and a number of other career related handouts. All-in-all, you’ll have over 50 pages of career materials. And, the best part is that you’ll understand all of those pages, and how to use them to make career choices and reach your career goals. What qualifies you to be a "Career Counselor?" Please see the About John section of the About John page. How much does this program cost? We charge $40 a session for four sessions - a total of $160, and you pay as you go, on a per-session basis (we will not accept the entire fee up-front). Also, in keeping with the idea that different individuals advance at different paces, our sessions may run more than an hour long to provide extra time if needed. There is also an optional follow-up available for those that need or want more in-depth help. Learn more about the ACE Program. I've been looking around and most career counseling or coaching costs more than your program. Why is your's so inexpensive? Yes, believe it or not, I get this question occasionally. If you've checked out my experience, you'll know that lack of skill or education is not the answer to why I charge the fees I do. Neither am I desperate for clients - I do quite a few things, so I can only take on so many career counseling clients. So, what is the answer? Practically speaking, a big plus is having a home office without a lot of expenses. But, even with a home office, I could charge more. I guess the real answer lies in my philosophy. I believe the choice of a fulfilling career is so important both for individuals and for our society, that I want to open it up to as many people as I can - even those that might not be able to afford the standard fees for Professional Career Counseling. Career Counseling is a deeply fulfilling experience for me. I like to think that I am doing it for more than just the money, and keeping my client's fees at reasonable rates helps me to remember that. That's it, plain and simple. Am I going to know exactly what I want to do when I leave you? If you have an idea in mind, and are looking for confirmation, there is a chance you’ll know exactly what you want to do when you leave. If you have some ideas, you’ll probably leave with some ideas confirmed, some ideas not confirmed, and some new career choices to consider. If you have no idea what it is you want to do, you’ll probably leave with a better idea of what you’re looking for and a manageable number of careers to further explore. Clients usually leave with anywhere between five and 15 careers to research in more depth. After I've completed my research, and I know what I'd like to do, do you offer resume writing, job search help, or school admissions assistance? Although I have experience in all of the above areas, I do not offer them as a part of my services. Mainly, this is because there are experts in these fields who are more interested in, and can do these things much better than I. So, rather than provide you with less than optimum help in these areas, when you are ready, contact me. Depending on your specific need, I'll use my referral network to direct you to some very experienced professionals who'll be able to help you with all of your job search needs and/or the school admissions process. There is no fee for these referrals, and in some cases I have been able to arrange that you'll receive the services at a discount. Please contact us if you have questions or if you are ready to get started pursuing a new career/life path. [ Home ] [ About ] [ Services & Fees] [ FAQs ] [ Contact Us ] [ Related Resources ] [ Articles ] [ ACE Program ] John Scuto's Career & Academic Planning Services 63 Deerfield Road Nottingham, NH 03290 (603)734-2233 Located in Southern New Hampshire, just east of Manchester & Concord, NH and just west of Portsmouth, NH © Career & Academic Planning Services - All rights reserved