A team of University of Nebraska–Lincoln students is using virtual reality and their computing skills to help younger students explore career paths.
Career Explore XR is a new project in development in the School of Computing’s Senior Design program that will allow middle and high school students to explore potential future careers within an extended reality environment for Meta Quest 3. The game focuses on technical trades, health care roles and other occupations that don’t require a four-year college degree.
Senior Design is a computing capstone course in which students spend a full academic year working as a team on a real-world project with a faculty or industry sponsor. Team members Sean Casey, Burke Groenjes, Will Bernal, Noah Russell, Colman Scharff and Tyson Veik have spent the past six months working on Career Explore XR with project co-sponsors Jeff and Britney Falkinburg.
Jeff Falkinburg, an assistant professor of practice in the School of Computing, has sponsored and led several other Senior Design projects, including three versions of the Husker STEM VR app, a recruitment tool used by the College of Engineering. Britney Falkinburg, a school counselor at Lincoln Southwest High School, said conversations with her husband and her experiences in career advising inspired the idea for the app and motivated her to collaborate with a team.
“In the college and career lessons that I did, I thought a lot of the students I worked with weren’t exposed to different careers, and some of these would be a great fit for them,” Britney Falkinburg said. “I was trying to think of ways we could use technology to expose them to these careers, get them excited about them and introduce them to something they might want to work toward later on.”
In the Career Explore XR game, players can explore several professions through simulated, hands-on activities: framing a house in construction, installing outlets as an electrician or assembling a sink as a plumber. Informational pop-up panels throughout the game provide additional details on job opportunities, salary ranges and daily responsibilities.
The team envisions the app being used by school counselors and teachers, particularly those who specialize in career-oriented subjects but can’t always provide realistic experiences in the classroom.
“We know the need for skilled trades and that there aren’t enough electricians and plumbers. Those are great career paths for students who aren’t necessarily planning on going to a four-year college, because that’s not for everybody,” Britney Falkinburg said. “I think it’s great to give them an opportunity to explore different paths and not put everybody in the same box.”
Britney Falkinburg said she and the team selected the game’s featured careers based on which ones are not only in demand now but will continue to be relevant in the future, even as technology and skill set demands evolve. The team considered how professions and skills would support critical sectors of society moving forward, as well as which jobs and tasks would translate well into a video game.
“We wanted to choose ones that had a good balance of being educational and accurate, but also fun,” said Casey, squad lead and product manager. “For the construction scene, we know kids like to hit things, so why not let them hit nails with a hammer?”
Students had a chance to test the app last December at Lincoln’s 2025 Hour of Code and Interactive Tech Fair, an annual event that aims to introduce K-12 students to computer science and technology. The Career Explore XR team was one of about a dozen organizations that hosted demonstration booths.
“It was cool to see something we built from scratch in the hands of students, younger and older, and see it spark interest,” said Scharff, a team developer. “We got to see kids having fun, not just playing in VR, but actually learning and building a house. It was cool to see the hours we’ve put in bring joy to them.”
The design team said the demo session also provided valuable feedback, new insights and opportunities for improvement.
“Playtesters quickly showed us what needed to be fixed,” said Groenjes, development manager. “It’s easy to think something is straightforward based on what we expect players to do, but then they break things in ways we didn’t anticipate. That helps us fix issues we didn’t know existed.”
Student developers said the project has been a valuable learning experience, allowing them to develop skills they can use in both their professional and personal lives.
“One of my main hobbies outside of work and school is game programming, so it’s been great to spend more time in a game engine,” said Russell, a team developer. “I like making games because with my day job, where I work on the back end of a database, you can’t really see what you’re doing. When you’re working on something more tangible, you can see it working, and it’s a different feeling.”
Team members also said that while the game is intended to help younger students explore potential careers, the development process has helped them prepare for their own futures.
“We’ve had group projects in the past, but with this, we’re meeting every week. We’re working every week. We’re texting each other,” Casey said. “It’s been a very rewarding experience to understand what it’s like to work in the field and on a team.”
The Career Explore XR app is currently available to play online and will soon be available in the Meta Quest Store. The team will offer live demonstrations of the project at the College of Engineering’s annual Senior Design Showcase on April 24 in Kiewit Hall. To learn more, visit the Career Explore XR website.
