Of the estimated fifteen million people searching for employment in the job market, approximately twelve million are those who are looking for a new occupation. Coupled with the fact that nearly 75% of college students change their major at least once, with many changing two or three times, it is very important that you spend some time exploring careers before making your college choice. In the end, the career you choose should be interesting to you and challenging enough to motivate you and to keep you happy with your situation. Opportunities for personal growth should be available and you will want to be able to live comfortably on the wages you will earn.
There are many ways to learn about careers. If you already have an occupational interest area, you could arrange to talk to people who work in that area or take part in job shadowing or volunteer work to gain knowledge of a profession.
If you are not sure of what you would like to do, then some career exploration is required. The high school guidance counselor is a good source of information or you could check the World Wide Web for career links.
The College Board's career site helps you to match personal interests with different career areas. If you are looking for information about individual careers, the Occupational Outlook Handbook can answer many of your questions. In addition, a site called Mapping Your Future includes information to help you plan careers and to select colleges and majors. The Careers and Colleges site also gives help in choosing a major. These sites are excellent places to start your career search or to find out more about a career area of interest.
See below for information that can make your search easier:
WORKING CONDITIONS: What hours are you willing to work? Would you feel the most satisfaction working indoors/outdoors, varied/regular, noisy/quiet, or casual/traditional?
DUTIES: What kinds of duties would you prefer to perform? Do you want to be a leader or team player?
PEOPLE: Do you like working with people or do you prefer working independently?
EDUCATION: What special education or training is required? How much education are you willing to complete?
BENEFITS: What are your salary and benefits expectations? Are you willing to travel?
EMPLOYER QUALITIES: What are the most important qualities you would want in an employer, supervisor and co-workers?
Once you have narrowed your interests and perferences you will be ready to investigate which training areas (majors) will help you meet your personal goals.
