Careers & Jobs

Careers & Jobs: What's the Difference

As our name implies, our work in the Career & College Center is just as much about helping students develop knowledge around careers as it is helping students connect with their post secondary goals.

The word "Career" is probably a term that you've heard before. But what does it mean? And how is a "career" different than a "job"

Jobs

A job is immediate work you perform to earn money to support your basic needs. It can be full-time or part-time but jobs are usually short-term. You might earn an hourly wage or a set paycheck rather than a salary with benefits. You might need to learn certain skills connected with that role, but most short-term jobs don't require a specialized degree or advanced training.

(From indeed.com)

Focused on short-term goals. But all careers begin with the knowledge, skills, and / or interests gained from a job.

Careers

A career is a long-term professional journey you take up that's guided by your interests, passion, or curiosity. Careers often fulfill your professional goals and ambitions. You'll likely need a certain level of education or training to achieve these goals that is usually gained beyond on-the-job training. Careers usually have set salaries with benefits. They also gain benefits beyond money, such as personal pride, work satisfaction and self-worth.

(From indeed.com)

Focused on long-term goals. Each of your jobs, experiences, and training programs is helping you advance in pay or responsibility

Exploring Careers: Start Here

One of our goals in your RHS CCC is to help you find a post-secondary path that will lead you to your preferred career. There are a few things that are important to remember when it comes to thinking through a career:

  • The training you take on at each job, or the education you choose in a program like an apprenticeship or college is what prepares individuals for careers.

  • Your career will be determined by your interests, passions, talents, and/or the causes you wish to take action on. A large part of finding a desirable career is being open to learning about yourself!

  • Careers can change across your lifetime. It's completely normal if what you're planning for now changes! Furthermore, different career fields can overlap, whether they are similar in the skills they require or types of work they engage with.

In the CCC, we have a helpful tool to talk to students about careers, the MN Career Wheel! The MN Career Wheel is made up of 6 Career Fields. Each Field contains clusters of careers. For instance the Career Field of Human Services contains the following Career Clusters:

  • Human Services

  • Education & Training

  • Law, Public Safety, Corrections, and Security; and...

  • Government and Public Administration

So, for instance, students interested in the career of Immigration Lawyer are looking at a particular career in the Law, Public Safety, Corrections and Security Career Cluster, under the Human Services Career Field. If you're thinking critically, you may have even noticed the potential for specific careers in Career Clusters and Field potentially overlap. So, an Immigration Lawyer might find that their career fits as neatly under the Government and Public Administration Career Cluster as well as the Law & Public Safety one!

Check out the simple version of the MN Career Wheel below! Also in this section, you'll find the more fleshed out MN Career Wheel below the simplified one. The expanded MN Career Wheel contains the Career Fields and Clusters you see below, as well as particular Career Pathways. Additionally, you'll find Knowledge and Skills, and more info on how to do Career Exploration.

MNCareerWheel_Full.pdf

Career Exploration: Naviance

Naviance, our post-secondary planning platform for students, has career exploration tools baked in! In this section, we'll provide some brief overviews on the Career Exploration tools that students have access to on Naviance.

Naviance Career Search

MORE TO COME LATER

RoadTripNationNaviance_Walkthrough.mov

Roadtrip Nation

Our RTN database of videos allows students to hear from professionals in the careers they're interested in! Learn about how they got to where they are, and what their day-to-day looks like.

CareerInterestSurvey_Walkthrough.mov

Career Interest Survey

The Career Interest Survey accounts for you likes and dislikes to match you with relevant careers

Career Exploration: Achieve Career Panels

The organization that brings your Career & College Center to Roosevelt, AchieveMpls, has also offered virtual Career Panels this year.

This year, students have the opportunity to experience Career Speakers and virtual Career Panels from the comfort of their own homes! On AchieveMpls' Youtube page, students can choose from a selection of individuals working in specific careers talk about the experience of what it's like to walk a day in their shoes! Everything from their day-to-day job responsibilities; their salary; or navigating the professional environment from the lens of their particular role is at your fingertips. Check out the full playlist of the Achieve's Career Panels by clicking the button below!