Career Readiness & Exploration
Not sure of what you want to do after high school to earn a living or what to major in when you get to college ? Are you weighing going to college vs. entering the world of work? We know that these are not easy questions to answer and some people spend many years doing this type of self-exploration. Your College/Career Information Coordinator can assist you through this process. They will help you get organized, guide you through this process, and answer any questions you may have.
Regardless of your situation, doing some research can be extremely helpful. Many of these sites can give you insight on what it takes to become a professional, expected growth of a profession in the coming years, expected range of earnings, and more. The more you know, the more you can visualize your goal and make it a reality. Happy surfing!
Career Exploration & Career Tests
uwannadu.com - explore careers, watch videos of professionals in their field, and more
O*NET Interest Profiler - can help you find out what your interests are and how they relate to the world of work. You can find out what you like to do.
Holland Code Career Quiz - free career quiz uses the respected Holland Code system to show you which jobs will suit your interests, talents, and aptitude. Get scores for 6 major job areas to guide your career planning.
bigfuture.collegeboard.org - Explore careers; take an assessment; see how others made their choices
CAREERwise - Career Cluster Interest Survey; Tell us your interests. We'll show you career clusters you might like.
montgomerycollege.emsicc.com - Montgomery College's Career Coach; great resource and free to use; explore careers, take an assessment, create a resume, and more!
www.thestemnet.com - STEM Workplace Exposure and Career Exploration
www.onetonline.org - comprehensive tool for career exploration and job analysis; great resource and lots of info!
www.bls.gov/ooh/ - Occupational Outlook Handbook; great resource for in-depth career information
Federal Jobs Network - jobs & scholarships in government
InsideCareer - everything about careers, from the real world
monster.com - is not only a great job finding resource but has a search function that allows you to find career fairs in your area.
futurelinkmd.org - Future Link provides low-income, first-generation-to-college young adults with the tools, skills and resources to achieve lasting economic self-sufficiency. Click on the link to learn more.
Career Planning tools in Naviance
The Career Cluster Finder is an inventory that will allow you to match your interests, strengths, and personal qualities with potential career areas or clusters. Your top career areas will be ranked based on your responses.
StrengthsExplorer assesses 10 talent themes for individuals and identifies each student’s three strongest emerging talents, such as Confidence, Dependability, or Future Thinker. It provides explanations of these themes, strategies for capitalizing on each, and action items to help students gain insight into their greatest talents – natural patterns of thought, feeling, and behavior – to leverage in the classroom and in life.
The Career Interest Profiler is an online career interest assessment for students based on Holland codes. It allows students to complete an inventory that analyzes their own interests and pairs the results with potential career matches.
Discover if a service is right for you, whether you've finished high school or college or you're looking to find your path. Service Year Maryland is a new program recently signed into law by Maryland Governor Wes Moore. A service year is an opportunity to develop real-world skills through hands-on service. There are over 65,000 service year opportunities in a variety of issues all across the country. Learn more Here