108 Principles of Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources Copyright Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. Selecting Your SAE Once you have taken stock of your interests and available resources, you are ready to select your SAE. Deciding on an SAE is a little bit like trying out a new sport for the first time, Figure 3-13. You typically choose to try a new sport because it interests you, the schedule for practices and games fits into your current schedule, and you can commit to learning the skills required to be good at the sport. The same is true of an SAE. Select an SAE you are interested in and that fits into your schedule and financial situation, and commit yourself to being willing to learn the new skills so your SAE will be successful. Also like a new sport, if you decide the SAE you picked is not the best fit for you, you can reassess and move to another SAE that will be a better match. The decision tree shown in Figure 3-14 allows you to look at general types of SAEs you may want to pursue. Once you determine a general area, you can choose an interest area and finalize the specific details of your project. Setting SAE Goals The best way to make sure your SAE is successful is to develop SAE goals. Just like the personal leadership goals we discussed in Lesson 2.1, SAE goals should be SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely). Setting goals for both short-term and long-term time frames will allow your SAE to have a guided path for the rest of your high school career, and in many cases, even beyond high school. When you are developing SAE goals, you can think about them in two broad categories: short-term and long-term. CLS Design/Shutterstock.com Figure 3-13. Selecting an SAE is very much like choosing a new sports team or after school activity. Pick one that fits both your interests and your schedule.