Jay writes:
I graduated from college a year ago and have been working as a staffing specialist for a temp agency. It really isn’t making me happy, but I don’t know what else to look for. I’ve heard of these surveys/tests that you can take to give you suggestions on jobs that fit your personality. Do you know of anywhere I can take such a survey? Maybe a website?
Before you even take one of the tests I’m going to suggest, I would like you to sit down and make a list of the five skills you enjoy using and the five skills (or things) you really never want to do. Then do a similar list for the five things you like most about your current job and the five things you dislike about your job. These two lists should go far in helping you sort out what kind of work might make you happier.
Here are some other questions to answer: What was your major in college? Why did you choose it? Why aren’t you working in that field?
And now, I would suggest visiting Quintessential Careers: Career Assessment for the best career and self-assessment tools on the Web — some free and some fee-based.
Ellie writes:
I started attending college just last week. In college, everybody is asking each other about their majors. I still haven’t decide what I should major. I have always had a interest in dramatic arts. But I’m afraid I can’t do it. I’m Chinese, and I have a hard time trying to speak in front of people. I don’t know if I should pick dramatic arts. If I pick a wrong major now, I’m afraid I will regret it later.
My best words of advice for you — and the many, many other college students experiencing similar feelings? The three R’s: relax, reflect, research. College is a time to really discover what the adult within you wants to do with your life — or at least the next phase of your life. Use this first year of college to really explore who you are, what you like, and what you want to do. Experiment. Take a variety of classes. Talk with older students in different majors. Meet with professors and talk with them about careers. Go to the career services office of your college and take some career interest assessments. Research potential majors, careers, and jobs. Join a variety of student organizations.
And don’t feel pressured to make any decisions right away. Most first-year students take very similar courses — regardless of their major — as most colleges have a set of foundation or core courses that all students must complete. Yes, some students enter college knowing exactly what they want to major in — perhaps even knowing their career goals too — but that doesn’t mean you have to jump to any decision right away.
What should you do? Consider trying out for a small role in a college play. If you’re not taking one of these courses this semester, consider taking a public speaking or theatre class next semester; even if you decide to go in a different career direction, learning how to be comfortable speaking in front a group will be invaluable skill to master. You should also examine what it is about the dramatic arts that most interests you; this assessment will help you better understand yourself and other potential careers/majors should you decide not to major in dramatic arts.
For more advice and resources, please read my article published on Quintessential Careers: Choosing a College Major: How to Chart Your Ideal Path.
And for all you first-year students trying to make the transition from home and high school to college, read this article on Quintessential Careers: Your First Year of College: 25 Tips to Help You Survive and Thrive Your Freshman Year and Beyond.
Jim writes:
Can you tell me of an online resource, that would tell me what careers would relate to a specific type of degree. I have a degree and cannot find what job can relate to it.
You need to totally change your focus. Except for very technical subject areas — or advanced degrees — your college major is not nearly as important as the degree itself. Employers want job-seekers with college degrees and work experience… everything else beyond that point it gravy.
So, rather than focusing on what types of jobs are available to people with your degree — and there are Websites that provide that information — a better exercise for you is to discover what truly interests you and excites you. Once you discover these things, you can then match jobs that utilize those skills and interests.
Take the time to examine all your courses, class projects, and work experience. Think about the times you were most excited, most energized, most satisfied. Make a list. Also think about the stuff you never want to do again — activities you found boring or uninspiring. Make a list of those, too.
Once you’re done with your lists, start investigating jobs and career paths that utilize the stuff you like to do while minimizing the stuff you don’t ever want to do. Once you’ve discovered the types of jobs that best fit you, your next step is identifying employers that are hiring for those jobs.
Don’t ever feel limited to search for jobs that fit your major in college. However, if you really want to see some examples, you can go to one of the many “what can I do with a major in…” sites, such as this one from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington.
You can find other good resources in this section of Quintessential Careers: Career Exploration Resources.
Bridget writes:
I need HELP! I’m currently and have been for the past 4 years working as a recruiter/human resources. I’ve recently gotten promoted to an HR generalist. At any rate, I’m SO BORED with this job I just want to cry sometimes. I am very grateful that I have a job and my co-workers/manager really like my work, but I just think that I spend too much time at work to be unhappy. I just can’t stand it. I went to college and got my degree in marketing with an emphasis in promotions and special-event planning, but I accidentally got in HR and have been here ever since. I’m dying. HELP!
Please promise me you will take some time off as soon as possible and get your life and career in order. No one should be working in a job that brings you to tears. You are still young and it’s still early in your professional life, so career change should not be too difficult for you. The harder decision and work will be making the commitment to actually change your situation.
