The goals of the first phase of a career exploration project were to change attitudes toward the world of work, upgrade values, and improve the self-concepts of approximately 550 Grade 7 and 8 disadvantaged youth in two Hartford middle schools. This was accomplished through a number of experiences and activities developed in five classroom units and three counseling procedures. The classroom units focused on distribution, manufacturing, office, health service, and general service occupations, while the vocational counseling techniques were concerned with self-concepts, interests, and the decision making process. Early in the project, a broad-based advisory committee representing the major industries and employers in Hartford was established. The teachers and counselors participating in the project and the advisory committee formed six sub-committees, and each sub-committee developed a unit covering their particular occupational cluster. The project did not accomplish all its goals but a beginning was made. In subsequent years the project will be projected down into the elementary grades and up into the secondary schools with the aim of developing a comprehensive K-12 program. (SB)