Hot-air Baloon

Career and Academic Major Choices

Overview, Assessment, and Links to Step-by-Step Help

Tom G. Stevens PhD
Psychologist/Professor Emeritus, California State University, Long Beach
Send Feedback/Questions to: Tom.Stevens@csulb.edu
 
 
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Site dedicated to enhancing human happiness, self-development, and success
SITE MAP: All free Self-help resources includes online book, You Can Choose To Be Happy, and SHAQ

 
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How to Choose a Career or Academic Major

Index

Information
Other Internet Links
CSULB Referrals

INFORMATION 

Research shows that students who are committed to clear career goals tend to make much higher grades and have a much lower college drop-out rate.  If you are undecided about your major or career, spending a few hours researching what you want can be more important than anything else you do this semester.  

 A Simple Career Decision Plan:

  1.  Keep gathering all the high-quality information about majors and careers that interest you including both:
    Information about yourself--interests, interest tests, your values and life goals, lifestyle desired, abilities and deficits, etc.
    Information about majors and the world of work.  Read, interview people in the field and teachers, get experience, etc.

  2. Make a list of your Career Selection Criteria: list everything that you want (and don't want) in a career. 

  3.  Weight the criteria from most important to least important (e. g. use A, B, C, D or 1-10).

  4.  Evaluate every possible career/major that you might be interested in by each of those criteria after you get good information about them.

  5.  Make a tentative choice, and go with it until you find something better.

 

A Simple Questionnaire to Narrow College Major Choices:
 For a Simple way to narrow your major choice,
Go to the SHAQ CARES assessment page of this website and take the major choice test.

 

Read the Simple Step-by-Step Guide:  How to Make a Major or Career Decision
Thousands of students have found this guide helpful, Tom G. Stevens PhD
http://www.csulb.edu/~tstevens/c15-carp.htm

 

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OTHER INTERNET LINKS 

Career Decision-Making and Planning Help

CSULB=> Career Development Center Website
Brief self-help materials for career planning, choosing a major (with list of jobs related to majors), job search and interviewing tips, and many other helpful guides.
http://www.careers.csulb.edu/


****Occupational Outlook Handbook--The "Bible" of career information. This is a MUST!

***Companion to Bolle's book, What Color Is Your Parachute? This is the best book available for career planning
www.jobhuntersbible.com 

Info on a wide range of job-related information and how to cope with difficult situations at work
www.employer-employee.com  

Small Business Administration provides help for those thinking of starting a business or with a small business
www.sba.gov 

OnLine Career Resource Center
www.careers.org/ 


Career planning advice and links
http://www.excite.com/guide/careers/career_planning

Career planning
http://www.careerbuilder.com


Specific Information on Choosing a Major or University

Careers/Jobs Related to Specific Academic Majors 
http://www.careers.csulb.edu/majors_and_careers/career-degree_profiles.htm#LIB

Common misperceptions 

BrainTrack
"BrainTrack's Career Guide helps visitors evaluate career options and find schools through its extensive resources. The guide offers data on hundreds of careers that typically require higher education and features links to original profile pages for thousands of schools."
http://www.braintrack.com/colleges-by-career


 

Career: Coping with Job-Related Stress, Goals for Success, Balancing Career and Home, etc:

***American Psychological Association self-help articles including:
Doing More and More with Less and Less
Downsizing Survivors
Managing Your Boss: Marilyn Puder-York, Ph.D., Answers Your Questions 
Twelve Elements of a Healthy Company
Which Traits Predict Job Performance?
Working Moms: Happy or Haggard? 
How Does Stress Affect Us? 
Six Myths About Stress 
The Different Kinds of Stress 
Stress in the Workplace 
The Road to Burnout 
http://www.psychwww.com/resource/selfhelp.htm


C=> Problems with low motivation or not achieving your goals?
Tom G. Stevens PhD, CAPS, CSULB
http://www.csulb.edu/~tstevens/h92achie.htm


Finding A Job
(or exploring potential future careers)

JOB DATABASES

www.monster.com Large free job database and career advice.

www.hotjobs.com  Free service related to technology-related jobs in Fortune 500 and other large companies

www.careerpath.com  Can search newspaper ads in large U.S. cities.

www.jobtrak.com  Aimed at college students seeking entry level positions.

www.careermosaic.com  Another free job-search database.

www.cweb.com  Employment Guide's free job database.

www.careerbuilder.com  Highly rated by US News & World Report

http://www.jobsearchusa.org/ JobSearchUSA

http://www.jobsearchusa.org/jobs/entry-level-internships/internship Lists internships as entry-level positions

 

RESUMES

www.careermag.com  Career Bank's "Resume Bank" allows employers to look.

www.collegegrad.com   Features a resume' preparation service with lots of resume' templates.

 

GOVERNMENT

www.dol.gov  Department of Labor has ton's of information.

stats.bls.gov   Latest statistical information on jobs.

 

OTHER SITES

http://www.acinet.org/acinet/

job search by industry, company, type, and location. Also includes links to career fairs, a newsletter, and more.
www.careerbuilder.com/

ACT Career Planning for students
www.actstudent.org/career/tips.html

http://jobstar.org/tools/career/

http://www.wisemantech.com/guidance/careerinfo.html

Career Services provides college major and career information on
over 60 areas of study. ... College Majors and Career Information.
 

http://www.careers.org/

http://www.advancingwomen.com/awcareer.html

http://www.petersons.com/

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CSULB REFERRALS

CSULB Student Services

CSULB Career Development Center (CDC)
The CDC offers the following services: career planning, career counseling, vocational testing, computer assisted career guidance, a career resource library, career development and placement for students with disabilities (work ability IV), workshops, graduate school preparation, the Job Club, internships, career opportunities by CSULB major, student employment (part-time & summer jobs), and career placement help through on-campus Interviews, a resume referral database, job faires, resume writing, mock interviewing, job search Techniques,and job search on WWW. Brotman Hall, Room 250; 
http://www.careers.csulb.edu/

Careers/Jobs Related to Specific Academic Majors 
http://www.careers.csulb.edu/majors_and_careers/career-degree_profiles.htm#LIB

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Relevant CSULB Courses

EdP 191: Career and Personal Explorations (3 units)
This course enrolls hundreds of CSULB students every semester who  are undecided about their major or career and who need help with career planning. It meet the requirements for general education category E: self-integration.

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The BOOK (free download): Go to Contents of Dr. Stevens'  book,  You Can Choose To Be Happy: "Rise Above" Anxiety, Anger, and Depression.

SELF-HELP INFORMATION: 
FREE SELF-HELP materials available on this web site (click here to see list)  

ORDERING the BOOK:
  How to ORDER You Can Choose To Be Happy  

SHAQ QUESTIONNAIRE: Free
Success and Happiness Attributes Questionnaire (SHAQ)  to assess self on many factors  including HQ-Happiness Quotient 

EMAIL DR. STEVENS:
Email feedback to Dr. Stevens tstevens@csulb.edu I welcome your comments about my web site or any of its contents.           

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


Web site created and maintained by: Tom G. Stevens PhD Psychologist-Faculty Emeritus,
California State University, Long Beach Counseling and Psychological Services.
URL of this web site: http://home.csulb.edu/~tstevens

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Copyright 2021 Tom G. Stevens PhD