How To Choose a Career or College Major:
A Step-by-Step Guide

The time you spend doing it right now can affect the rest of your life!

Also, Go to Dr. Stevens Free online Success and Happiness Attributes Questionnaire (SHAQ) for testing your academic major interests, academic success factors, and many other career success related scales.

Overview:

• Are you undecided about your major or Career?
• Would you like to find a career that best fits your interests and abilities?
• You can learn a career planning process to help you make career decisions throughout life.
• You can use this decision-making model to make many types of important decisions.
• Avoiding a career decision or making a poor choice can be very costly.
• The time you spend planning now can help add to your happiness throughout your life.
  Return to INDEX
  

You may be thinking that you need to take some tests or think hard until you find the ideal career for you. Actually, that is not how most people make career decisions. Career decisions tend to be made in stages. At each stage you learn a little more about what you want. Therefore, if you are a freshman or sophomore and have not chosen a major or career, you are not alone. Eighty per cent of college students change majors at least once.

CAREER DECISION LADDER

Following are examples of a typical progression of career decisions people make. Which decision are you currently concerned about? You might think of this progression of decisions as a career decision ladder.

• Whether or not to go to college.
• Which college to go to.
• Which general area to go into. Examples of general directions include "Business," "Sales," "Scientific," "Teaching," "People-oriented," "Artistic," "A Medically-related field," "Sports-related," "Entertainment," or "Writing."
• Narrow down to 2 or 3 majors--taking courses in each and exploring each in other ways. (Perhaps exploring the one with the most requirements first.)
• Decide upon one major. (If the decision is very hard, you might pick the one which seems to have access to more career directions and closes fewest doors.)
• Decide which more specific occupation you want. (You might decide this before you decide upon your major. On the other hand some people never consciously decide which occupation they want.)
• Decide which specific job you want (during a job search).
• After you have worked in that job for awhile, decide if you want to continue your same job or career or if you want to make a change.
• What future positions (such as promotions into management positions) might you want?

Return to INDEX

WHICH TYPE OF DECISION ARE YOU MAKING?

As you may have noticed, making career decisions is actually a life-long process. Since your career decisions can have about as much or more effect on your overall satisfaction with life as any decision you ever make, spending time making them effectively may be one of the best investments of your time you ever make.

EXPERIENCES OF STUDENTS WHO DIDN'T MAKE A DECISION

What can happen if you don't make an effective decision? Following are some actual situations of students I have talked with.

* Quote from a student, "When I was 18 I thought that someday I would just know what I wanted to be, but now I am 30 and still don't know."

* Senior with about 120 units in various fields, "Now I've decided that I really want to major in business, but it's going to take me almost three years more to get my degree."

* Quote from former student who had been working for four years in the field he majored in, "I knew when I was in college that I didn't like my courses in this field very well, but I just kept going so I could graduate. Now I am so unhappy in this that I am ready to come back to college and start over again in something else. I wish I had really thought about what I wanted to do."

* Research has shown that students who are more clear about their career goals tend to be more successful in college and make better grades. Do you think this can't happen to you? It probably won't if you will take an active role and EXPLORE, EXPLORE, EXPLORE YOURSELF and the WORLD OF WORK. Use this little guide as a way of getting started and guiding your process.
Return to INDEX

CAREER COUNSELING

• You can receive Individual counseling and testing to help you decide upon a major or career.

UNIVERSITY COURSES

• Try taking a course designed to help you learn more about careers and plan your career.

CAREER INFORMATION CENTERS

• Start with books such as the Occupational Outlook Handbook and Dictionary of Occupational Titles.. Look at literature from private companies. Look into the computer program called SIGI. Look at videotapes that have interviews with people who have knowledge of careers you are interested in.

INFORMATION ABOUT MAJORS

• Go to the specific academic department you are interested in and speak to a faculty advisor.

INTERVIEWS WITH PERSONS IN THE OCCUPATION

• Interviewing with persons in the occupation is probably the best way that you can get information about the career. This will be discussed in more depth below.

JOB SEARCH HELP

• You may want help in preparing and conducting a job search or want a chance to participate in on-campus interviews for graduating seniors. The classic book in this area is Bolles', What Color is Your Parachute? Go to your COUNSELING CENTER or CAREER DEVELOPMENT CENTER.

