Weng 1

Teddy Weng

Jamie

DITLE word

16 June 2016

Career Exploration

Deciding what you want to do with the rest of your life seems to be a daunting
task. Yet in reality, you only need to decide what you want to do with the next several
years of your life. Maybe you will fit into this new career and keep it forever, but more
likely, this choice will often expose you to new opportunities that will spring-board you
into yet another career path. So keep an open mind about your future as you explore your
career path of today, because you are not stuck if you decide that it isnt for you. 1

Get started Career exploration

Assess Yourself Identify skills, interests, and accomplishments
Explore Career Options Learn about occupations, explore industries
Gain skills Identify your education and training needs
Find a job Search, apply, interview
Manage your career Evaluate your career path

To get started in your career exploration, the first step is to simply get started.
You need to understand that choosing a career is a long-term progressive process that you
will fine-tune as you gain more knowledge. The process involves exploring education,
training and jobs that fit your interests and skills. In order to find the right career path for
you, it is important to understand yourself. In order to do this, it is recommended that
you identify your accomplishments, take assessments, understand time management and
then create career goals. Understanding what is important to you and your future is the
first important step to career exploration (Donovan 12).
Now that you have a better understanding of what you are looking for, begin the
process of exploring careers. Watch career videos and view occupational trends and
wages, research employers, explore work options, and find resources and assistance.
Create a portfolio of your findings. Take notes on the different career options to better
understand how each career fits into your personal profile. Keep in mind that no job will
1 It is not common for someone to change careers several times in a lifetime.
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meet all of your interests and preferences, so you may have to make some trade-offs
(CareerOneStop: Pathways to Success).

Hopefully, now you have a better

understanding of the careers you want to pursue
and what types of skills will be necessary to achieve
this career goal. At this stage, you need to identify
your education and training needs, find the
necessary education and training, and explore
internships and work-based learning. At this point, you need to decide if the education
and training is something that you are committed to pursuing. If not, you may need to go
back to the career exploration stage and find something more suited to your current
knowledge and skills.
Once you have the education and skills necessary to land that job, it is now time
to start the job search. Keep in mind that you may not land the job of your dreams to
start with. If you know what your goals are, you can find jobs that will best put you in a
position to get you to those goals. Be realistic in your expectations. It is okay to dream
big but be prepared to start at a lower level than you anticipated. Consider pay
expectations, willingness to relocate and opportunities for advancement when considering
job offers.
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Veterinary Technologist

Physical Therapy Assistant

Diagnostic Medical
Sonographer
Occupational
Therapy
De
Assistant
nt
al
Hy
gie
nis
t

Once you have your foot in the door, you can re-evaluate your career path.
Explore other jobs within the company that you find interesting and challenging and
determine what skills you need to gain to attain that level of accomplishment. As you
gain more knowledge and experience, it is likely that your career goals will change.
Ultimately, you may have to go back and revisit previous steps in the career exploration
path to re-evaluate your goals.
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Works Cited
CareerOneStop: Pathways to Career Success. Career Exploration. 2013. Web
Donovan, Gail. Get Your career on the Right Path. Boston: Pearson Publishing,
2012. Print
 Appendix A

1 Get Started
2 Assess Yourself
a Identify Accomplishments
b Take assessments
c Understand time
management
d Create career goals
3 Explore Career Options
a Learn about occupations
i Watch career
videos
ii View occupational
trends and wages
b Explore industries
i Find industry
wages and trends
ii Research
employers
c Consider options
i Explore work
options
ii Find resources and
assistance
4 Gain skills
a Identify your education
and training needs
b Find education and
training
c Explore internships and
work-based learning
5
a Pay for school
6 Find a job
a Create a job search plan
b Search for jobs
c Apply for jobs
d Interview
e Consider a job offer
f Consider relocation
g Find resources and
assistance
7 Manage Your Career
a Evaluate your career path
b Deal with transition
c Develop a network
d Learn throughout your life
8 Next Steps
a Visit Explore Careers to
find more advice and
resources
b Find education and
training resources
c Get salary information
about occupations of
interest to you
9 (CareerOneStop: Pathways to
Career Success)
10

11

12

13
14 Occupation 15 Employment 16 Employment 17 Percent
2010 2020 Change
18 Reinforcing 19 19,100 20 28,400 21 49%
Iron and
Rebar
Workers
22 Helpers 23 57,900 24 84,200 25 45%
Pipelayers,
Plumbers, etc.
26 Physical 27 47,000 28 67,300 29 43%
Therapist
Aides
30
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