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Career Progress

Career Program Area


Career Progress is a second and third year student career program area. The transcript on page 3 of the National application must provide proof of second- or third-year curriculum status.

Individual Registration - For Student Participants

Individual registration will occur at the national conference during the Career Progress Case Study exercise and orientation. Applications must be submitted during that orientation. Do not turn in applications at the registration desk. The specific time for the Case Study and orientation session
will be listed in the conference program. All participants must bring paper, pencils and or pens to write with during the Case Study portion of this event. Participants will be allowed up to 2 hours to complete their responses to the Case Study.

General Information

Career Progress may begin when a student completes the Career Planning Program, which includes a personal education plan for learning the competencies necessary for employment in a chosen career cluster of agriculture. Such a plan will normally include formal study, supervised on-the-job
training and perhaps unsupervised work experience. After completion of the Career Planning application, the student may begin the Career Progress Program. Recognition should be given to students who have prepared outstanding career plans and have followed through with them. Participants in Progress are not required to have participated in Planning; either formally or informally. It is advised to complete the Planning application as a study guide for developing the Progress application and to serve in the educational process and self evaluation. Advisors and students, please consult the Planning for Progress (P4P) Handbook for specific educational instructions relating to Career Progress and also for Career Planning.

A Career Progress Program area will be held for each of the 8 areas listed on the Planning for Progress chart. Please note that Animal Systems has two specific and different categories. A student can only participate in one Animal System category.

General Rules

Participants will be eligible to compete in only one Career Progress Area at the national level per year. THIS IS A SECOND- AND THIRD-YEAR STUDENT EVENT.

The application form required for Career Progress is provided in the PAS handbook and website and must be completed by each student. Use of any other form will subject the participant to a 7.5% deduction (30 points) in total points possible for scoring. In the event of a computer form or printer malfunction, it is instructed that the CPA coordinator provides flexibility during form evaluation. Other point deductions will occur based on the rules outlined below.

Career Progress Specific Rules

  1. Applicant must be a current dues-paying member of the local, state and National PAS.
  2. Each state must inform the PAS executive director of the names of all state qualifiers (3) by the due date set by National PAS.
  3. This Career Program Area is for Second- and Third-year students only. This needs to be verifiable by transcript page 3. The CPA coordinator and CPA supervisor will make the final decision regarding this matter.
  4. Each state may enter three (3) participants per award area. No student shall enter a Career Planning and a Career Progress Career Program area in the same year at the state and national levels. No student shall enter more than one Career Progress area at the state and national level in any year.
  5. State winners will not be eligible for further Career Progress Awards in the same Career Progress area in future years.
  6. Two (2) copies of each national participant’s application must be submitted at the Case Study portion and orientation at the national conference by the time stated in the conference schedule. Coordinator will provide flexibility in dealing with orientation schedules in other CPA orientations and individual obligations during this time period.
  7. At the national conference, each applicant will be given up to two hours to prepare a written solution, response, or answer to a Case Study relating to their Career Progress area. A Case Study may be common to more than one Progress area.
  8. Each participant will provide their own paper, pencils or pens during the Case Study portion of this event.
  9. Any use of an electronic, digital, or other technology device during the Case Study is prohibited and will result in the participant being disqualified.
  10. Applications must be submitted on white 8 ½ by 11 inch paper and stapled in upper lefthand corner. Do not put in a folder. Each violation will result in a 20 point deduction on the score sheet.
  11. Application title page must contain the specific information relating to the award area.
  12. Applications must have nine pages and must be placed in numerical order. The specific order of pages is listed below. 20 point deduction if pages out of numeric order.
  13. Page 5 of the Career Progress application shall be developed using not more than 20 competencies. Competency sentences or phrases must be one typed line only.
  14. For the benefit of each participant, a general briefing session led by judges may be conducted after all interviews are completed. When applicable, this objective may be accomplished by participation at the industry luncheon.
  15. In the event of a tie, the Practical Problem point total will serve as the tiebreaker. In the event of a further tie, the tiebreaker will be the Goals score. This tiebreaker would be then followed by Goals Discussion, Occupational Experience and Financial Management as viewed on the score sheet.
  16. After scoring, the applications may be distributed as follows: (a) one to the PAS corporate sponsor, and (b) one returned to the applicant.
  17. Score sheets will be returned to participants. Judges will also provide general written comments to each participant via the critique sheet on page 8.
Checklist of required pages and required information shown below. Application must be developed using 8 ½ by 11 inch, white paper and stapled in the upper left corner. 20 point deduction per rule infraction or violation. Pages will be submitted in numerical order.

Page Number
 Page Description Other Information About Page
 1 Title Page Must have Progress area title listed correctly as listed on the PAS website and in the PAS National Handbook. 
 2 Resume
Must be one page – there are no exceptions. White paper. 20 point deduction per rule.
 3 Transcript
Can be multiple pages. Must prove second or third year status.
 4 Goals
 From Career Planning or developed new if more than one revision.
 5 Competencies
Not more than 20, one line per phrase or sentence. 20 point deduction if more than one line is used.
 6 Financial Management
General Information 		 Half page per topic area.
 7 Occupational Experience  Dedicated to communicating how occupational experience is incorporated into curriculum and in meeting career goals.
 8 Critique Sheet  Must have Award Area and Name
 9 Score Sheet  Must have Award Area, Name, Institution, and Address 

A reminder, 2 copies of this completed application need to be turned in at the Case Study exercise portion of this event at the National Conference.

Call Back Rule

According to the number of participants and according to the number of event judges available, there may be a need to conduct more than one section in any specific Planning for Progress event. Students need to know up front that the top participants per section, when this rule applies, may need to reserve time following the event for a final call-back. New interviews with all judges of the event would then be conducted at that final call-back.

Thank you letters for the National Sponsor and event judges are not required but are highly encouraged.