WORK EXPERIENCE

• You may be able to get a great deal of information about a career (plus some important experience to add to your resume) through work experience. Work experience can be arranged which is paid, volunteer, or for which you receive course credit.

TIP: Try your COOPERATIVE EDUCATION CENTER.
Return to INDEX

The process of making any career decisions is very similar.

* If you learn this career decision process, it can help you with every career decision throughout your life. This problem-solving model can also be used to help you make other important life decisions--such as choice of a partner or buying a house or a car.

* Research has supported the conclusion that persons who were more systematic in choosing their careers tend to be happier and more successful in their careers.

You can use the following section as a guide to the steps of making a career decision. You may not use all of the steps exactly as described below; however, this section may help guide you through the process. The steps to making a career decision include the following.

* STEP 1: GET READY

* STEP 2: SELF-EXPLORATION--Gather information about yourself

* STEP 3: CAREER EXPLORATION--Gather Information about the world of work and generate alternative career options

* STEP 4: MAKING A DECISION--NARROW THE ALTERNATIVES

* STEP 5: PLANNING--MAKE A CAREER PREPARATION PLAN

* STEPS 6&7: ACTION AND FEEDBACK--TRY OUT YOUR CHOICES

Return to INDEX

Now we will take one step at a time for you to examine in more detail. Do the suggested activities at each step as you are ready for them. You may want to also seek help from your Counseling Center or Career Development Center or attend Career Decision Workshops at either center.

ASSIGN TIME TO EXPLORE AND DECIDE

Many students spend very little time on one the most important decisions in their lives. Spending the equivalent of a 3-unit course to decide which courses you will take for the other 121 or more units seems only reasonable.

WHICH DECISION ARE YOU MAKING?

Look at the examples above and try to clarify what you need to decide and when need to make the decision. WHAT ARE YOUR INITIAL ALTERNATIVES Make a list of the majors or occupations which you are currently considering. At this point make it as large as is reasonable. Use general statements if necessary.
Return to INDEX

WHAT IS YOUR OVERALL GOAL THAT YOU WANT FROM YOUR CAREER (or your life)?

What do you want most out of a job or career? I hear many answers from people such as money, security, job satisfaction, or helping other people. However, I suggest that most people would really rather have a happy life and help contribute to the happiness of others in some way. In other words if you had a conflict between being a rich, unhappy person and a non-rich, happy person--which would you choose? That is a way to tell which of your values or selection criteria are the most important to you. Understanding more clearly what you want out of a career increases your chance at getting it.

If overall goals in your life are to be a happy person and to contribute to others, then the next step is figuring out what it is that you need to make you happy and productive. Most of us assume that a higher income will increase our chances at being happy. What else do you need? Whatever you need in general tells you something about what you want at work as well. You are not a different person at work than at home. You have the same needs and values. If you like meeting people or reading, then you will probably like meeting people or reading as part of your work.

MAKE A LIST OF CAREER SELECTION CRITERIA

The key objective of gathering information about yourself is to make a list of your Career Selection Criteria. Your Career Selection Criteria are the result of all of your thinking about what you realistically want in a career. Each criteria might represent one aspect of something that can make a difference in your overall happiness or productivity. Examples of Career Selection Criteria which might be important to you include "income," "variety," "vacation," "amount of education required," "amount of contact with other people,""amount of freedom," "opportunities for advancement," "difficulty in getting into graduate school," etc.

Your list of Career Selection Criteria is a result of exploring your interests, your skills and abilities, and all your other values and needs. Thus they summarize everything that is important to you in making a career decision. They are the dimensions by which you weigh the pluses and minuses of any particular career or job that you might be considering. You will be able to use these selection criteria more systematically in step 4 below. You can also use your criteria list to think of questions when reading about occupations or interviewing people in the actual occupations. This will make the career information you get more specific to your own unique interests and needs. Making a good selection criteria list and interviewing people in the careers are about the two most important things you can do to make a good career decision. TRY DOING THE FOLLOWING.

1) MAKE AN INITIAL LIST. Take out a piece of paper and first give yourself 5 minutes or less to write down everything that you can think of that is important to you in a career.

