Career education models are based on the identification and analysis of major components needed to adapt present curricula into career-oriented curricula. There are four such models: school-based, employer-based, home/community based, and residential-based. The Comprehensive Career Education Model, a school-based model, provides the base to design educational experiences optimizing career development and gain an understanding of self and the world of work. It has eight major elements subdivided into 32 supporting themes. The Research for Better Schools (RBS) model, an employer-based model, is composed of a management structure, an instructional program, guidance and counseling, and an evaluation plan. The Far West Laboratory Model is also an employer-based model, different from RBS in several aspects. A home/community model was designed consisting of a comprehensive career-oriented program centered in individualized learning programs. The Mountain Plains residential-based model unites family services and educational services to form a totally self-contained educational community. (The school-based model, as the point of departure for the other three models, receives most of the article's emphasis.) (AG)