As Matt's plane descended toward the city, he looked out the window. He could see a group of high-rise buildings in the middle of town. To the north, toward the lake and nestled in a group of trees, he saw a group of large homes and a small clearing of land going down to the water. On the other side of town, he found a group of low-rise buildings, probably warehouses, surrounded by large parking lots. He could see yet another group of homes to the east. These homes seemed small compared to the ones by the lake, with clearly marked yards and only a few trees scattered here and there. As Matt continued to look around the city, he noticed that it looked like a patchwork of squares, rectangles and circles, connected by lines that were streets, railroad tracks, and power lines. Each neighborhood or business district appeared to almost have a dimension and color code of its own. One place looked lush and green, another flat and black, and still another a pattern of green and brown. Together, they formed a vibrant city, full of life, options, and opportunities. 

In many ways, Career Clusters are like the city Matt was observing. Many different occupations come together to form each Career Cluster. Each career has a character of its own, with unique attributes and features, but when combined with the many other careers in a Cluster, forms a package of careers that will appeal to those with common interests, goals, or abilities.