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Career Exploration and Planning

Career planning is a lifelong process of making important decisions about your professional goals and how to achieve them. It requires thinking carefully about your interests, abilities, and values, and choosing a profession that would be satisfying to you. The decisions you make about your life's work will affect you in many other ways. Your career choice may influence your lifestyle, where you live, your income, your professional and social network, and your leisure activities. With so much depending on your career decisions, it is important that you make them wisely. Fortunately, you do not have to do it alone. The SMCM Career Development Center, or "CDC," offers a wide range of traditional and Internet-based services, tools, and resources to support your career development.

SMCM Career Planning Timeline
This "checklist" will help you assess your current position in the career planning process and will provide you with ideas for activities to include in your own unique action plan.

DISCOVER^®
SMCM now holds a license for ACT's online comprehensive career planning program. DISCOVER includes self-assessment tools and occupational information that can be of help to you as you make important educational and career-related decisions and plans. Contact our office for an introduction to the program and interpretation of your assessment results. (Individual login and password must be assigned by the CDC.)

Guide to Exploring Majors and Careers
Until we are able to develop our own similar "workbook", you will find this PDF handout from the University of Missouri-Columbia to be a valuable resource.

What Can I Do with a Major in _____ ?
Whether you have settled on a major or are still trying to make that decision, this outstanding resource will help you identify relevant occupations in fields of interest. Clicking on a major will bring you to a list of related career titles (each of which links to a summary page in the current Dept. of Labor Occupational Outlook Handbook) as well as links to relevant professional associations.

What Can I Do with this Major?
A similar resource from the U. of Arizona. For each major that interests you, choose "Information" to find an outline of common career areas, typical employers, and strategies designed to maximize career opportunities. Choose "Links" to find a list of websites that provide information about listed majors and related careers. (Not all majors listed are available at SMCM.)

Professional Links by Major
This enormously helpful tool on the UMBC Web site directs you to professional associations and organizations related to majors of interest. Follow the links to learn about occupations, graduate study, internships, jobs, and more! A Google search may also turn up useful occupational exploration resources in fields of interest, such as ExploreHealthCareeers.org.

Federal Jobs by Major
Did you ever consider working for the Federal Government? There are government jobs available for all majors and all settings. To assist students in selecting a career field, the Government has created a list that groups common Federal jobs according to relevant academic majors. Note that the top of the list includes several administrative jobs suitable students with a degree in any academic major. If you see something that interests you, be sure to check out our Government Employment page for additional resources related to planning for a federal career.

ExploreHealthCareers.org
This interactive website will tell you everything you need to know about a wide variety of health careers, including traditional occupations such as nursing as well as those you may not be aware of, such as art therapy and biostatistics. Includes information on summer enrichment programs and educational funding opportunities, particularly for traditionally underrepresented groups. Information is comprehensive, reliable, and current, making this a wonderful resource for any student considering the health professions.

Article: What Can I Do with my Liberal Arts Degree?
This 2007 article from Occupational Outlook Quarterly can open your eyes to the many career options open to liberal arts grads. Many employers care more about candidates' skills than their major. And the skills employers want most--such as communication and critical thinking--are those for which liberal arts students are known. This article also provides tips on how to focus your career goals, gain relevant skills, and market yourself to find the job you want.

US News "Best Careers 2010"
This annual review provides a brief but thoughtful overview of some "in demand" occupations that are associated with high job satisfaction. Also includes info on the most "overrated" occupations. Worth a look!

Roadtrip Nation
This site includes programs from the PBS series of the same name in which groups of college students tour the country in an RV, interviewing everyone from hop hop stars to members of congress in order to learn about their career paths...and perhaps figure out what they want to do with their own lives. You can search for videos in your own interest areas, or browse the whole list. Worth watching!

US Dept. of Labor Occupational Exploration Resources
The DOL and Bureau of Labor Statistics publish and update several print and Internet resources that are sure to prove exceptionally valuable in your occupational and career exploration.

Career Guide to Industries
The CGI provides details about 44 industries. According to the BLS, "industries are defined by the processes they use to produce goods and services…. Each industry has a unique combination of occupations…and business characteristics. Understanding the nature of the industry is important because it is this unique combination that determines working conditions, educational requirements, and the job outlook." This resource is useful for students who have some idea of an industry that interests them (e.g., banking, government) but little knowledge of the occupational options within the industry.

Occupational Outlook Handbook
The OOH provides details on 270 specific occupations including training, earnings, outlook, tasks, and working conditions. The occupations are organized into 11 categories, but these are very broad and not especially useful for browsing. If you have already identified specific occupations of interest, however, the site may provide extensive information about all aspects of the occupation.

O*Net Online
O*Net is the replacement for the former Dictionary of Occupational Titles and "serves as the nation's primary source of occupational information, providing comprehensive information on key attributes and characteristics of workers and occupations." One of its real strengths is the common language created for describing occupations and workforce skills. Helpful tools include the quick skills search, and-under "Find Occupations"-the ability to search by keyword, growth, job family, and more. "In Demand" occupations are clearly marked.

Career Voyages
Is job security a major concern of yours? The focus of this site is promotion of in-demand occupations in high-growth industries.

Occupational Outlook Quarterly
The OOQ is the online version of a quarterly publication that we receive in our office. It is a great resource that consistently includes current articles of enormous value to the new job seeker such as a recent cover article on working in politics. The regular columns, such as the "You're a what?" segment (which provides a nice profile of an offbeat occupation), are interesting as well. All past articles are indexed.

We have many print resources and tools available in the CDC to assist you with your exploration and planning!