STUDENT CAREER ESSAY
Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts
What Do You Want to Be?
Do you see yourself as the next great
American inventor? Maybe you’re thinking
about becoming a lawyer, an architect, a
filmmaker or a photographer. There are as many
career options out there as there are stars in the sky,
so when it comes to your future — think big!
You may change your mind about a career as you
get older, but it’s important to have information
about all types of careers as early in life as possible.
Whatever you want to do, education beyond high
school can help you make the most of your life.
You can find information on all types of careers,
and the education and training needed for each, at
the websites listed on the back of this page. You can
explore other resources, or read about or talk with
someone who does this type of work, to find out
even more about what you want to be.
After you’ve researched the career you’re interested
in, follow the instructions for writing an essay.
Dream big!
The future is waiting for you.
You can also view these instructions and the
websites listed on the back of this page at
www.MatchThePromise.org.
(Your parents can find information on essay
scoring criteria on Page 5 of the Description
and Application Instructions.)
Essay Instructions
The essay should be 200 to 300 words.
(That’s about as long as the top half of this page.)
Be creative — make up your own title.
Tell us what career is of interest to you and why.
What type of education or training will you need
for the career?
What are the opportunities for this type of work in
the future?
Tell us what steps you took to learn about the career.
Don’t forget to pay attention to spelling and
grammar while writing the essay.
Written an essay for our program before?
Don’t reuse an essay you’ve submitted before.
If you’re still interested in the same career, tell us
what you’ve learned since the last essay. If you have
another career in mind, tell us about that one.
If you’re writing about the same career, you might
want to learn about someone who does this type
of work and use the example to explain why you
find this career interesting. You might also want to
think about the problems you want to solve when
you grow up.
Remember to still include the other information
under Essay Instructions above.
Essay Tips
Include only your first name on the essay.
Help us protect your privacy — please don’t include
your last name or other personal information, such
as your current age, grade, school and city, when
writing the essay.
Use your own words. If you quote a source, keep
it brief, and be sure to use quotation marks and
say where the quote comes from.
