Career counselors can help you discover how your values, skills, personality and interests relate to a major or career field. The following exercises are also helpful in determining interests, values, and skills:
- Examining your Interests
- Identifying your Values
- Recognizing your Skills
To learn more about individual industries, visit the Industries section of our website.
Top 5 Myths about Deciding on a Major or Career Path
With the exception of a few career choices (i.e. nursing, accounting, or engineering), your major will likely allow you to develop the necessary skills to prepare for work in many different industries.
Statistics show that up to 50% of students are unsure of their major when they enter college.
50-70% of college students change their major at least once. On average students change their major 3 times before they graduate.
There is no test that will tell you what career path you should choose, you know yourself better than anyone. There are several individuals and resources that can help you to explore your interests, personality, and skills; but ultimately the expert on you is YOU!
Knowing what's hot in the job market is important information but job markets can change quickly. Choose a major that fits your skills and interests. Remember—employers hire people NOT majors.
Career Exploration Resources
Skills Exercises
Values Exercises
- O*NET contains information on hundreds of occupations and provides career exploration and assessment instruments for professionals and students looking to find or change careers.
- What can I do with this major? Explore multiple majors to learn about a wide range of career opportunities.
- Occupational Outlook Handbook (OOH) covers hundreds of occupations and includes BLS employment projections for the 2010–20 decade.
- Exploring Majors is designed to help students research their major options. It includes information about majors, skills, and abilities needed to be successful in the field, and outlines what recent graduates are doing with the major.
- Federal Jobs by College Major or Federal Careers by Interest allows you to search through USAJobs for federal employment opportunities in your major, or area of interest. The Federal Resume Guidebook, by Kathryn Troutman is also a good resource.
For more details, visit the Know Yourself section of Moving On.
Costs: $15 for current students and recent alumni to take the MBTI or the SII. $40 for alumni who graduated more than 6 months prior for either, or $60 to take both. All assessments include a one-hour interpretation session with a counselor.
The Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) measures your personality preferences and helps you understand:
- Your motivations, strengths and potential areas for growth
- How people differ and the unique gifts they contribute
- How to improve your relationships with others who have differing views
- Your preferred style of working, studying and relating to others
The Strong Interest Inventory (SII) compares your likes and dislikes to those of people in the work force. The SII can help you identify:
- Type of work activities you might enjoy
- Work environment you'd be most comfortable in
- Learning environment is best suited for you
- Major areas of study you might pursue
- Professional occupations you might investigate
- How confident you feel about pursuing various activities.
SkillScan card sort is an interactive exercise in which you discover your personal/professional strengths. This assessment classifies your skills into three categories:
- Transferable
- Functional
- Content
