This week, project teams will solve the “Mystery of the Career Killer.”

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Context:

It’s 2026, and we received an emergency call about a disturbance at Mystery Mansion, where a Career Dinner Party was taking place. When police arrived, they discovered a “career murder” had taken place. Someone killed “Henry Hiring Manager,” the dinner party host, at his Mystery Mansion. Henry Hiring Manager was responsible for determining which jobs to hire for and maintain, and which jobs would be phased out completely.

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All we know is someone wanted him gone to put an end to how emerging technology might threaten their career existence. Henry Hiring Manager was found lying in a puddle of blood in his home office with an ice pick stuck in his heart, but no fingerprints were found. Police have detained six of the party guests because they are now all suspects in this “Career Killer” investigation. The suspects are: (1)Data Entry Keyer, (2) Nurse Practitioner, (3) Interpreter/Translator, (4) Knocker-Upper, (5) Ice Cutter, and (6) Data Scientist. The Future Career Investigator (FCI) Agency was brought in to investigate this awful crime.

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FCI Investigator Tools:

• Mystery of the Career Killer Files: Google Slides or PDF

  • Suspect Profiles

  • Career Eras

  • Master Code Clues

  • FCI Investigation Checklist: Use this checklist to track clues and evidence.

• O*NET OnLine at: https://www.onetonline.org/

FCI Investigation Steps:

You and your project team will serve as the lead FCI investigators. You will visit “Mystery Mansion” to conduct a thorough investigation to determine Who Killed Henry Hiring Manager.  You will find Suspect Profiles for the six suspects to conduct your investigation. Follow the investigation steps to find all the clues. Once you conduct your investigation, find the four-digit master code to uncover who killed Henry Hiring Manager.

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1.  Gather Clues from the “Suspect Profiles” assigned to the six suspects. Use the FCI Investigation Checklist to keep track of clues (It's in the Mystery Career Killer File).

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2.  Identify the Suspect’s Career Era (Extinct, Endangered, or Evolving) for each suspect. Go to O*NET OnLine at: https://www.onetonline.org/ and find each suspect’s career in the “Occupation Keyword Search.”

• If the career has a sun icon, it is an (Evolving) era career. 

• If the career is not listed, it is an (Extinct) era career

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3.   Locate the 2024 Median Salary (annual) for each suspect’s career found in the O*NET file. The Median Salary (annual) can be found under the “Wages & Employment Trend” section for that career.

4.  Find the Projected Job Openings (Wages & Employment Trends section) for each suspect. This will indicate how many jobs are projected for that career from 2024 to 2034.

5.  Crack the four-digit “Master Code” to uncover who killed Henry Hiring Manager. Calculate the 4-digit code based on the following clues:

•  Digit 1: Total number of Extinct careers in the file.

• Digit 2: The third digit of the 2024 Median Salary for the "Nurse Practitioner."

• Digit 3: Total number of Endangered careers identified.

• Digit 4: The second digit of the Projected Job Openings (2024-2034) for the “Data Scientist”.

6.  Enter the four-digit 🔑 Master Code to uncover the Career Killer below.

Good Luck!