Career Advantage: Real-World Readiness Starts Here

Students can’t be what they can’t see. Help all learners move through a purposeful journey from early career awareness and exploration to real-world readiness with a Career Advantage™ from Project Lead The Way (PLTW). Discover how our scaffolded, multi-year pathways connect students with more than 280 careers, including some you may not know about.

Explore Career Connections

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Episode 1:

Creating a Career Advantage

Join us to discuss Career Advantage and how Project Lead The Way has been--and continues to be-- the leader in career discovery, career exploration, and career preparation for K12 schools nationwide.

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From Curiosity to Career Readiness

Equip PreK-12 students with the technical knowledge, transferable skills, and career confidence they need to thrive—no matter what profession or pathway they pursue. Through hands-on learning experiences that integrate future-ready technology and industry-relevant techniques, school districts with PLTW programs prepare all students for success in both the workforce and higher education.

By providing students with meaningful, hands-on learning experiences, they remain motivated, involved, and connected to their education. This not only sparks interest but also shows them how classroom learning directly impacts their future success. The result is improved attendance, heightened engagement, and better preparedness for life after high school.

Practical, career-connected activity-, project- and problem-based (APB) learning experiences that foster purpose and relevance in the classroom

Opportunities to explore and evaluate career paths, allowing students to gain clarity and confidently choose a trajectory

Developing transferable skills such as critical thinking, collaboration, ethical reasoning and communication serves students immediately and in the future. No matter what project or profession they pursue, students with strong transferable skills will remain adaptable in an evolving workforce. PLTW’s Career Advantage approach provides:

Built-in focus on problem-solving, creativity, critical thinking, ethical reasoning, communication, computational thinking and collaboration

Skill development that prepares students for whichever post-secondary path they choose—enrollment, enlistment or employment

Emphasis on the importance of adaptability and lifelong learning

All PLTW pathways are designed to connect to the standards and credentials you care about while strengthening college and career readiness outcomes across grade bands.

Connections to national and state standards

Pathways aligned with national career clusters for health science, information technology, advanced manufacturing, and STEM

Opportunities to obtain or prepare for college credit, industry-recognized credentials (IRCs), and work-based learning

PLTW  isn’t “curriculum in a box”—it’s designed to align with any school’s schedule, pacing, and goals. That makes building and growing programs possible as districts expand PLTW programs to create vertical alignment and reach more students with career-ready learning opportunities. 

Implement your vision, just like these schools did:

Making a large impact at a small school in Washington, IN

Establishing innovative practices and sustainable programs in Bakersfield, CA

Partnering with Chevron to build a STEM community in the Gulf Coast

Launching a STEM story for every student in Grenada, MS

Innovative Curriculum Fueled by Partnerships

Enhance education with PLTW programs developed through close collaboration with Fortune 500 companies, community employers, and leading universities. These partnerships ensure our programs stay current, cutting-edge, and connected with realistic workforce experiences.

Strong alignment with CTE and workforce priorities in rural, suburban, and urban settings
Opportunities to engage with community rooted industry partners who can mentor, advise, and invest locally
Learning experiences that build transferable skills, which 69% of today's job postings require

Explore Career Connections

Bringing Career Awareness to All Students

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Empowering Future Engineers and Industry Growth

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Giving Students Real-World Career Experience

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Collaborative Training Designed to Boost Confidence

As a nonprofit created by teachers and led by educators, we make sure schools have the program knowledge and resources they need to facilitate project-based learning and teach the curriculum with fidelity. With more than 12,600 teachers trained, our well-loved professional development is a critical part of every program’s success story.

See What Makes Our Training Unique

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Career Connections in PLTW Curriculum

Download the complete list of professions students get to explore in PLTW classes, including some you might not even know about!