Career Research

When researching the careers you listed in the previous exercise, the following links and resources may be useful. Scroll over each newspaper column in the image below for additional information:

When viewing the above resources, consider the following questions – these will help you narrow your career selections and help you find the best career "fit."

  • What do workers typically do (job responsibilities and tasks performed)?
  • Do workers in this occupation work with things, data, people, or ideas or some combination?
  • How much variety is there in a typical day?
  • How closely supervised are workers in this occupation?
  • In what type of environment do employees work (e.g., office, outdoors, hospitals, etc.)?
  • What are the work hours (typical 8-5 p.m. Monday-Friday, evenings, weekends)?
  • Is there travel involved?
  • What type of academic preparation and/or training is required for this occupation? Are there licensure or certification requirements?
  • What are the skills required to perform this job well?
  • What is the employment outlook for this job?
  • What is the average salary?

To further help you in gathering information about majors, use the job aid linked here. Please remember to use one handout for each career you are researching.

If you feel more comfortable talking to people in person, consider conducting an informational interview and/or shadowing someone in the career of interest. Tips and tricks for inviting a potential informational interview can be found in the OnPACE Searching for Jobs and Internships module.