A junior says she wants to work with animals. Her IEP has a postsecondary goal about it. But her schedule has no work experience, and when her mother asks, she is told the school "can look into it." By spring, nothing has happened.
Real work, even a little of it, teaches things a classroom cannot: what a job feels like, how it is paced, and whether the student actually likes it. This guide lists the main kinds of work experience, describes how they differ, and gives questions to ask before one starts. It is general information, not legal advice, and schools and agencies set their own programs.
Why work experience matters in the plan
The federal vocational rehabilitation regulation lists work-based learning experiences among the required pre-employment transition services for students with disabilities. It says such experiences may take place in school or after school, or outside the traditional school setting, including internships, and that they should be provided in an integrated environment in the community to the maximum extent possible. See pre-employment transition services.
The U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy lists job shadowing, internships, pre-apprenticeships, apprenticeships, and summer work experiences as forms of career preparation, and says timely career preparation and work-based learning help young people explore career interests and build soft and hard job skills.
In a transition IEP, a work experience can sit among the transition services that lead to an employment goal. See postsecondary goals examples.
Kinds of work experience
The Tennessee guide, produced by that state's education department with Vanderbilt University and TennesseeWorks, describes eight. The descriptions below are paraphrased, and the examples are invented.
| Kind | What it is | An invented example |
|---|---|---|
| Job shadowing | A career exploration activity in which a student observes a professional's workday | A student follows a veterinary technician for one day |
| School-based enterprise | A sustained, school-sponsored, student-led activity that produces goods or services for the school or community | A student-run coffee cart in the school lobby |
| Service learning | Hands-on volunteer service that connects with course goals | Students tend a community garden as part of a science class |
| Job sampling | Work that does not materially benefit the employer but lets a student spend time in a work setting to learn job tasks and soft skills | Three weeks in three hospitality jobs, one week each |
| Internship | A formal agreement in which a student is assigned specific tasks at a workplace for a set time | A student who wants to be a personal trainer interns at a gym |
| Mentoring | Pairing a student with a professional in a field of interest, or getting outside professional input on a student's work | A student interested in construction meets monthly with a contractor |
| Paid employment | A job in a competitive, integrated setting while still in school | A summer job at a grocery store |
| Apprenticeship | A formal, sanctioned work experience of long duration that teaches specific occupational skills | A training program in a building trade |
The guide also describes the role of a job coach in each, which varies from teaching job tasks to reinforcing soft skills to helping find lasting workplace supports.
What competitive integrated employment means
Section 361.5 defines competitive integrated employment as work performed full time or part time, including self-employment, that pays at least the higher of the federal or applicable state or local minimum wage and not less than the customary rate paid by the employer for the same or similar work, that is typically found in the community, that involves interaction with people without disabilities, and that offers opportunities for advancement similar to those for others. That is the standard that VR programs aim for, and it is a useful target to hold in mind as a student moves from exploring to doing. See supported employment overview.
Choosing a first experience
A good first experience matches where the student is.
- Starting out: Shadowing, a school-based enterprise, or service learning gives a low-pressure look at work.
- Building skills: Job sampling and short internships let the student try tasks and settings.
- Ready for more: Paid employment, longer internships, and apprenticeships ask for steadier skills.
- Aiming at a specific goal: Choose experiences that point at it. For a student who wants to work with animals, shadowing a veterinary technician and then a shelter internship make sense.
Each year, the team can move up a step. See course of study for transition for how to place experiences on a calendar.
Questions to ask
Reflection counts
A work experience teaches the most when the student thinks about it afterward. The Colorado education department's transition assessment page, which this site cites elsewhere, describes students reflecting after tryouts on whether they enjoyed the work, found it too easy or too hard, and could see themselves doing it long term. Those answers belong in the next assessment. A few questions to ask afterward: What did you like? What was hard? What would you do differently? Would you want a job like this?
Making it happen
Work experiences usually need a partner. Ask your child's case manager who at the school arranges them, whether the VR agency can arrange one, and whether any local employers or community programs already work with the school. A short email to the transition coordinator naming the student's interest and asking about options is a good start. Keep a record of what is offered and what happens. See vocational rehabilitation basics.
Work-experience mix-ups
- Waiting for senior year. Experiences take time to arrange, and early ones inform later ones.
- Starting with a paid job when the student has never tried one. A step-up path is gentler.
- Treating the experience as a favor. It is part of the plan.
- Skipping the reflection. The student's reaction is data.
- Forgetting transportation. A great placement fails if the student cannot get there.
Terms are in the glossary.