2) EXPLORE THE POSSIBLE SELECTION CRITERIA BELOW. When you have completed that initial list, then explore the following questions in order to help you think of additional criteria which may be important to you. Try thinking about or writing answers to each of the following questions. But remember to add each important item to your Career Selection Criteria list. Explore each of the following sections:

1.ACTIVITIES & PRODUCTS ON THE JOB

2.WORKING WITH OTHERS

3.ENTRY & ADVANCEMENT REQUIREMENTS

4.CAREER-RELATED SKILLS

5.EDUCATION, EXPERIENCE, & OTHER REQUIREMENTS

6.EXTRINSIC BENEFITS OF THE CAREER

7.WORK CONDITIONS

8.TRAVEL, MOBILITY, & GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION

9.TYPE OF ORGANIZATION

10.YOUR FUTURE

11.EFFECTS ON YOUR LIFE OUTSIDE OF WORK
 

Return to INDEX

1.ACTIVITIES AND PRODUCTS ON THE JOB

* What Are Your Interests? List your main interests and activities whether or not they seem to relate to jobs.

* How Do You Want To Spend Your Time On Your Job? What do you like doing? Imagine what some typical days might be like. Examples of types of job activities you may want to seek or avoid:

* THING-ORIENTED ACTIVITIES * CREATIVE & IDEAL-ORIENTED

• Machine or manual activities? Creative writing?
• Athletic activities? Art?
• Engineering or other design?

* DATA-ORIENTED ACTIVITIES Program development?

• Detailed data processing? Scientific or knowledge discovery?
• Numerical or accounting? Learning & education?
• Clerical work? Designing computer programs?

* MANAGING OTHERS * SALES & MARKETING

• Organizing, planning? Persuading others?
• Supervising? Self-direction?
• Conflict resolution? Creative interpersonal ideas?
• Motivating others? Conversing with many others?
  Return to INDEX
  

* HELPING, TEACHING, COUNSELING ACTIVITIES

• Speaking to groups?
• Counseling, advising, consulting?
• Instructing, teaching?
• Learning, reading?

* How Much Change And Variety Do You Like? Do you like doing a lot of different things each day or would you like to work on one big project until it is completed? Would you like to change jobs or projects frequently or not?

* How Mentally Challenging or Difficult Do You Want Your Work To Be?

* What Do You Want To Contribute To Others? Do you like to have others directly express appreciation for what you do? How important is it to you that you are making a certain kind of contribution to society?

* What Products or Services Do You Have An Interest In? Which type of product do you have more interest in? airplanes, cars, electronics, fashion merchandise, art products, media, office products, computers, home furnishings, houses, buildings, highways, plants, animals, food, entertainment, manufacturing equipment, paper products, appliances, military-related, or what?

Or perhaps you would rather work in an organization that produces a service such as education, counseling, religious activities, personal care, health care, repair, consulting, accounting, food service, entertainment, artistic services, sports training, personnel services, sales, marketing, research, writing or media production, or one of many others.

Think about what natural interests you have and the type of organization you might want to work for. Perhaps you could begin working or that type of organization before graduation to get an early start and make your part-time work more interesting and informative. It may help you get a good job after graduation.

Return to INDEX

2.WORKING WITH OTHERS--WHAT DO YOU WANT?

Which Are Most Important To You On The Job?  

• Think about how you feel about each of these different types of relationships on the job. How much do you want to do of each? How important is each?
• Managing Others? Being Managed Well?
• Freedom To Do What You Want? Working Alone?
• Helping Or Teaching Others? Being Part Of A Team
• Receiving Support From Others? Having Friends At Work?
• Persuading Or Selling To Others?

* Type and Amount of Supervision You Receive? Pay special attention to the questions above concerning the type and amount of supervision you receive. For example, if you like a lot of freedom to work without someone constantly telling you what to do, and you don't get that freedom, it could lead to a lot of unhappiness on your part. What type of supervision setting do you want?

3.ENTRY AND ADVANCEMENT REQUIREMENTS

Educational and Training Requirements. Which are needed? Which do you want?:

• College Degrees?
• Grade Average Expectations?
• Risk of Not Being Admitted To Graduate School?
• Special Licenses Or Credentials Required By The State Or Profession?
• Supervised Experience Required?
• Experience Required?
• Portfolios, Publications, Or Other Products Required To Get Jobs?

