Career Planning

Your freshman year isn’t too early to start mapping out your future—even if you haven’t chosen a major yet. Career counselors recommend students take a few preliminary steps in the career exploration process during their first few months in college.

Chemistry seldom makes the top 10 list of glamorous careers. But for people with inquisitive minds who are creative, persistent, interested in solving problems, think independently, work well with details, have keen powers of observation, and follow logical paths of reasoning, chemistry offers challenging and quite fulfilling career opportunities.

Majors are part of earning a degree.  In fact, the majority of majors will actually help prepare you for many career possibilities.

If you're planning to graduate in four years and find your spot in the work force, you should start taking steps now to reach your goals.

A five-year bachelor's/master's degree program in computational physics combines interdisciplinary programs that mix computer science, mathematics, and physics, and can pave the way for a career designing computer games, a burgeoning field for physicists.

Students and new graduates looking for places to apply their knowledge, skills, and abilities may want to examine "emerging occupations."

Financial planning is the process of determining how an individual can meet life goals through the proper management of his or her financial resources.

Trained career counselors on the community college staff can help you figure out what career is best for you and how to become qualified for an entry-level job.

Healthcare is a field that's growing.  The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) projects a 22 percent growth in jobs between 2006 and 2016—nearly 3 million jobs.

One segment of the insurance industry, "surplus lines," might be the perfect career choice, according to the National Association of Professional Surplus Lines Offices (NAPSLO), a national trade organization.

The center staff can't make academic or career decisions for you. You can through assessment tools.

To learn what a job is really like—the good, the bad, and the ugly—speaking with someone who works in that job everyday is the best approach.

What's important in choosing a career? Money? Satisfaction in your work? Find a career that lets you break new ground. What would you like to do better than others have done it?

What does it take to become a career counselor or work in a career services office?

There is a professional association for almost any career field you can mention and you can join at any time, freshman to senior year (or beyond).

New and emerging occupations for the next decade including opportunities in healthcare, engineering, finance, marketing, and social science.

Besides taking classes in marketing, advertising, or public relations, how can you prepare yourself for a successful transition from student to professional?

Figure 2: Allied Health Occupations from Making Magic: New and Emerging Occupations by Shirley Jones

Figure 10: Arts and Entertainment Occupations from Making Magic: New and Emerging Occupations by Shirley Jones

Figure 3: Education Occupations from Making Magic: New and Emerging Occupations by Shirley Jones

Figure 6: Financial/Quantitative Occupations from Making Magic: New and Emerging Occupations by Shirley Jones

Figure 8: Government Occupations from Making Magic: New and Emerging Occupations by Shirley Jones

Figure 9: Information Technology from Making Magic: New and Emerging Occupations by Shirley Jones

Figure 5: Marketing/Information Retrieval Occupations from Making Magic: New and Emerging Occupations by Shirley Jones

Multidisciplinary occupations and their necessary skills and education for each. From New & Emerging Occupations.

Figure 7: Science and Engineering Occupations from Making Magic: New and Emerging Occupations by Shirley Jones

Figure 4: Social Services/Law Enforcement/Security Occupations  from Making Magic: New and Emerging Occupations by Shirley Jones

Joining a student chapter of a professional association is another avenue to career exploration.

Because of the range of tasks associated with the retail/merchandising trade, there are positions for those interested in fields as diverse as human resources, floral arrangement, computer programming, and food service. From highly skilled to trained-on-the-job, retail workers cut a wide path across interests and abilities.

Your degree is in liberal arts—would a magnet company hire you? And an even bigger question—what would you do for them? Have you begun to consider the endless list of career choices and fields that you could go into?

If you are considering the teaching profession, here are some steps to help guarantee a good fit:

A career development timeline for those pursuing an associate degree, with the approximate number of hours you’ll need to spend each year on readying yourself for a career.

Biology major? Science-related careers that come to mind most easily represent a very small percentage of the opportunities available to you.

If you are an athlete, you already possess the knowledge and skills needed to succeed. Apply these athletic habits to your career planning.

The career center at your college or university can be a valuable place to visit. Following are some of the services college and university career services centers and offices offer.