Business
Get Ahead of the Curve
Everyone is looking for ways to ensure they stand out in a crowd of applicants. By exploring your business options now, you can get a leg up on the competition.
Which pathways are offered?*
Business Accounting Pathway—This pathway prepares students to manage policy and strategy and implement them for an organization's capital structure, budgeting, acquisition and investment, financial modeling and planning, funding, dividends, and taxation.
Entrepreneurship — Does your child dream of owning a successful business? In this pathway, students learn the process of starting a business—from drawing up financial plans to marketing their product.
What types of jobs can my student learn about and prepare for?**
Whether your child is looking at a career in accounting or embarking on their own journey as an entrepreneur—Stride Career Prep has a path to suit them. Students learn the core foundations of business operations and functions while building a variety of leadership and management skills in this pathway as they go.
Some of the jobs include:
- Accountant
- Benefits or Compensation Specialist
- Bill and Account Collector
- Bookkeeping or Auditing Clerk
- Financial Analyst
- Financial Clerk
- Real Estate Appraiser
- Small Business Owner
*Some of these jobs require additional education and certifications once a student graduates from high school.
What could my future look like in this career field?**
**Data is from Lightcast and is updated frequently.
What is the salary outlook?**
Salaries vary depending on the job, experience, and location but approximate sample salaries include:
- Accountants and Auditors—$73,560/year
- Budget Analysts—$78,970
- Compensation, Benefits, and Job Analysis Specialists—$67,190/year
- Financial Analysts—$83,660/year
- Personal Financial Advisors—$89,330
- Small Business Owner—varies
Which industry-recognized, in-demand certifications and exams can my student prepare for?
- Microsoft Office certifications (up to four, each attainable in one semester)†
- The National Occupational Competency Testing Institute (NOCTI) Finance and Managerial Accounting
- NOCTI Accounting—Basic
- NOCTI Accounting—Advanced
- A*S*K Business Institute Fundamental Business Concepts Exam
- ACT National Career Readiness Certification (NCRC)
- A*S*K Concepts of Entrepreneurship
- Certiport Entrepreneurship & Small Business Management
Can students start exploring courses as early as middle school?†
Middle school students can begin to consider more long-term goals through our two-course career exploration series. Offering a broad overview of job fields, progressing from general information to more in-depth study into specific career opportunities, middle school career exploration courses allow them to better choose a Stride Career Prep pathway upon entering high school.
**All Stride Career Prep pathways will become available beginning in Fall 2023 for the 2023–2024 school year. Destinations Career Academy of Georgia will enroll students in grades 6–8 for the 2022–2023 school year. We will add one additional grade per year until we serve all grade levels 6–12.
**Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook. Website last modified date: Friday, April 9, 2021. Some of these jobs require additional education and certifications once a student graduates from high school.
***Many Microsoft®️ Office certificates can be earned after completing one course. Other certificates require more classes to be better prepared, and students who participate in the program for at least two years will have further preparation for certification testing.
†Middle school career exploration courses are only available for the 2022–2023 school year.