Return to INDEX

4.LIST YOUR CAREER-RELATED SKILLS

* What Are Your Skills and Abilities? How do they compare to the requirements for getting the degrees or other credentials or for getting the first job in the field? In general how are your abilities and skills in the following areas?

• Job-Related Technical Knowledge And Skills (The direct knowledge and skills required to do the specialized tasks of the job.Examples: For an engineer, math and science; for an executive, management skills.)
• General Thinking And Learning Skills (Such as problem-solving skills, logical thinking, creative thinking skills, and study skills)
• Self-Management and Self-Motivation Skills (Such time-management, goal-setting, positive philosophy, stress management, self-direction.)
• Interpersonal Skills (Such as meeting people, assertiveness, teaching, leadership, persuading others, intimacy skills.)

5.EDUCATION, EXPERIENCE, AND OTHER REQUIREMENTS

• What Is the Cost of Getting Into That Career? How does that compare with your expected inner resources such as motivation and your external resources--such as money?
• How Competitive Is That Field?
• How Much Continued Education Or Professional Development Is Expected? Do you want a job that requires continual learning? How important is that?
  Return to INDEX
   

6.THE EXTRINSIC BENEFITS OF THE CAREER

• How Much Income Do You Expect? What is the minimum you will accept to do what you really want? How important is it to you that you make a lot of money? What are the long term financial prospects of that occupation?
• How Much Vacation Do You Expect? How important is this to you?
• How Much Job Security Do You Expect? How important is this to you?
• What Kind of Retirement Plan and Benefits Do Your Expect?

7.WORK CONDITIONS

• What Kind of Work Hours Or Freedom of Scheduling Do You Want? How important is that to you?
• What Kind of Physical Environment Do You Want To Work In? Consider some of the following factors:
• Indoors vs. Outdoors? Privacy?
• Beauty of Environment? Pollution?
• Noise or distractions? Cleanliness?
• Office Setting? Health or Safety Risks?

* What Kind of Psychological Environment Do You Want To Work In? Consider some of the following factors:

• Lots of pressure and deadlines?
• High uncertainty about what is expected?
• Competitive atmosphere?
• Job Insecurity?
• Paid By What You Produce vs. Regular Salary?
• Potential for Advancement?

Return to INDEX

8.TRAVEL, MOBILITY, AND GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION

• Where Do You Want To Work? How important is where you live to you? How do you feel about working for an organization that may want you to move around the country?
• How Do You Feel About Traveling As Part Of Your Work? Remember that there is a great variety in where and how often employees travel.

9.TYPE OF ORGANIZATION

• Do you have any preferences about the type of organization you work for? For example do you care if it is private or public? Do you want to work in education or the military? Do you want to work for a large or small organization?

10.YOUR FUTURE

Often college students only think about how well they will like their first or "entry-level" job in their chosen occupation. They often don't even consider their future beyond their first job. For example many jobs are "dead-end" jobs with little opportunity for advancement. Others may offer many opportunities for advancement into higher level positions within the occupation or may allow for easier switching to new occupations. Some jobs may be challenging at first, but become very routine after the first few years. Other jobs allow for continued change and professional development. If you are the type of person that likes learning or gets bored easily, this could be a major consideration. Following are some issues to consider.

• Opportunities For Advancement?
• Opportunities For Professional Growth And Continued Stimulation--Avoiding Boredom?
• What If You Don't Want To Do This The Rest Of Your Life? -- Will Your Degree Help You Get Into other Careers Too?
• Opportunities for Advancement In Income?

Return to INDEX

11.EFFECTS OF YOUR CAREER ON YOUR LIFE OUTSIDE OF WORK

Careers can have effects of the rest of your life outside of the work time and outside of the work environment. If you have to work odd hours, move a lot, do a lot of social entertainment, live in a certain area, or come home exhausted, your job can have major impacts on your personal or family life. Following are a sample of issues to explore.

•  Geographic Location?
•  Effects On Your Family Life?
•  Effects On Your Social Life?
•  Effects On Your Recreation and Hobbies?

