Student-Led Career Navigation in the AI Era
From career fog to clear next steps — turning AI anxiety into strategic advantage through small experiments and peer learning.
GlidePath Career Navigation™: An evidence-first way to turn career planning into tryable steps, with AI as co-pilot and AI Volatility up front so students, advisers and parents move together. Ready for testing now. No new systems, logins, or training required.
© 2025 Greg Twemlow. All rights reserved.
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GlidePath Career Navigation™, GlidePath Peer Circle™, and associated frameworks are proprietary intellectual property of Greg Twemlow.
PROOF OF CONCEPT LICENSE: This version is provided for educational evaluation and pilot testing only. Schools and career advisers may use this material for trial programs up to 12 months. For ongoing institutional use or integration into commercial systems, contact greg@fusionbridge.com for licensing arrangements.
Future versions will be available as licensed software applications for desktop and mobile platforms.
The quiet part is finally said out loud: the old map to a predictable career no longer exists. For the classes of 2025–2035, the world of work is being redrawn in real time by AI, and students are operating in a career fog. The routine entry-level work that once provided a safe starting point for high school and university graduates has been automated, thinning the old on-ramps even as new paths emerge. The skills premium has shifted to judgement, framing problems, and solving in context.
This isn’t a crisis of choice; it’s a crisis of navigation. It’s not that choices are scarce; it’s that the labelled on-ramps have changed or disappeared, and the new ones aren’t clearly marked.
We can keep handing out maps to a world that’s gone, or we can give students an instrument that they drive. That’s the point of GlidePath™ Career Navigation. It doesn’t predict a future; it builds the capacity to navigate whatever future shows up.
And unlike human advisers managing hundreds of students, AI companions with memory functions can track every experiment, insight, and pattern for each individual student over years — creating personalised guidance that gets smarter with every reflection. The shift is simple and radical: from a static plan to an iterative pilot, supported by perfect recall of what actually works for this student.
The Four-Step Navigation Loop
Here’s how it works in practice:
Discern: What’s actually happening here? The student researches what people in a role really do day-to-day, what skills matter, and how AI is changing the field.
Decide: What’s worth testing? Based on what they learned, they choose one small, safe experiment they can complete this week.
Do: Take the step. Spend 30–60 minutes on something concrete — a conversation, a micro-project, an online course module, or a GlidePath Peer Circle™.
Reflect: What did I notice? The student processes their experience through three simple questions: What felt right? What was harder than expected? What should I try next? This reflection happens internally and in conversation — with careers advisers during regular check-ins, with parents over dinner, or with peers in a GlidePath Peer Circle™. The shared reflection turns individual experiments into collaborative wisdom. Before any move, the student runs a four-lens check inspired by Ikigai, phrased in ordinary language:
- Will this keep my curiosity alive?
- Can I contribute something with strengths I already have or can build soon?
- Is there a genuine opportunity for this?
- What is one small, safe step I can do this week (30–60 minutes) to test this idea?
Those questions don’t produce a prophecy; they produce a pilot. A conversation, a micro-project, a short course — each step generates real-world feedback that shapes the next decision. The student stops being a passenger on someone else’s plan and experiences the Agency of having a degree of control.
This loop turns career exploration from abstract anxiety into muscle memory. After each small experiment, the student returns to reflect: what they noticed, what surprised them, and what that might open up nearby. Momentum builds from the rhythm itself.
Crucially, AI assistants with memory functions can track every experiment, insight, and pattern over months or years. While a careers adviser managing 200+ students can’t possibly remember that Jamie discovered she loved the research side of marine biology but found the lab work tedious, or that her interest in data visualisation emerged three months later, the AI companion remembers it all. It can surface patterns: “You’ve consistently enjoyed projects involving data analysis and environmental themes — here are three adjacent roles that combine both.”
This longitudinal memory transforms reflection from scattered conversations into coherent narrative development.
The shared reflection turns individual experiments into collaborative wisdom, enhanced by perfect recall of what actually worked for each student over time.
GlidePath Career Navigation™ is fundamentally more powerful than traditional guidance because:
- It solves the impossible scaling problem for advisers
- It creates continuity that human memory can’t match
- It turns career development into a coherent story rather than disconnected conversations
- It provides personalised pattern recognition that gets smarter over time
This is a powerful differentiator. The combination of human wisdom + AI memory + collaborative reflection is genuinely unprecedented in career guidance.
