Career Exploration

Here are some great sites for exploring careers!   You may hear about a major, or think you know what you’re going to choose, then find out it’s not at all what you thought!  Take some time to explore these sites to find out what people actually do!

You can take surverys at Big Future, College Roadmap and VA Wizard.  Have fun exploring what you like, what you’re good at, and how to put your talents and interests to work in the world beyond college! 

Ideas for how to use these sites:

1)      Take the surveys!  Share with a parent or friend!  It’s fun :-)

2)      Keep a notebook or journal of what calls out to you as you go through the surveys.  You might be really surprised at some new options that come up for you.

3)      Bookmark the sites so you can find them again :-)

4)      Set goals for exploring careers and colleges, such as “visit one college over Christmas break;” or “talk to my school counselor for a contact in my career field;” or “spend an hour on Saturday on

YouScience – Each student at CCA in grades 8-12 receives a free license for YouScience!  Logon at www.youscience.com with your CCA email and password, then take the series of brain game assessments (about 1.5 hours to complete).  You’ll then have a wealth of resources – career matches, day in the life of a career, college choices for that career, as well as a ton of info about YOU that will help you navigate all aspects of life.  The insights about your strengths can also be great to share with recommenders, and they will also give you language to use when developing a resume.

Virginia Education Wizard -- https://www.vawizard.org/wizard/home

Use this site to take surveys that will help you assess your skills, interests, and possible career fields that match. 

Roadtrip Nation -- https://collegeboard.roadtripnation.com/

Take a survey at this site, too, and then follow through to meet real life people (video clips) to see what jobs you might be interested in are really like!

Follow students on actual road trips through the PBS Roadtrip Nation show –currently airing Season 13!  http://www.pbs.org/show/roadtrip-nation/

What Can I Do With This Major?? -- https://whatcanidowiththismajor.com/about/

 This site is power packed with details about what jobs correspond to the majors you might choose in college.  Try googling “What Can I Do With This Major?” to find lots more sites with info like this. 

Big Future – https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/explore-careers

The College Board website is chock full of resources for the college-bound student.  Here’s another site where you can narrow down your interests and follow through to find related careers.   Have a question about college?  You can almost certainly find it at BigFuture!