Career Research

YouthRules! is a gateway providing quick access to information about Federal and State labor laws that apply to young workers. The web page includes information designed to educate teens on what the rules are, as well as provide information for parents, educators, and employers. 

California Career Center helps with career decisions, your path to high school graduation (A-G, dealing with challenges, etc), choosing your college, apprenticeship, or other post secondary education path, and more. 

Make Money Choices lets you see how much it will cost to live in California's different metropolitan areas, tells you how much you need to make per year to live your desired lifestyle, then lets you browse career fields that will provide that pay. Get ready to have your eyes opened! 

U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Outlook Handbook should be your first stop for information on any career field. Here you will find not only descriptions of thousands of careers but the future outlook for each career as well. Many other Career search websites get their information from the BLS. 

O*Net Online provides bulleted descriptions of careers (as opposed to  paragraph form). The Advanced Search lets you search careers by interests, skills, work activities or values, etc... You can even search careers by the tool or technology you want to use. 

CareerOneStop from the U.S. Department of Labor: Employment and Training Administration provides many career research tools in one place. Here you can not only research careers, but look for actual jobs, take aptitude tests, and research education needed and colleges that provide training. They also have sections on writing resumes and job services in your area for further assistance. If you know someone who has lost his or her job, this is a great resource for them too. If you sign up for an online account with one of their services, make sure to write down your password for future use. 

Shmoop Careers offers often amusing and sometimes brutally honest descriptions of careers. Use the tabs on the left side of the page to find out more. 

Military Careers This website is the official U.S. site for all military branches. Be aware that some career fields might only be available in certain branches of the military or only available to either Officers or Enlisted personnel. Officers typically have a Bachelor's degree (4 year degree from college) or greater while Enlisted personnel can enter the military with a High School diploma. Salaries listed include cost of housing. 

Projections Central has projections for career fields at both the U.S. level and state level. You can search for either long term projections or short term projections. This is where you find out if that career you want will still be around in the future. 

eGFI [Engineering, Go For It!] from the American Society for Engineering Education has info about each of the engineering fields. So you want to be an engineer? You are going to have to decide what kind of engineering you want to go into!