One of my personal and professional priorities is helping people find their life and work passion. We’re only on this Earth a finite time, so we should try and find what we enjoy doing — what we’re good at — as early as possible. Besides the fact it should be the right of every job-seeker, having a job that fits you — that you have a passion for — will also help your mental and physical health.
So, how do you do it?
First, go back to your college major. Why did you choose marketing and event planning? Are you still interested in that field? If not, then take the time to do some self-reflection and self-assessment. Examine the types of activities you enjoy. Is there a hobby you really love? Is there any aspect of your current job you enjoy? Consider taking one or more assessment tests; there are several good free ones on the Web. Once you’ve developed some ideas of activities you enjoy, the next step is researching potential careers that use those skills.
Second, make a career change plan. Once you know the type of job(s) that interest you, the next step is developing a plan to make a career change. Making a successful career transition will require some mix of these elements: further education or training, gaining work experience in the field, organizing transferable skills, developing a new resume, and networking.
Read more in my article on Quintessential Careers: The 10-Step Plan to Career Change.
Mike writes: I am 19, turning 20 on June 22. My problem is I still don’t know what I want to do with my life. I would be interested to know if you hear that a lot. Also I am interested to know, if there are any career opportunities out there that don’t require a post-secondary education. Thanks for your advice.
My best advice is for you to take the six-step journey of self-discovery that I describe in detail in my article, Choosing a College Major: How to Chart Your Ideal Path. While you are not choosing a college major, the same steps can be taken to learn more about potential careers — and jobs within those careers.
Do you need a college education to have a successful career? No. While more jobs are certainly moving to the service industry and white collar manufacturing sectors — which mostly require a college education — there are still plenty of jobs in the blue-collar sector that do not require a college degree. And while the perception has been that blue-collar jobs are on the decline, I just read an article that discussed how blue-collar jobs have actually increased over the last few years.
Finally, don’t give up on college. Perhaps now is not the right time for you, but studies show the real value of a college education, not only in terms of success and wealth, but in terms of quality of life. Please read our article, What Good is a College Education Anyway? The Value of a College Education.
Matthew writes:
I recently read your article, Choosing a College Major: How to Chart Your Ideal Path. I was wondering if you could give me some advice. I was looking into a career as a college professor. I was wondering how you got your start teaching at the university level?
Please forgive the trip down memory lane here, but Matthew did ask, so here goes…
While not totally cognizant of it at the time, I started my career-change journey from hotshot marketing manager at a couple of consumer magazines to college professor while getting my master’s degree in marketing magazines. How? To help offset the costs of graduate school, I taught a number of journalism and communications courses. Little did I know it at the time, but that taste of being in the classroom on the other side of the desk started in motion a growing desire — and eventually consuming passion — to make a difference in people’s lives.
The teaching bug hit me again when I accepted an offer to teach an advertising class one night a week at a local community college. What began to puzzle me, though, was that I was beginning to spend much more time planning and looking forward to that one night a week than I did my day job. That set in motion the rough stage of career change for me. First, introspection and identification of my strengths and weaknesses and my career and job interests. Next, I conducted research on types of teaching jobs at various colleges and universities. I then realized that educating was my calling in life and that in an ideal world I would want to be a college professor full-time.
The last step was developing a plan to get from where I was to where I wanted to be. Luckily, I had a very supportive wife, and so we uprooted the entire family and moved to Tallahassee so I could enter the doctoral program at Florida State. All three of my degrees are related to marketing; if I had wanted to teach something else, my path would have been different; similarly if I had wanted to teach at a different level.
Of course, being a professor involves a lot more than teaching at the college level. In many ways, I wish that’s all it did include. Unfortunately, being a professor involves more than teaching; it also includes research and service. At the college at which I began teaching, professors have freedom to really define their research, and so I had the flexibility of combining my interests in marketing, career development, and job-hunting into one big research stream. The service component is spending lots of time serving the university, the discipline, the profession, and the community.
So, as my article states. Take your time in examining and evaluating your interests and desires. Then research and explore various career options. Talk with people in the careers you’re considering. Finally, choose a major. Just remember to take your time and really spend some time examining all your options.
Anonymous writes: I am a 20 year old who had to withdraw from college because of an automobile accident. My therapy/recovery is coming to an end. The free time I’ve had has presented the opportunity to question where I want to go career and college wise. I struggled for a year and a half at a small liberal-arts college — my effort was minimal, and my grades show it. The accident and long recovery has given me a greater appreciation for what I need to do to be successful. I’ve always been very handy and enjoy taking things apart — I would probably be a great engineer, but my lack of math and science skills would make it difficult. Any advice on how to evaluate my strengths/weaknesses and where I might go from here??
