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Career Research Guide: LSC-Kingwood Library

 

Choosing a Career

"You've got to find what you love. . . Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do."

Stanford University Commencement Address
Delivered by Steve Jobs, Co-Founder of Apple Computer
June 12, 2005

 

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As you begin your college journey, you need to discover a field of study that will lead to a fulfilling career. According to CareerFocus, 25% of college freshmen are undecided about their major, and over 75% of college students will change their major at least once while in college.  So, choosing a career first, and then finding a major that will prepare you for that career will make your college experience more productive and worthwhile. 

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Know Your Values - Identify values, such as lifestyle, work environment, and family relationships which can influence your most important career decisions. 

 -  Career & Life Values - 29 minute video broken into 8 short segments. 

• Career Values Test - Explore the relationship between personal values & career values - from Stewart, Cooper & Coon

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Learn About Yourself - Learn more about your personality, your individual talents, and your "likes & dislikes".  

 - Career S.E.L.F. Assessment: Finding a Career that Works for You - 32 minute video broken into 6 short segments. 

• Do What You Are Career Assessment - Create a free user login, take the assessment, and schedule an appointment with a Lone Star College Counselor.  Based on the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
  
  

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Identify Your Skills - Evaluate and make a list of your skills, so that you are prepared to inform others about your strengths.
 

 Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities - 28 minute video broken into 8 short segments. 

• Skills Assessment - Assessment that lets you rate yourself on 35 different skills and match them to a career. from iseek careers
  
• Skills Profiler - Profiler designed to let users create a list of personal skills and match them to job types that use those skills. from CareerOneStop

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Research Career Options - Learn more about careers that interest you.  Focus on pay scales, hiring trends, educational requirements, and overall job satisfaction.

• Most Useful:

  Occupational Outlook Handbook is available online or as a print resource in the Careers Section of the library.  The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics produces the handbook every two years and is considered one of the best-known and most comprehensive books on occupations.  Job descriptions provide information on the nature of the work, working conditions, links to related occupations, employment statistics, training, education, advancement potential earnings, and more.   

Career OneStop - sponsored by the U. S. Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration.  Users can create a personal career profile that includes a job description, wage information, employment trends, education & skills requirements, and much more.

O*NET Online - created by the National Center for O*NET Development for the U.S. Dept. of Labor.

• Also Try:

  Careers Internet Database - Take a Career Test, Create a Career Report, and Learn about Educational Requirements for various careers.  The Careers Internet Database is created by the Institute For Career Research, which regularly issues new comprehensive reports of promising career fields for the 21st Century.

Career Profile from Princeton Review - Browse careers, search alphabetically, or search by category.  Read about “a day in the life of” a professional working in a particular career, learn what the educational requirements are, and examine what can be expected in the future for the field.   

Reality Check - Find the annual salary for a wide range of occupations.  Choose the city you want to live in and calculate the average monthly expenses - see how much money will be left for you to put into savings. 

Books as Resources: Continue your research by checking out books from the Library Catalog or by reading online books (eBooks) from the Lone Star College eBook Collection. Browse the College & Careers Collection of books in the LSC-Kingwood Library. These books can be identified by the Red Tape located on the spine of the book. In order to check out books or access eBooks, you need a Lone Star College Student id/Library Card. Visit the Circulation Desk at the college library in order to obtain your card.

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Link Your College Major & Your Career - Learn about a degree or certificate that is required for a career. If you have a particular interest in one college major, research the various jobs that are held by graduates with that major.

 In Search of a College Major & Career Direction - 18 minute video broken into 6 short segments.  

• Matching Careers to Degrees - Determine the degree(s) required for your specific career choice and find out which colleges offer those degrees.
  
  
• Lone Star College Degree & Certification Programs - Review the degree plans available at Lone Star College.
  

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Citation Help

MLA Documentation Guide (pdf)

Citation Examples for Commonly used Websites (MLA format):

United States. Dept. of Labor. Bureau of Labor Statistics. "Librarians." Occupational OutlookHandbook,

     2012-13 Edition. Bureau of Labor Statistics     Office of Occupational Statistics and Employment Projections,

     29 Mar. 2012. Web. 12 Apr. 2012.  

CareerOneStop. "Occupation Profile: Financial Managers: Texas." CareerInfoNet.org. U. S. Dept.of Labor,

      Employment and Training Administration, 2012. Web.14 Apr. 2012.

Occupational Information Network (O*NET). "Summary Report for: 29-1141.00 - Registered Nurses."

      O*NET Online.  National Center for O*NET Development, 2010. Web. 8 Apr. 2012. 

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If you still don't know what you want to major in, Academic Advisors and Counselors
are available to discuss the various programs and certificate options available in the Lone Star College System.

 

Page created by J. Clark, 8/2011 - revised 6/2012