The document outlines the author's 5-year plan consisting of 3 goals: 1) Developing communication skills by the end of 2017, 2) Obtaining a Bachelor's degree in Psychology by mid-2017 or mid-2018, and 3) Obtaining a Master's degree in Occupational Therapy by the end of 2019 or 2020. The plan categorizes each goal according to the S.M.A.R.T. criteria and identifies steps, timelines, and benefits for achieving each educational and career objective.

1. My Five Year Plan
As part of the unit foundations of professional planning I have been tasked with
developing a five year plan. I have identified three goals which are Specific, Measurable,
Attainable, Relevant and Time-bound (S.M.A.R.T). They are as follows:
1. Work on developing my communication skills
2. Obtain a Bachelor of Science in Psychology degree
3. Obtain a Masters in Occupational Therapy degree
Achieving my goal of developing my communication skills will be beneficial in a number
of ways. However, primarily it will allow me to communicate effectively in the workplace
and allow me to conduct presentations in tutorials with less anxiety.
Achieving my goal of obtaining a Bachelor of Science in Psychology will be beneficial as
it will higher my education levels. Also, obtaining this degree will qualify me to enrol in a
Masters of Occupational Therapy degree.
Achieving my goal of obtaining a Masters in Occupational Therapy will benefit me by
furthering my education levels again. It will also allow me to register as an Occupational
Therapist and begin working in the OT industry.
To outline my goals I must first categorise them according to the S.M.A.R.T categories.
For my first goal, specifically, I seek to accomplish strong verbal, written and presentation
skills. I will know if I have achieved this by the decreased difficulty in which I find
academic writing and giving presentations. This goal is attainable with effort and
commitment. I have the support of the University of Canberra’s Academic Skills Centre and
Library courses. This provides me with the necessary resources to achieve this goal.
Achieving this goal is relevant to my future as it is a necessary skill that can be used in a
professional or personal sense. Strengthening my communication skills will also greatly
improve my chances of employment and improve my performance at job interviews. So far,

2. I have been working towards this goal for the past two years. I hope to achieve this goal by
the end of 2017. Although, I believe this skill will continue to become more refined
throughout my career.
My second goal is to obtain a Bachelor of Science in Psychology, which will be
measureable by the amount of units I have passed. After Winter term is complete, I will be
half way through the course. However, I will still need to complete another 12 units to
complete my undergraduate degree. My goal is attainable, but I am dependant on family
support to achieve it as I work Part time and have two small children. It is not possible to
reframe this goal, but I have made arrangements to lessen the burden on my Family by
obtaining childcare. I have tried to control for any factors which may prevent me from
accomplishing this goal as best as possible. In a worst case scenario, it will take me a little
longer to complete my undergrad than I have anticipated. Completing this goal is very
important to me as I did not complete high school and would like to attain a higher degree of
education. It is also important to me as I value education, determination, hard work and
setting a good example for my children; as well as the young people in my family. I have an
academic goal to achieve a G.P.A of 6.0 and at present I have an overall G.P.A of 5.9. I hope
to finish my Undergrad by Mid-2017, at the very latest I hope to finish by Mid-2018.
My third and final goal is to obtain a Masters degree in Occupational therapy. In
order to have the best chance of being accepted into the Masters programme I must attain the
highest G.P.A that I possibly can. Entry into the program consists of a few different factors;
to be considered for entry into the Master of Occupational Therapy programme one must
have an undergrad in either Health or Science. I will have obtained a Bachelor of Science in
Psychology by this point. Another factor is that entry is reliant upon interview. It is
specified that interviews will be offered to applicants with the highest G.P.A’s first. This is
the reason I aim to achieve a G.P.A of 6.0. Achieving entry to the program and completing it

3. is important to me as it aligns with my values. I will not be satisfied that I have done the best
I can do academically until I have attained a postgraduate degree. Achieving this goal will
raise not only my education levels but also my socioeconomic status. This will be
accomplished as I will be able to register as an Occupational Therapist. After graduating I
will gain experience in the sector. After a few years I will be able to apply for a higher
paying job. Not only will I be able to do something I enjoy, I will earn enough money to buy
a house and hopefully put my children into private secondary education. The time I reach the
goal of attaining my Masters is dependent upon when I finish my undergrad. If I finish my
undergrad in Mid-2017 I will be able to apply for Mid-year entry into the program in 2017.
If I finish my undergrad in Mid 2018 I will be able to apply for Mid-year entry in 2018. I aim
to attend full time which will take me two and a half years. My goal of attaining a Master’s
degree should reached by the end of 2019 or the end of 2020.