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Checking Out Careers
Think back to when you were a little tike...come on, it wasn't that long ago! Did you look to the sky and dream about being an airline pilot as you followed the jet stream across the wide blue yonder? When the siren wailed, did you imagine yourself driving the fire truck? How about shyly following that doctor in and out of the examining room? Or, have you had a summer job (shadowing) a professional in the workplace that has given you a thought? A movie star, a musician, a dancer...all had dreams that have been pursued through furthering their education beyond high school.
Now, where you begin your research into checking out careers is really pretty simple. Start with YOU...how well do you know yourself? Get out a piece of paper, divide it into two columns: "What Am I
Good At?" and "What Am I Not Good At?" and add to this special
hobbies and/or interests. This is a great way to answer some pretty basic
questions. What you are actually doing is discovering what you will be
doing in your future...not bad!
Your high school counselor has several resources about various careers, so does the library and a service offered through Bank of North Dakota/Student Loans of North Dakota called College Information Service (CIS). Recognized by high school counselors as "the #1 source for college planning," CIS can conduct a search and give you career forecasts.
You can also visit the following websites:
Here's an interesting statistic according to the Career Outlook, "high school students and graduates consistently rank their parents as the #1 influence on their career choices." Career Outlook also says, "parents have a greater impact than high school teachers, counselors, and friends!"
Well, good luck to you, our future accountant, doctor, lawyer, composer, movie star, automotive engineer, and teacher! We're excited...there's a lot of talent out there and we couldn't be more excited for you!
For more detailed information on careers, check out The Occupational Outlook Handbook which is a nationally recognized source of career information, designed to provide valuable assistance to individuals making decisions about their future work lives. Revised every two years, the Handbook describes what workers do on the job, working conditions, the training and education needed, earnings, and expected job prospects in a wide range of occupations.
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