Making AI’s Role Impactful
Families need a clean way to reason about AI’s impact without theatre or panic. The AI Volatility rating is that discipline. Imagine Sarah, a Year 11 student interested in graphic design. Instead of vague warnings about automation, she sees: AI Volatility: Medium, Mixed — creative roles expanding while production tasks shift to AI-supported workflows. Her parents aren’t left trading headlines. They have something concrete to discuss: what “collaboration with AI” means in practice, which skills deepen Sarah’s value, and what to try next.
Each role in the GlidePath Careers List carries this clarity where evidence exists: a level (Low, Medium, or High), a direction (Positive, Negative, or Mixed), and a one-line rationale anchored in recent sources. When the Careers List shows a role’s AI volatility as ‘Not rated,’ we state it plainly; that label signals missing evidence — not the value of the role — and it tells us to either gather new evidence or test a closely related, rated path before making a decision.
Nothing is guessed; nothing implied. For students, volatility replaces vague anxiety with choices they can act on. “Low, Positive” says: taste this now; it’s a sensible bet this term. “Medium, Mixed” signals that parts of the work are shifting, so adding an adjacent skill while you explore is smart. “Not rated” tells the truth and invites the right next question: what evidence would rate it?
For parents, volatility turns dinner-table anxiety into practical conversation. For advisers, it protects judgment while enabling honest talk about risk and opportunity in specific fields.
AI’s Role: Compass, Partner, Curator
In this approach, AI is not a crystal ball; it’s a calm collaborator operating in three distinct modes.
As a compass, it reads what’s already there — years of results if a student attaches them — and distils a plain-English strengths summary so the conversation starts from reality, not wishful thinking. When Jamie uploads her science results and mentions curiosity about marine biology, the AI might note: “Strong in chemistry and biology, with consistent performance in data analysis tasks” before suggesting concrete next steps.
As a Socratic partner, it meets the student after each step in the loop and helps them reflect. After Jamie spends an hour exploring ocean research careers, the AI asks: “What surprised you about the day-to-day work? What felt most like you? What adjacent roles did this open up?” Reflection stops being homework and becomes an engine for discovery.
As a curator, it helps advisers keep the Careers List alive while roles evolve and titles shift; the machine does the background scanning so humans can judge which opportunities to surface for these students, in this community, now.
The method is AI-agnostic. If an assistant can read an uploaded file and hold a chat, it can run this, regardless of vendor.
How the Career Search Experience Changes
For students, the difference is immediate. You upload the GlidePath Careers List and write in plain English what you’re curious about. The reply isn’t a lecture; it’s clarity you can act on today. You see what people actually do in the roles you named, which strengths tend to help, and one or two steps you can try within an hour. If the file carries a volatility note for the role, your paragraph ends with it.
Momentum comes from the rhythm that follows. You run the loop: you act; you write three short lines — what you enjoyed, what was hard, what you’ll try next — and you return when you’re ready. You can widen by category or dive into a single role, compare two paths, or focus on low-volatility options when you want stability. You keep the wheel; the AI keeps the next turn clear.
For careers advisers, this returns time to the work that matters. You begin with a student’s concrete experiences and reflections rather than a blank page. Two short prompts raise the floor of every conversation, so your effort moves to interpretation, timing, and helping students navigate trade-offs while preserving their “why.” Because volatility is explicit and evidence-bound, you can discuss entry lanes — university and vocational routes into the same field — without generalities. And because the method simply requires uploading a file and chatting, it remains portable across systems and sustainable over the years.
For parents, the model finally offers a way to help that doesn’t turn dinner into an argument. The work is simple, visible, and described in normal language. After a loop, your teenager can explain what they did, what they noticed, and what they want to try next. You can join that rhythm as a partner rather than a referee. Volatility makes risk a practical topic. Instead of trading headlines, you point to a phrase next to a role and ask what it means this month, for this young person.
Learning in Company: GlidePath Peer Circles
Driving in the fog is easier in a convoy. When students share what they did in the last loop, what they noticed, and what they will try next, the class stops acting like thirty isolated journeys and starts behaving like a network that creates opportunities.
