Exploring Careers
Once you have some idea of your interests, values, and abilities, the next step is to investigate careers that match them. There are a few things to keep in mind when thinking about your future career:
- Start with a field rather than a specific job. Your thoughts about which specific job interests you most may (and probably will) change over time. Do not lock yourself in to one job right now. There are probably many jobs that you could do within a career field. Give yourself options.
- Think about the lifestyle you want to have. What kind of income are you going to need to support the life you desire? Can the careers that you are interested in provide you with that level of income? Need help getting started? Give this budget calculator a try.
- Think about how much education you are willing to get. Different jobs require different amounts of training. Are you willing to go to college for two years after high school? How about four years? Six? Would you be willing to do an apprenticeship to learn a trade? How about less than two years of extra schooling and earning some sort of certification? You have many educational routes open to you right now, and each route will lead to a certain type of job. The groups of jobs each educational route will lead to are called job zones.
- Strike a balance. Does it look like you will struggle to maintain the lifestyle you want based on the careers you're considering? Will the education you're willing to get leave you short of the careers that interest you? You have choices to make. More education generally leads to higher wages and a more comfortable lifestyle. That also means a greater time and effort commitment on your part. How much are you willing to work for the life you want to lead?
Resources
Here are two excellent resources you can use to investigate potential careers:
Occupational Outlook Handbook - This website is a terrific resource created and maintained by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. On this site you can find information about just about any potential career. You can find information about what the career involves, the education and training necessary to get into the field, what it pays, the growth outlook for the career, similar careers, and sources of more information about the career. You can search the handbook by career name or you can browse by occupation group.
O*NET - This website is another great resource sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor. It provides information about the tasks involved in different careers, the tools they often use, the skills and abilities necessary to perform each job, the context in which each job is performed, the job zone in which each career is located, and the interests and work values related to each career. There is also information about related occupations, wages, and employment trends. You can search careers by name or you can find occupations by categories like outlook, career cluster, and industry.
Occupational Outlook Handbook - This website is a terrific resource created and maintained by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. On this site you can find information about just about any potential career. You can find information about what the career involves, the education and training necessary to get into the field, what it pays, the growth outlook for the career, similar careers, and sources of more information about the career. You can search the handbook by career name or you can browse by occupation group.
O*NET - This website is another great resource sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor. It provides information about the tasks involved in different careers, the tools they often use, the skills and abilities necessary to perform each job, the context in which each job is performed, the job zone in which each career is located, and the interests and work values related to each career. There is also information about related occupations, wages, and employment trends. You can search careers by name or you can find occupations by categories like outlook, career cluster, and industry.