Our Impact
Career exposure
works.
Career exposure is one of the few things that reliably moves a teen's economic trajectory. We have the data. Here is what it shows.
The Problem
The gap is not ambition. It is access.
Teens from low-income communities graduate knowing academic subjects, not how to make their way in a workforce that is changing faster than any curriculum can keep up with. Career exposure is a proven pathway to economic mobility. Right now it goes to the teens who need it least.
The career conversation is the central lever.
Career conversations with a trusted adult by age 15 are one of the strongest independent predictors of adult employment outcomes. Everything we build exists to make that conversation happen, and happen well.
OECD Career Readiness Research · 2021
Career uncertainty by 16 predicts disconnection.
Teens who can't picture a career by 16 are far more likely to be unemployed or disconnected from school and work by their mid-20s.
OECD Career Readiness Research · 2021
Most teens have seen fewer than five careers.
Usually whatever their parents do. The world has thousands of paths, and the teens with the least access to networks see the fewest of them.
How We Respond
01
Real career exposure
30-day simulated internships in real careers. 15 minutes a day. Students pick their path, build real skills, and see what a career actually feels like before they have to choose one.
02
In the classroom and in their pocket
On the web during class or program time, with every student in the room on the computers they already use. On the phone everywhere else. Same internship either way, so exposure doesn't stop at the bell.
03
A trusted adult in the room
The teens who shift their career thinking are almost always connected to an adult who knows they are doing it. We equip teachers, counselors, mentors, and parents to be that person, even if nobody ever did it for them.
Our Results
Increase in Action Orientation, the highest-gain dimension within our Future Orientation Score (FOS).
Pre and post · 1,000+ teens · Measured across our school and nonprofit program partners
Teens do not just feel better about the future. They act on it.
The Future Orientation Score (FOS) tracks how teens think about and move toward their futures across multiple dimensions. We measure before and after every program cycle.
Action Orientation, one element within the FOS, measures whether a teen is taking real steps toward a career, not just imagining one. Across 1,000+ teens, it showed the biggest improvement of any dimension we track.
Career exposure alone doesn't break the cycle of poverty. But a teen who can see a path and starts walking it has a real shot that a teen who can't see one doesn't.
From the Students
What action looks like.
I never knew what I wanted to do. After the entrepreneurship internship, I started selling custom bracelets at school. I make $200 a month now.
The wealth management track changed how I think about money. I taught my mom what I learned and I'm starting to think I might have a future here.
I did the nursing internship and it clicked. I know exactly what I'm doing after high school. No one in my family has ever worked in healthcare.
The Evidence Base
We did not invent the link between career exposure and economic mobility. We built a program to help deliver it at scale.
Career conversations with a trusted adult by age 15 are one of the strongest independent predictors of adult employment outcomes. We are making it possible for any parent, teacher, or mentor to have that conversation well.
OECD Career Readiness Research · 2021
Longitudinal studies found teens with early career exposure had better adult employment outcomes, with wage gains of 5 to 10% not uncommon, even after controlling for academic achievement and social background.
OECD Career Readiness Review · 2021
Wage boost in adulthood tied specifically to early career exposure. Even career conversations, job shadowing, and simulated experience showed measurable long-term impact on earnings.
OECD, From Classroom to Career · 2025
Our Evaluation Framework
What we track.
Two areas. One question: does this program put teens on a different economic trajectory?
Exploration Breadth
How many fields and roles has a teen meaningfully engaged with? Broader exploration earlier leads to better decisions later.
Career Conversation Quality
Are teens talking to adults about their futures? Mentorship and career conversations are independently proven to improve labor market outcomes.
Future Orientation
Can a teen envision a future for themselves, and are they taking concrete steps toward it? That action piece is our strongest result: the 14% gain measured across 1,000+ teens.