Discover Your Career Options
The knowledge that you have gained from assessing yourself should help you identify either specific career possibilities or career clusters.
Exercise:
- Make a List of Careers you think you would enjoy or do well at.
- Conduct Research on all Career Possibilities.
- It is as important to learn all you can about the careers you are considering, as it is to do a thorough self-assessment. Looking at Occupational Profiles and Labour Market information can help with this process (see links to resources below). Speak to others who might have information about the professions you are interested in. This can include family, friends, professors, coworkers, supervisors, classmates, and professionals working in the fields that interest you.
- Data to Collect on Each Career:
- Required levels of education: technical, 3-year degree, 4-year degree, Master’s degree, or PhD.
- Additional requirements: additional skills, prior experience.
- Financial remuneration: starting salary and raises; other types of remuneration such as funding for further education, travel, professional development funds, car allowance, etc.
- Employers and employees: personality, leadership/work style, values, and interests.
- Work place environment and atmosphere.
- Lifestyle: financial gain and status vs. time, work satisfaction, stress level, and vacation time.
- Policies and operating procedures.
- Past history of business or institution and employee satisfaction: financial viability, moral/ethical/environmental issues, institutional/business values, legal or labour union disputes, etc.
- Opportunities for advancement, professional development, personal growth, and creativity.
- Possible ways that the career will allow you to capitalize on your own talents, interests, and education.
Collecting the above information will also help you to prepare for interviews and give you a sense of what to include in your resumes and cover letters for particular occupations.