Self-Assessment

Commit yourself to finding a career that's appropriate to your interests, needs, and values. The first step in career planning is self-assessment, which helps you examine who you are and what you know about yourself.

The Career Self-Assessment helps identify your interests, skills, values, and personality using Holland codes. In the List of Careers, explore the occupations that match your Holland code(s) and see if any of them catch your interest. Information available to you includes occupation descriptions, worker characteristics, entry-level academic and training requirements, work environment, physical demands, and related occupations.

Deciding on a Major

Much of your decision will be based on the school you attend and what you want to do. Some majors are directly related to specific careers. For example, if you hope to be an engineer, the obvious major to choose is engineering. But there are many careers that don't require specific majors or courses. If you don't have a specific career goal in mind, it might be best to choose a major that interests you. By doing so, you will grow intellectually and, hopefully, excel academically.

Changing Your Mind

Keep in mind that if you decide later that you want to work in some profession completely unrelated to your major, you still can. You might have to go back to school and take the core courses you need, but you can still pursue your dream.

More School?

Deciding whether or not you want or need more schooling will depend largely on the nature of the careers in which you're interested. Some occupations can be entered right after high school graduation, while others might require an apprenticeship (a period of learning on the job under the direction of someone who is experienced in the work). Other occupations will require that you go to a technical school for one or two years or may require an advanced degree of four or more years.

Which School?

Practical factors can help you determine which school is a good choice for you. Pay attention to what the school offers, where you want to live, and what you can afford. Those factors should narrow the field considerably.

You can take virtual tours of campuses by visiting their main websites or visiting another website that provides them, such as MarylandMentor's Campus Tours.

If you or your parents are figuring out how to pay for college, know that help is available to you. To begin, there is a host of information available in the Financial Aid module of this website.

There are also less traditional financing sources available that require more research on your part. Your high school guidance counselor's office is a good place to start searching for financing solutions. Ask your parents if their workplace offers scholarships to the children of employees. There are also books, scholarship search services, and online resources to help you reach your financial aid goals.

What Else Can You Do?

Ask people whose jobs look or sound interesting to explain what they really do and how they got to where they are now. Start with these questions:

• Did you go to college?
• Did you go to graduate school?
• What was your major?
• What kind of jobs, internships, volunteer work, or apprenticeships, if any, did you take on?
• How did you get your first job in your choice career?
• How long have you worked in this job?
• What are your primary responsibilities?
• What do you like most about your job?
• What frustrates you the most about your job?
• What are your long-term career goals?
• If you could go back and redo your training for this job, how would you better prepare?

• Job Shadowing
  It's hard to know what people in a particular occupation actually do during their typical workday. To get a feel for an occupation, ask someone who works in a career in which you are seriously interested if you can shadow him or her for a day. If he or she agrees, you get to see what the job really entails, both the boring and the beautiful. You also get to make a contact, thereby starting to build your professional network.
  
  
• Internships
  Internships are generally pursued later, either once you're in college or have some work experience. They're designed to provide a more focused exposure to an organization or career. Internships are also a great way to network for future positions, because you gain experience and make personal contacts. Some internships are paid (usually not a large amount) and others are unpaid.
  
  Some organizations, companies, and government offices have formal internship programs that you must apply to and even compete for despite the free labor you are offering. Another way to find an internship is to contact a place at which you'd like to work and offer to work as an intern.
  
  Internship Resources
  www.internshipprograms.com
  www.rsinternships.com
  
  
• Volunteer Work