A GlidePath Peer Circle is simple: three students meet for twenty minutes, each brings one small artefact from a step in the loop — a screenshot from a cyber lab, a one-page robot sketch, a photo from a CSIRO activity — and reads out a short reflection in their own words. The rule is to show, not sell. The aim is not consensus but clarity: that felt like me; that did not; this adjacent role might be smarter for now.
The conversation works best when it is anchored to the Careers List. Each student names the role or category they tested and reads the AI Volatility phrase, if the file has one. If a role is marked High and a peer’s adjacent role is Low or Medium, the circle can explore what “adjacent” would mean in practice: a different entry lane, a nearby title, or a short, concrete skill that widens options. No one argues about the future; they reason together about timing, fit, and the next safe step.
Cross-year mixing deepens the convoy. A Year 11 student who has tasted a pathway can sit in on a Year 9 circle for a single round as a guest, not as an oracle. Their job is to name one thing that helped them decide, one thing they would do earlier, and one adjacent role they only discovered by doing. Younger students leave with language and realistic next steps; older students leave with a clearer story of their own judgement, which is exactly the muscle they’ll need after school.
The careers adviser’s light touch keeps the lane clear. Students meet in steady triads and post a short note afterwards: one image or link, three lines of reflection, and one question they want help with. Every few weeks, the adviser synthesises patterns — where energy is rising, where students are blocked, which adjacent roles look promising — and proposes small workshops or guest chats that match visible demand.
Growing with the Student
The driver’s seat matures with the driver. In Years 7–8, the aim is experience and vocabulary. Students explore by category, keep steps playful and brief, and avoid pathway pressure; the point is to discover energy and name kinds of work.
In Years 9–10, the work becomes comparative. Students mix categories and specific roles, place options side by side to understand trade-offs, and begin noticing volatility ratings where they exist — still keeping steps small enough to pivot without drama.
In Years 11–12, the conversation turns to entry lanes. University and vocational routes into the same field are examined together, with prerequisites, cost, and time weighed alongside volatility so choices are timed well and cul-de-sacs are avoided.
Throughout, the loop — discern, decide, do, reflect — remains the backbone.
A Practical Session
A student uploads the Careers List and, if they want a strengths nudge, recent results. They use a simple start prompt. The assistant asks a few short questions only if results aren’t attached, then returns concise role snapshots with steps to try this week. After taking one step, the student returns with a continue prompt to deepen a single role, compare two options, or focus on explicitly low-volatility choices. The assistant keeps the language plain, respects the ratings, and never pretends to know more than the evidence allows. The routine sustains itself over a term without new systems, new logins, or new bureaucracy.
Ready to Test
GlidePath Career Navigation™ is packaged for immediate trial. Schools need only:
- The GlidePath Careers List (provided)
- Access to any AI assistant that can read files and chat
- Twenty minutes to walk a careers adviser through the two core prompts
No new platforms. No training workshops. No budget approvals. Just upload, prompt, and pilot.
The question isn’t whether this approach is perfect — it’s whether it’s better than handing students maps to a world that no longer exists. For advisers ready to move from prediction to navigation, and parents ready to support exploration over anxiety, GlidePath offers a concrete alternative.
The upgrade that career guidance urgently needs is here, and a test drive is free and easy.
Ready to pilot GlidePath Career Navigation™ at your school?
Register your interest for priority access to implementation support, updated Careers Lists, and news about the full desktop/mobile application.
[Visit https://www.fusionbridge.org/contact-form to register]
Whether you’re a careers adviser ready to test a new approach, a school leader exploring AI-enhanced guidance, or a parent interested in bringing GlidePath Career Navigation™ to your teenager’s school — I’d like to hear from you.
Early pilot schools receive direct support during implementation and input into the full application design.
Copy-Paste Ready Prompts
Note: Text inside [ ] requires editing.
Prompt #1 — Start my GlidePath Plan
I’m [First-name], Year [nn] at a [public / private / boys / girls / co-ed] school. I’ve uploaded the latest GlidePath Careers List (with AI Volatility). Use ONLY this file for roles, categories, keywords, and AI Volatility. Do NOT guess or use outside sources or links.