But based on your own assessment of your previous college experience, this accident sounds like it served as a wake-up call for you…and I wish you the best in moving ahead with your quest.
I talk a lot to my students and clients about finding their work and career passion — and that is what you need to do now. You have already taken a couple of steps in the right direction, but there are more steps to take. I’m going to give you a few Web resources, but first, I have to tell you that this process is tough. It’s going to take some work in matching up your talents, skills, and interests with one or more potential careers. Be prepared to commit a fair amount of time to the process. This process is a journey, and for most people, not a short one.
I think a great place to start is my article, Choosing a College Major: How to Chart Your Ideal Path. This article takes you through the six steps necessary to make your journey to career self-discovery. It also includes some great resources, including other Websites and some useful books.
I also suggest you review some of the other articles we’ve published on Quintessential Careers, specifically in our Career Planning Articles section, which includes an article on completing a SWOT analysis (where you will complete an analysis of your strengths and weaknesses).
Jessica writes: I am a 16-year-old sophomore in high school. I am having difficulties trying to choose which career most suits me in my future years. I am planning on going to college for 4 years, and hopefully at Penn Sate University. I have had my mind set on working with computers for quite some time now. Computer science or computer engineering are what I’m looking into the most.
I, however, am afraid that I won’t be able to succeed in those areas. Everyone encourages me to go for it. My grades are usually in the high B, low-mid-high A area. I know my math and science courses are most important for these areas of study. My math grades range from 91-95 and my science grades range from 88-92. I was just wondering if you could help me out at all with my decision by seeing my grades and knowing my goals.
Many career paths relate to computers and technology, and regardless of whether you actually major in one of those areas, I can guarantee that you will need and use computer skills in any profession.
You appear to be a very good student, and Penn State is a great school, so I think, even without a career choice at this moment, you will do well in life. I have a six-step process that may help you think more about your career and a college major — and you can find it and lots more advice in my article, Choosing a College Major: How to Chart Your Ideal Path. I wish you the very best.
Angie writes:
I am a sophomore in college and I had been majoring in mechanical engineering. I realized that I don’t like this major at all and I don’t want to be doing it for the next 40 years of my life. I have no idea what I want to do. Can you suggest something that will help me in my search for a new major?
Hi Angie… relax, you’ve taken the first — and perhaps most important — step, which is realizing that you have made a mistake and you need to look at other possible careers to find something that better suits your unique skills and attributes.
My best suggestions is for you to take advantage of the advice and resources
discussed in my article, Choosing
a College Major: How to Chart Your Ideal Path. My article takes you through a six-step journey that should lead you to greater clarity and direction about your future career. I also include lots of resources - from self-assessment tests to career guides — in the article.
And the most important piece of advice? Don’t panic. Yes, you are a sophomore, but if you do change your major, a lot of your courses should count as prerequisites for your new major, though you may need to take an overload or some summer courses to stay on course for graduating — but it is certainly not too late to be making these decisions.
Good luck.
Starr writes: I’m in college and will soon face the dilemma of having to choose a major, a frightening concept when I have no real clue. I am an athlete (swimmer) and would like a career in sports/athletics. I don’t think I have the stamina or aptitude to be a sports doctor, like I had dreamt of, but I know there must be other exciting opportunities that await me. My question for you is, where should I begin to look at sports/athletic careers? Teaching is on the low end of the totem pole of excitement, so I’d like to consider everything from
physical therapy to perhaps positions held in the Olympic arena.
One of the biggest decisions college students make during their college careers is choosing a major, and while it is an important decision, I truly hope it is not a dilemma for you!
The sports and exercise science and allied health fields are among the fastest growing professions in the U.S., and you do, in fact, have many options ahead of you.
Here’s what I would suggest you do:
From this combination self-analysis and networking, you should at least have some directions for doing some research into various majors… which you should conduct by meeting with professors in the various departments housing those majors.
For a lot more tips and advice on choosing a major, take a few minutes
to read Choosing
a College Major: How to Chart Your Ideal Path.
V. K. writes: My son, a college freshman, loves history. What other careers besides teaching would be available to a history major?
Since the latest statistics show that the average person will change careers — not just jobs — at least five times over his or her worklife, the most important thing for you to do is to encourage your son to finish his college education — and to fill it with as great a variety of courses as he can so that he can be exposed to a variety of skills and experiences.
