Career & Occupation DIscovery
Whether choosing your major for the first time, or thinking about making a career change, those decisions are best made with a sense of how you will apply the knowledge and experience you've gained in the world of work. This page identifies resources and strategies to employ in identifying occupation options and career plans. You should think about:
Career options that leverage the combined knowledge base built by your major(s) and minor(s)
Occupations and work environments that fit your passion and personal style
Future workplace demand - "job outlook" - for occupations of interest
Salary potential and educational expenses for advancement
The resources below are grouped by into General Tools that cross discipline areas easily, and Field Specific Resources that drill down into more narrow paths typically associated with a field of study.
General Tools
My Next Move is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment & Training Administration, and developed by the National Center for O*NET Development. It helps you explore occupations by career keywords, industry or interests.
The Occupational Outlook Handbook is maintained by U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics | Office of Occupational Statistics and Employment Projections and is a great tool to research occupation groups, conduct keyword searches and much more. For each occupation a description is provided, along with educational requirements, salaries, job outlook, and similar occupations to consider.
MyPlan.com is a public site that supports research of Careers and related educational paths. The information provided on the site is provided from, and with, the help of their partners. To start with Careers, click on the Career tab and start searching by keywords.
These National Career Development Association (NCDA) pages offers extensive and well organized links to sites that provide assistance for career planning, occupation research, employment trends, job and internship search, salary insights, industry insights, professional associations, specialized training and more. NCDA is the recognized leader in developing standards for the career development profession, for the provision of career counseling programs and services, and for the evaluation of career information materials.
The Balance Careers is one of a number of sites under the Dotdash brand family. We've reviewed much of the content they offer and find the quality strong and the breadth and easy to read style a plus. The Balance Careers have content that walks you through every part of the job-search process, from crafting a resume to nailing the interview to negotiating the salary. They also have advice for once you've landed that first job and how to get comfortable in the workplace.
Field Specific Resources
COMING SOON!