OTHER QUESTIONS TO EXPLORE

There are many other possible issues to explore which might be important to add to your list of Career Selection Criteria.

•  What school subjects do you enjoy the most? Does this give you a clue to what you want to think about or learn about in your daily work?
•  What jobs or work experiences have you had? What have you liked and disliked most about school or these work experiences?
•  What else in your life do you enjoy doing? How do you spend your time? Many persons turn hobbies into full-time jobs.
  Return to INDEX

  Keep your career selection criteria as you explore careers--

  Use them to write interview questions and make decisions

OTHER SELF-EXPLORATION ACTIVITIES--such as occupational interest tests

* Consider occupational interest tests and other tests at your Counseling Center or Career Development Center. You may also try other self-exploration ideas suggested by your counselor.

* Consider computer career-search programs. Consider taking "SIGI," a computer-assisted assessment or other programs that might be available at your college.

Return to INDEX

GENERATE ALTERNATIVE CAREER OPTIONS

Begin this step by "brainstorming" and listing all the occupations or careers which you might in your wildest dreams be interested in. This is because you don't want to initially exclude possibilities. Once you have a basic idea of what some of your more important Career Selection Criteria are and have an initial list of possible occupations to explore, then you are ready to more systematically begin exploring the world of work. Some suggestions follow: Use your Career Selection Criteria to help guide you in making a list of questions you want to use to evaluate each occupation, or just use your Career Selection Criteria "as is."
Return to INDEX

USE WRITTEN INFORMATION TO GET A GENERAL OVERVIEW

* Go to your Career Information Center. Once you are there you may want to start with one of these prime reference sources.

Occupational Outlook Handbook (the "BIBLE" of career information)--This is the best , most up-to-date single career information resource. Find careers your interested in and read about them. As you read reflect, add new career selection criteria. Also: Take notes. 
===> To view the OCC go to it's internet address at:  

Dictionary of Occupational Titles--Use this reference to find thousands of job titles. If you are looking for a job that is different or combines more than one interest, try this resource.  

United States Government Manual (lists U.S. government jobs)--Use this if you have any interest in Federal government-related jobs. Take a look, there are many interesting federal jobs that most students never even think about.

State, County, and City Government Job Books. If you have an interest in working for other levels of government, go to state, county, and city government personnel offices or a large library (such as your college) and ask to see the large books that list all types of job classifications. You'll be amazed at all the types of jobs available that few college students ever even know exist.

Company Literature. Many other organizations also produce job-information literature. See what is available at your career information center and library. Also, write organizations you might have an interest in. Address their personnel offices.

Return to INDEX

* Make a Career Information file and put all of your self-assessment information in it as well as notes you take as you read the career information literature and interview persons.

* Look at a WIDE VARIETY OF OCCUPATIONS--even some you may think you have little interest in. This may help you clarify additional Career Selection Criteria and think of new career alternatives you formerly had not considered. Be sure and include any occupations for which you received high scores on your interest tests.

WHERE THE JOBS ARE

Would you like to know which occupations are going to have many openings compared to the number of job seekers in the future? You will find that there are many books, newspaper articles, TV news reports, employees, friends, relatives, and nearly everyone else who is willing to predict where the jobs will be in the future. Most of these sources will state their predictions with a high degree of certainty. What has been the accuracy of these types of predictions in the past? The answer is "very poor to good." The reason the predictions tend to be so bad so often is that world events often have dramatic impacts upon jobs, and world events are so unpredictable.

Who is selected governor or president, states of war, new government programs, and sudden shifts in college major preferences by large numbers of students are all examples of almost unpredictable major events that greatly effect worker supply and demand. So take what you hear with a great deal of skepticism and go more with what you want. How would you feel if you go into a career you don't care much for because people say"there are lots of jobs," then later it turns out that there are not many jobs after all?

Return to INDEX

INTERVIEW PEOPLE IN THE OCCUPATION

This is probably the most important thing that you can do to get information about careers. Most of the students I talk to have difficulty thinking of people in a career they are interested in to interview. Following are some suggestions which have worked for many other students.

Step 1: Finding Persons in the Occupation to Interview.

