Majors & Career Exploration
Take time to explore your interests, skills, personality, and values. You can also ask friends, family members,
teachers, or mentors if they see the same qualities in you as you see in yourself. A self-assessment simply
means asking yourself the following questions: What subjects did I enjoy in high school? What do I like to do?,
What activities do I find motivating, fun, interesting and enjoyable?, What skills and abilities do I have or
want to develop?, What personal style or characteristics do I have that is important to me in the work place?,
What purpose or goal do I want to accomplish in my career?
If you have not declared a major or found a career of interest, consider meeting with a
career counselor to further explore your areas of interest and
career possibilities. If you are looking for basic information regarding majors and classes required, visit with
an academic advisor.
Self-assessment includes the following:
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Interests
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Personality
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Skills
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Abilities
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Work Values
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Lifestyle & Financial Considerations
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Preferred Work Environment
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The things we enjoy doing can give us important clues about work or career interests. Fixing things,
using computers, cooking, and caring for children are just a few examples of leisure time activities
and skills that can be transferred into a career.
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A combination of emotional and behavioral characteristics that may indicate strengths and weaknesses.
Different careers fit with different personality traits. For example, an outgoing, friendly person who
enjoys meeting and talking to people all day would be suited for jobs in sales, customer service, or
public relations.
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Skills are acquired not only from past work experiences but also from community service and other roles
people have had in their lives. Skills can be categorized into 1) transferable (transported from job to
another, such as public speaking), 2) self-management or adaptive (rooted in temperament acquired in
early years, such as honesty), and 3) technical (learned through training and applied specifically to
a narrow range of occupations, such as C+ programming.
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Abilities often indicate potential in a particular area by measuring the ease in which one can learn
something new. With training, aptitudes may turn into career options. People often take for granted
the skills that come easily to them. Yet, it is precisely those areas that should be explored.
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The motivation or personal needs that one needs for job satisfaction. As adults grow and mature, some
of their values may change. Thus a job (or career) chosen at age 20 may not match the values that a
person holds at age 40 or 50.
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The way people prefer to live their lives and how their career and occupational choices affect those
preferences. Through assessment of lifestyle individuals can evaluate how career decisions impact how
they live, significant people in their lives, and existing or potential barriers to overcome. Knowledge
of monthly expenses and having realistic financial goals can help in choosing appropriate occupations.
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Preferences regarding people environments and living and working conditions can be just as important as
what a person chooses to do. Often, a person's comfort level with the work environment can make the
difference between a successful and an unsuccessful career choice.
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