UNIV: Career Exploration (1103 & 1113 classes): Where to Start?
Supporting an assignment for Ann Glauser's UNIV1113 classes, but useful for anyone who would like to research a career.
Questions
What career or company would would I want to work for?
What is the occupational outlook for this career? Occupational outlook includes serveral concerns:
- Career Path:
- What education do I need?
- What experience should I have? How do I get experience?
- Advancement:
- Will I need further education later?
- What are salaries like? What can I expect to make? Is this a stable career?
Determine current issues in the profession or career?
There are many ways to think about current issues, but something from the business world called a SWOT analysis might be helpful.
- Strengths
- Established markets
- Sucessful products
- Positive public opinion
- Weaknesses
- Depending on an established product or process
- Lack of diversity
- Opportunites
- New markets
- New products
- New demand
- New techniques or skills
- Threats
- Shrinking market
- Legal issues
- Work force does not not meet need or demand
Resources
Company Profiles
- Choose from several databases that provide profiles with historical and financial information
Occupational Outlook
- Government Publications: The Department of Labor has a special interest in organizing information and and statistics about the labor market. The department runs the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which is a highly reputable and up-to-date source for information
- Websites: Occupational Outlook Handbook
- Publications:
- Newsletters, Reports, and more
Publications that contain articles: Use databases to search for the individual articles on your topic.
- Journals
- Trade Publications ("trade journals"): these are magazines targeted to people in a profession, so you're not likely to find them on a supermarket shelf.
- Magazines
Books: Use GIL-Find to look for books here at the University of Georgia. Use GIL-Universal to search at other University System of Georgia schools.
Databases:
- Multisearch will search
- Subject-specific Databases There are many specialized resources available through databases. (such as Business Source Complete)
- Academic Search Complete
