Career Exploration

Your future begins with exploration about yourself!  The more you know about yourself – yours strengths, interests, abilities, best working conditions, and more – the more informed you will be on selecting appropriate career paths.  Choose electives during the school year that can help expose you to different areas, as well.

Career Exploration

Take interest inventories and read about different careers! 

www.whatsnextillinois.org - Create an account and use this site for career interest surveys, career exploration, and more.  This is a great site to begin your exploration!  

www.bridges.com – get the login information from the CRC or from your counselor.  You can take a survey ("Do What You Are") to get information about your personality style.

The following two government sites have descriptions of many careers:

Bureau of Labor Statistics -  http://stats.bls.gov/oco/

Occupational Outlook – www.bls.gov/oco

Some universities have great links at their websites about careers:

Northern Illinois University has links for each of their majors.  You can read about careers related to the major and see what types of jobs people find -

http://www.niu.edu/careerservices/weblinks/majors/index.shtml

Similarly, the University of North Carolina has information on careers associated with majors:  http://www.uncwil.edu/stuaff/career/Majors

The University of Tennessee in Knoxville has a great website associated with their career services.  They call it “What Can I Do With This Major?”  They organize the information into types of careers within a field, detail who the employers are, and give you strategies for success.  You can find the link on their career page:   http://career.utk.edu/

Summer Opportunities - Use your summer to explore!  Every experience can help you learn more about yourself.  See some of the options below:

• There are over 400 Enrichment programs described on www.EnrichmentAlley.com.  This is a free comprehensive searchable database.  It includes numerous free programs as well as many that offer financial aid. 

• There is a file cabinet in the CRC with “Summer Programs.”  Take a look and see if something seems of interest to you.

• The National Student Leadership Conference hosts career-focused leadership programs at universities in New York, San Francisco, Washington, D.C. and Chicago. Students can choose from one of 14 career areas, including: Medicine, Engineering, International Diplomacy, Business, Sports Management, Forensic Science, International Business, Law, U.S. Policy and Politics, Theater, Journalism, National Security, Education and the Arts. More information on the programs can be found on our website at www.nslcleaders.org. Students can earn college credit from American University. Financial assistance is available.

• Career Classes through summer school – each year there are several career exploration classes offered during the summer.  Several of these are offered at Oakton Community College.  You can learn about health careers, business careers, and more.

• Job Shadow – spend a few days observing a career that interests you.  Find a neighbor, relative, family friend, or community member who will let you observe and help out for a few days.

• Internship – Spend time each week delving into a career and specific work environment.  Search out internships on your own, check the summer school list to see if there is an internship class that you can take, or check back regularly to see if summer opportunities are posted on the website.

• Summer Job – Try to find a summer job in a field you would like to learn more about. 

• Volunteer - There are many volunteer opportunities in the area.  This is a great way to help out.  You learn a lot about yourself in the process.  Many not-for-profits in the area would be happy to have you help out for a few hours a week.  Find an organization that means something to you or that you feel is doing something important in the community, and give them a call.