As for history in particular, your son could become a government worker or aide, research assistant, lobbyist, journalist, intelligence agent, consumer advocate, foreign service worker, and others. A great source for learning more about this topic is for you to visit the Quint Careers section What Can I do With a Major in…?. Other sources of this type of career discovery
information can be found at Quintessential
Careers: Career Exploration.
James writes: I am a first-semester sophomore at a university and I have no idea what to major in. I feel I am very organized and detail-oriented. I do not like to speak in front of a lot of
people, but I can communicate to one person at a time. I do not like public speaking is what I am trying to say. I do not have any ideas of neat jobs out there that I could get into. I was wondering if you could help me in narrowing down some cool new jobs that I could look into. I am enrolled in a career explorations class but I am still needing some extra help!
I wish all colleges offered career-exploration courses. Some even offer an entire major directed at helping students discover their true talents and career directions.
My best advice for you is not to panic. You have several years left in college and a lifetime ahead. Statistics show most people will change their careers — not just their jobs — multiple times over the course of their lives.
You can find articles and tools for choosing a major by visiting Quintessential Careers: What Can I do With a Major in…?.
Linda writes: A lot of my friends already know what they want to do, although we’re only in our sophomore year of high school. Our guidance counselors say go in the direction of something your good at, but I don’t know what my forte is. I thought of acting/singing, but many performers don’t make it (I’d still like to try anyway). What can I do to find what I’m good at?
I so enjoy receiving emails from my teen readers because you have so much ahead of you in your lives and there is no need to feel rushed to find your “one right thing,” especially since that one right thing will probably change about five to seven times over the course of your life, according to most recent studies.
There are lots of ways of discovering what you’re good at … sit down at your PC or with a piece of paper and make a list of things you like to do and things you do not like to do … then make a list of things you are good at, such as acting/singing. Then see if you can combine the things you like doing with the things you are good at … and then you can investigate careers that use those strengths and skills.
You can also take some assessment tests. There are many available both on and off the Web. You can take a look at some of the better ones on the Web by visiting Quintessential Careers: Career Assessment.
Finally, while it may be a little early for you to start thinking about a major in college, you can use the same thought process for where you are now, so you should probably read,
Choosing a College Major:
How to Chart Your Ideal Path.
Rosemary writes: I am 17 years old and interested in a career in research. I think I would like to work for the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). I have been trying to find a list of disciplines/occupations employed by the CDC, and I can’t find one. Can you help me locate a listing of potential research oriented occupations?
Rosemary, research is a huge field … and there are many possibilities within it to specialize — all sorts of scientific specialties, with many jobs requiring advanced degrees.
The CDC has a section of its Website geared to Training and Employment Opportunities.
I also suggest you search the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Occupational Outlook Handbook for more detailed information about careers in various areas of research. The information here will help direct your focus in a career direction as well as toward a specific major in college.
Jen writes: I am 16 years old. I need help finding a career because I think it is so important to start making these decisions now. I am thinking of a career in the sciences, most likely
biological studies, or perhaps psychology. I am much better at the arts, but I want a career where I can make good money. I get really good grades at school, so I am up for a challenge. I would very much appreciate any help you could give me.
The Career Doctor responds: Jen, I first want to praise you for thinking ahead about your future education and employment goals, but I also want to let you know that it is okay not to have everything set in stone at age 16. My advice for you between now and college is to continue taking college-prep courses that you need and that interest you, work or volunteer at a couple of different companies and organizations (such as an art gallery?), and continue to discuss your career goals with family, teachers, and counselors … you might also
consider reading the job descriptions available at our Quint Careers job board and other job sites to get a feel for the types of jobs available in a variety of fields.
In fact, an article on Quintessential Careers may be perfect for you. Check out Choosing a College Major: How to Chart Your Ideal Path.
One final piece of advice: don’t eliminate any possibilities just yet. The key to a successful work life is finding employment that you love to do — not just a job that pays well. If you like the arts, there are plenty of jobs that offer a good salary while allowing you to work at something you enjoy… but keep in mind that your interests may change as you further mature and continue your education.
Juliana writes: I am interested in pursuing economics at the college level. However, I am not entirely sure if I will be able to get a job after completing my studies. Maybe you could help me identify the kind of careers I will go into with an economics degree.
There are quite a few occupations you could choose to venture into with an economics degree. Here are just a few: economist, market analyst, claim adjuster, systems analyst, inventory control specialist, demographer, geographer, and many others.
For a great source of transferable skills, list of occupations, and other resources, visit the college majors section of Quintessential Career.
Another great source of information is the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Outlook Handbook, which you can search here for more information about economics.
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