1. Think of everyone who you have contact with including faculty, friends, relatives, friends of relatives, or just "call cold" persons in various organizations.

2. Find professors in related major departments and interview them. They are being paid to help students and have office hours available that you can utilize.

3. Ask everyone you know (including professors) if they or anyone they know either

(1) works in the profession or

(2)  knows anyone who works in the profession. For example if they work in a large organization they may be able to get you an interview with someone else in that organization.

(3) If the above ideas aren't adequate, call organizations where people in the occupation might work and ask to speak to someone who works in that profession. Use the phone book yellow pages or go to the library or Career Development Center to get names and phone numbers of such organizations.

Step 2: Getting the Interview

Many students are reluctant to contact people because they are concerned that they may be bothering the busy professional or taking too much of their time. First of all it is important for them to realize that if the professional does not have time for them, then they will almost certainly tell them. However, most professionals truly enjoy helping students. How would you feel if 10 years from now if a college student came to you? The feedback that I get from students who have tried this is that almost all people they approach are very cooperative and give them tremendously valuable information.

When you find a person to interview or call an organization, try saying something like, "I'm a college student who is trying to make a decision about going into this occupation and it would be very helpful to me if I could interview {this person} for a few minutes to ask them a few questions about this type of career." If you reach a secretary, be persistent about getting the actual person in the occupation to make the decision about whether to interview you or not.

Step 3: Conducting the Interview

If possible meet the person in their place of work. Come with a list of questions based upon your list of career selection criteria and use the list openly during the interview.

What to ask the interviewee

• His/her title and job description
• Employer, products or services, division/unit,
• What this person's job and unit contributes to the company as a whole
• Entry level requirements: education & training, credentials, experience, personal resources and skills
• Opportunities and requirements for advancement
• Salaries: low, average, high of beginning and advanced employees
• Supply and demand for persons in that field
• His/her activities: exactly what he/she and others do in a typical day or week
• What are differences in what he/she does from what others in the same occupation do?
• What other types of work does this type of job or occupation prepare a person to do in the future if one wants to advance or change?
• What does this person like and dislike about the occupation?
• What are common likes and dislikes of people in this occupation?

Return to INDEX

What didn't you ask that you should have? Ask what else you should know about this occupation that you have not asked so far. What would this person have wanted to find out that they didn't know before getting into field?
 

Use your CAREER SELECTION CRITERIA to make additional questions. These are probably your most important questions!

ADDITIONAL TIPS

• Remember to evaluate what you hear by your own Career Selection Criteria. Your interests and values may be quite different from those of the person you are interviewing.
• During the interview tell the person about yourself so that he/she may give information which may be more relevant to you.
• During the interview, ask for the names and phone numbers of persons your

interviewee knows, whom you can later call to interview. Later call them and tell them you were referred by Mr. so and so.

• Check for opportunities for volunteer or paid work experience.
• Don't be turned off the whole profession by one unhappy or negative interviewee. If you get too much negative information, try at least one other person who is happier in their work.
• When finished thank the interviewee and later write a thank you letter.

Return to INDEX

For example, you need to decide upon a major, perhaps a minor, and you need to decide what other courses you will take to prepare for your future. Once you are ready to make that decision, you will need a way of comparing each of your important career alternatives on each of your important Career Selection Criteria.

Following is a suggested method for doing that. This particular decision-making model is based upon one by Friel and Carkhuff and follows the general guidelines of a considerable amount of research on how people can make more effective decisions. It can also be used for any other type of decision--from buying a new car to choosing a mate.

EXAMPLE OF USING THE DECISION-MAKING MODEL

The decision-making model will be illustrated in a way which you can use an analogy for making your own career decision. In this example, Henry is trying to decide whether to major in psychology or in computer science. Thus he has narrowed his alternatives to the following two:

1) majoring in psychology with a career goal of either going into high school counseling or teaching or 2) majoring in computer science with a possible goal of working as a computer programmer. These are represented along the top axis of the following matrix.
Return to INDEX

WHAT IF YOU ARE NOT READY TO CHOOSE ONE ALTERNATIVE MAJOR OR CAREER NOW?

WHAT IF YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT YOU REALLY WANT TO DO?

Self-Help and other resources on this website (and site map)