Inspire the future workforce, today.
Make an impact on 3.5 million students exploring careers through authentic insights, experiences, and connections with real professionals like you.
Bringing career possibilities to students since 2013
Find the way that fits your time
Every contribution meets students where they are. Pick what works for you, or do a little of each.
Live virtual sessions
The core of Pathful. Join a live class over video, share your career story, and answer students' questions, typically 30 to 45 minutes.
See what a session looks likeIndustry-led projects
Mentor a small group of students through a real industry project. Guide their research, give authentic feedback, and watch them grow over a few short meetings.
Mentor studentsRecognition & awards
Earn digital badges, awards, and thank-you swag as you connect with more classes, shareable on social and your resume to showcase your impact.
See the awardsA simple, predictable format
Most sessions run 30 to 45 minutes, so you always know what to expect before you log on.
Mentor a small group of students through a real project
Industry-led projects connect students with authentic workplace projects. As a mentor, you're the guiding voice for a small group of students, sharing your expertise at key moments in their journey.
- Just a few meetings: an introduction, a mid-project check-in, and final presentations.
- Guide their research approach and give authentic feedback on their solutions.
- Students graduate with real skills and a real understanding of what you do.
A few current projects
Show students careers they never imagined
Sharing your career story introduces students to possibilities beyond their immediate world, and gives them proof that people like you exist in careers they may never have considered.
Open their eyes to what's possible
When you share your career journey, students discover opportunities they didn't know existed. You're not just talking about your job; you're expanding their sense of what's achievable.
Build their confidence to pursue it
Your insights help students connect the dots between their classroom learning and real careers. Suddenly what they're studying has purpose, and their future feels less uncertain. You're showing them they have what it takes to succeed, and that belief can change everything.
Gain perspective that changes you
Volunteering with students reminds you why your work matters and reignites your passion for what you do. You'll sharpen your communication and leadership skills, expand your professional network, and build genuine connections with the next generation. Many volunteers say these conversations become the most meaningful part of their week.
Three steps from your desk to a classroom
Most virtual connections are just 25 to 35 minutes, and speakers generally spend less than an hour preparing. Here's everything you need to get started.
Create a profile
Provide your profession, skills, and interests. Pathful uses this to match you with relevant volunteer opportunities.
Find a session
Teachers request speakers to give their students real-world context. Requests are visible on your homepage. Each request shows the topic, date and time options. Find a session you're interested in? Click "Sign up" and you're set.
Connect with students
Join your live session via Zoom. Introduce yourself and discuss the requested topic. Don't forget to leave time for Q&A. Congrats, you've made an impact!
Why volunteers keep showing up
This program is a great opportunity to connect, encourage, motivate, and support students and teachers, and show we care.
Inspiration can come from anywhere. It's exciting to think that someone who hears about my experiences might pick up some inspiration as they traverse their own path.
The program is an opportunity to continue sharing my knowledge with the next generation. I was blessed to receive a business mentor, and I can only imagine the impact of having someone share their expertise with me when I was younger.
Celebrate your impact
As you connect with more classes, we'll be in touch with awards, thank-you swag, and more. Awards are based on your engagement, and they're shareable on social media and your resume.
Trailblazer Award
Impact Award
Pinnacle Award
Our most engaged volunteers, leading by example
Career Connectors are Pathful super-users who have completed 15 or more live sessions and impacted students across the nation. As a Connector, you amplify your impact by helping to:
- Inspire teachers to connect their classes with industry, with just a few quick, flexible asks, many under 10 minutes.
- Encourage other professionals to give back through brief surveys, short testimonials, and quick recordings.
- Enrich the experience of giving classrooms real career exposure.
Turn your company into a career destination
When you volunteer, you open doors for students. When your company partners with Pathful, you build their future workforce, just like over 5,000 other companies and organizations already do.
- Create talent pipelines and engage your employees
- Become a destination students aspire to join
- Scale outreach with a branded platform and analytics
Your career could be the spark a student needs
Create your profile in minutes and we'll match you with classrooms looking for exactly what you do. Still have questions? Schedule a 15 minute call with us!
Frequently asked questions
Getting started is simple. Provide your basic information and we'll guide you through the process. Pathful uses your skills and industry expertise to match you with relevant session requests from teachers. Your volunteer dashboard shows upcoming sessions, matched opportunities, and more, making it easy to connect with students when it works for your schedule.
There are two main options. You can respond to teacher requests to talk with students about how curriculum topics show up in your job, or to expose them to career paths. It could even be a request to provide feedback on student projects or conduct interview practice. The session page has all the details, and you can contact the teacher ahead of time with questions.
If your organization would be interested in partnering with Pathful to scale outreach, contact partners@pathful.com. We also have opportunities to film high-demand, high-wage occupations for students coming right out of high school.
Most virtual connections are just 25 to 35 minutes. Speakers generally spend less than an hour preparing, using the details on the session page to inform what to share. Pathful will also touch base with you before your session to make sure you're comfortable with the video software and for a background check.
Sessions are recorded by default so your insights can benefit students beyond the live event, but you can opt out when signing up. During the meeting you'll see a notification if recording is active, and the host can stop at any time.
Not all recordings are posted, but if yours is selected, both you and the teacher are notified with the video link. Pathful edits videos to remove student information before posting. You retain ownership of your content and grant Pathful the rights to use it for educational purposes.
Your Pathful profile displays the number of students and classrooms you've impacted over time. As you complete sessions, you can earn digital badges, awards, and gift cards. These badges are shareable on social media and can be added to your resume to showcase your community involvement.
- A Pathful account to join sessions
- Zoom Cloud Meetings installed
- A computer, tablet, or smartphone with a fast internet connection
- A modern browser (Chrome recommended; Firefox or Safari also work)
- Microphone, video capability, and speakers (external or built in)