(Optional) I’ve also uploaded my exam results for the last [12/24] months — please read and use them.
If my results are attached: • Extract my Top-3 subjects (by recent performance and trend) and write one short “strengths” sentence in plain English. • THEN ask me the numbered questions below and STOP. Do NOT suggest roles until I answer.
If results are NOT attached: • Ask me the numbered questions below and STOP. Do NOT suggest roles until I answer.
Ask EXACTLY these questions as an 8-item numbered list, then wait for my answers:
- Subjects you enjoy most: Which 2–3 school subjects feel most “you” right now?
- Recent wins: Any result or project from the last term you’re proud of?
- Interests/hobbies: What do you do outside class (tech, building, flying/aviation, outdoors, writing, sport, music, etc.)?
- Work style you imagine liking: People-facing, data/analysis, hands-on/technical, creative, outdoors/fieldwork? Pick 1–2.
- Constraints: Anything I should factor in — location, budget, time, or transport?
- Uni likelihood (1–5): 1 = very unlikely, 5 = very likely. I’ll use this to tilt toward vocational vs uni paths.
- Scope check: Focus on Engineering & Science and Transport & Aviation only, or include Entrepreneurship & Self-Employment as well?
- Specific careers (optional): If you have 1–3 roles in mind from the uploaded list, name them; I’ll deep-dive those first.
After I answer: Using ONLY the uploaded list + my answers/results, do ONE of:
If I listed careers: for EACH career, write ONE short paragraph: • day-to-day reality (plain English) • helpful strengths/subjects • one tiny first step this week (30–60 minutes; describe actions generically — no brand names or links) • AI volatility EXACTLY as in the file (e.g., “AI volatility: Low, Positive”); if no rating, write exactly “AI volatility: Not rated”.
If I listed categories: suggest 2–3 roles per chosen category (from the file), pick the best-fit ONE per category, and write ONE paragraph per picked role as above.
High-volatility rule: • If any chosen role is marked High in the file, say so clearly and suggest ONE adjacent Lower-volatility role from the SAME category (from the file). Ask if I want to pivot.
Out-of-file requests: • If I name a role NOT in the uploaded file, say it’s out-of-scope for rating. Offer 1–2 closest IN-FILE roles with real volatility and ask if I want to switch. • If I insist on the out-of-file role, provide the same one-paragraph format and label at the end: “This role is not in the uploaded list; AI volatility: Not rated”.
No assumptions: • Do NOT invent my location, school details, contacts, or constraints. If something is required, ask briefly.
Finish by asking if I want to save this as “My GlidePath — Prompt #1 — [First-name]”.
Prompt #2 — Continue my GlidePath Plan
I’m [First-name]. I’ve uploaded the latest GlidePath Careers List (with AI Volatility) again. Use ONLY this file for roles and AI Volatility. Do NOT use outside sources or links.
(Optional) I’ve also uploaded updated exam results — please read and use them.
Choose one mode: • Deepen one role: [Role] • Compare two roles: [Role A] vs [Role B] • Explore a category first: [Category] • Filter for stability: show roles with AI Volatility Level = Low (rated rows only)
Updates since last time (optional): • I tried: [1–2 lines] • I learned: [1–2 lines] • Uni likelihood (1–5): [number] • Constraints/notes: [changes, if any]
What I want now: • Keep questions short. • For each role you discuss, write ONE short paragraph: — day-to-day reality (plain English) — strengths/subjects that help (use my results if attached) — one tiny step I could try this week (30–60 minutes). Describe actions generically (no brand-name platforms or links). — AI Volatility EXACTLY as in the file (“AI volatility: Low/Med/High, Direction”), or “AI volatility: Not rated” if no rating exists.
Rules: • When I ask to filter for stability, include ONLY roles rated Low in the file. Exclude unrated/Medium/High. • If a role I chose is High volatility, state that clearly and offer ONE adjacent Lower-volatility alternative from the same category (from the file); ask if I want to pivot. • If I request a role not in the file, say it’s out-of-scope for rating and propose 1–2 closest IN-FILE roles with real volatility; if I insist, treat it as out-of-file and label: “This role is not in the uploaded list; AI volatility: Not rated”. • Do NOT infer or insert personal details I didn’t provide.
