So you already know that you want to go to college, but the next step is to figure out what to do during the four years you are there. It is acceptable to be unsure about your career path or major when you go into college, but it can often be helpful to have some direction or idea about what possibilities for your future are available to you.
The first section of this page offers you a variety of career exploration websites. Some of those websites offer self-assessments of interests, values, personality, and work preferences. If you are unsure of where to begin, the self assessments will help match your personal attributes to careers that speak to those abilities and interests.
The second section of this page offers books and websites that help students choose a college major. This is a short guide with some really great resources, but know that this is the tip of the iceberg. There are many resources that can help you narrow down a career path for your future. If you want to discuss some of these resources or look for additional resources feel free to contact your counselor.
Online Resources for Career Exploration and Career Inventories:
1. The Career Zone website is a program designed for high school students. Once you create a username and password you can take assessments that match your interests and abilities to some great career options. The other side of this tool is to explore those career matched further. Please note that the inventory you take is meant to match you to possible career options. This does not mean that if you get “plumber” as a career option that you are destined to be a plumber. This resources is meant to help you explore possibilities
2. Career Explorer is another website that offers a free career interest inventory so that you can match you career interests and abilities to possible career options for your future. This is another great tool to assess yourself. It could open up possibilities that you have not considered before.
3. The online Occupational Outlook Handbook offered by the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics is a great site that offers information about a variety of different careers. After taking some of the above career assessments, this tool could really help you flesh out your options. You can find information about the education levels needed, job prospects, working conditions and much more for each occupation you are considering.
4. Learn More Indiana Career Interest Inventories is a website that offers five different tools and assessment instruments that could be useful in career exploration and planning.
5. Careership is another career interest website that uses the O*NET profiler to offer you information about what career options might interest you. Again, Please note that the inventory you take is meant to match you to possible career options. This does not mean that if you get “plumber” as a career option that you are destined to be a plumber. Have fun with this one- it is a great resource!
6. Career Focus 2000 Interest Inventory is another great tool that helps you assess your interests in certain aspects of the world of work. This is a simple and relatively short assessment.
7. Job Profiles is a great online tool. You will be able to learn about a variety of different career options. This is a great resource, but please note that it does not note all career options. You may want to look at the online Occupational Outlook Handbook for additional information.
8. Career Path is yet another great online tool that offers a variety of assessments. These assessment tools will further aid you in your quest to finding a career path that is right for you.
College Major/Career Resources:
1. My Majors is a website that offers a self-assessment that will help you match your academic interests and abilities with potential college majors. The pledge of this site is to “give you a lot of information about college majors, the types of courses needed to get a degree, what jobs are available, and information about great college institutions offering these college majors.” This website would be a great starting point for someone who needs some direction in college planning.
2. College Board offers a variety of publications to aid high school students in achieving a smooth transition between high school and college. One of the publications offered by College Board is the “Book of Majors, 2009” which is an index of college majors available. The book provides descriptions of each major as well as a list of many colleges that offer that major. You can find this book at your local book store. Your school counselor also has a copy of this in his/her office for you to use.
Title: Book of Majors 2009 (College Board Index of Majors and Graduate Degrees), by College Board
3. Princeton review majors search is a resource that you can use to look up different majors you might be considering. Using this website, you will be able to access basic information about each major, what courses you should take in high school to prepare for that major, schools that offer the major, a sample college course load for that field of study, and graduate programs or careers that can be obtained if you choose that major.
4. Other Print Sources that Could be Useful:
- The Complete Idiot's Guide to Choosing a College Major By: Randall S. Hansen
- Now What?:The Young Person's Guide to Choosing the Perfect Career By: Nicholas Lore
- How to Choose a College Major By: Linda Landis Andrews