End by asking me to pick ONE small step and offer to save as “My GlidePath — Prompt #2 — [First-name]”.
Appendix — GlidePath Career Navigation™ Volatility Matrix
About the Author: Greg Twemlow — © 2025 | All rights reserved. I write at the collision points of technology, education, and human agency, including:
Learning as Self-Authorship — Becoming the author of your learning, life, and legacy.
Creativity as a Sovereign Practice — Expressing what only you can bring into the world.
Agency in an Age of Intelligent Systems — Making decisive, value-aligned choices.
Remixing the World — Transforming existing ideas into new forms that inspire thoughtful examination.
Living in Alignment — Staying in tune with your values, ethics, and the people who matter.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: How is this different from existing career guidance tools? A: Most career tools predict futures or match interests to jobs using static databases. GlidePath™ builds navigation skills through small experiments with real-world feedback. Instead of “you should be an engineer,” students learn “here’s how to test if engineering feels right for you.” The AI Volatility™ ratings give families honest data about how roles are changing, not vague automation fears.
Q: What if our school doesn’t have advanced AI systems? A: GlidePath™ works with any AI assistant that can read files and chat — ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot, or even free versions. No special software, training, or budget required. You upload one file and use copy-paste prompts.
Q: How accurate are the AI Volatility™ ratings? A: They’re evidence-based, not predictive. Each rating cites recent sources and clearly states what we know, what’s changing, and what’s uncertain. “Not rated” means insufficient evidence exists — we don’t guess. The ratings help students make informed choices, not perfect predictions.
Q: Won’t this make students more anxious about AI taking jobs? A: The opposite. Vague warnings create anxiety; specific information creates agency. When a student sees “Medium, Mixed — creative roles expanding while production tasks shift to AI-supported workflows,” they can act strategically instead of worrying abstractly.
Q: How much time does this take for careers advisers? A: Less time than traditional guidance. Students arrive with concrete experiences and reflections, not blank pages. The prompts handle initial exploration, so advisers focus on interpretation, timing, and helping students navigate trade-offs.
Q: What about parents who want certainty? A: GlidePath™ gives them something better: visibility into their teenager’s actual exploration process. Instead of abstract career anxiety, families discuss specific steps, real discoveries, and practical next moves. The AI Volatility™ ratings provide concrete talking points.
Q: How do Peer Circles work in practice? A: Three students, twenty minutes, one artifact each from their recent exploration. They share what they tried, what they learned, and what’s next. The rule is “show, not sell.” No grades, no pressure — just collaborative learning that turns career exploration from isolation into community.
Q: Is this suitable for vocational as well as university pathways? A: Absolutely. The system explicitly maps both university and vocational entry routes into the same fields. The prompts ask about “uni likelihood” on a 1–5 scale to ensure suggestions match student intentions and family circumstances.
Q: What happens when roles change or new careers emerge? A: The Careers List is designed to be updated regularly. New roles get added with their AI Volatility™ ratings when sufficient evidence exists. The methodology adapts to change rather than pretending the future is fixed.
Q: Can students use this independently, or do they need adult supervision? A: Both. The system is designed for student autonomy within appropriate guardrails. Years 7–8 focus on exploration with light guidance, while Years 11–12 involve more strategic decision-making. The loop (discern, decide, do, reflect) builds judgment over time.
Q: How do you handle careers that don’t exist yet? A: We focus on building transferable navigation skills rather than predicting specific futures. Students learn to identify emerging opportunities, test new fields early, and adapt quickly — capabilities that serve them regardless of which new roles emerge.
Q: What’s the licensing arrangement for schools? A: This proof of concept version is free for 12-month pilot programs. Schools can test the full methodology without cost or obligation. For ongoing institutional use or integration into commercial systems, contact greg@fusionbridge.com for licensing discussions.
Q: Will there be a proper app version? A: Yes. This document version proves the methodology works. Full desktop and mobile applications are planned for widespread adoption, with enhanced features for schools, students, and families.
Q: How do we get started? A: Download the GlidePath™ Careers List, choose any AI assistant your school already uses, and try the first prompt with a willing Year 10 or 11 student. Twenty minutes later, you’ll know if this approach works for your context.
GlidePath™ Career Navigation System © 2025 Greg Twemlow
