Career Interest Surveys & Choosing a Major
Career Interest Surveys
Career interest surveys can be a helpful tool in learning what careers may interest you or be a good fit. Keep in mind these are to give you ideas to explore. Your career should be something that you're passionate about, interested in, and enjoy. Taking a few minutes to research can be a big help.
Choosing A Major
Choosing a major is an important step in preparing for your future career, and is different than choosing a career. Of course, it's important that they're related, but many majors will cover a wide variety of careers. Make sure that you visit college websites to read about each major, as some will slightly vary from college to college, or the same major may be called different titles at different colleges.
It's ok not to know exactly what major you would like to study in college, as college is a time to continue to explore your options. HOWEVER, you do need to at least have a direction that you would like to go in. Sometimes students will consider selecting their major based on their favorite high school course or after taking a course in an area of interest in college will spark an interest in a major. As you apply to college, you'll need to select your first and second choice major. It's important to remember to not put down the same major for your first and second choice. Changing majors is possible in most cases, but be sure to enter majors that you would be ok with if you are admitted into that major.
Ultimately, through a little research into college majors you will find some areas that will interest you. Below are some helpful websites that can get you started on your journey in selecting a major.
Career Interest Survey Resources
College Board Big Future - Students who have taken a PSAT should have set up a College Board account. The College Board Big Future program has many, many great resources to help students discover their future career path and how to get there.
Texas Career Check - Career areas as defined by the Texas Workforce Commission. These career areas line up directly with your HB5 pathways. This website is a fun way to explore and learn more!
Lone Star College Career Star - Take a career assessment, explore careers, programs of study, and even live job postings! Students who are in the LSC system will have the ability to create a resume and save careers/programs/job postings to refer back to.
Discover You by Texas Gear Up - Not sure what you want to do with the rest of your life? Take the Discover You quiz for a jump start to your career research. Keep diving into the information for more detailed information on thing such as salary, education level required, job growth, etc.
Discover Your Skills - Website created by Mike Rowe of Dirty Jobs to bring an awareness of the thousands of jobs available and how to attain the skills necessary to be prepared for these jobs
My Next Move - What do you want to do for a living? - Get help discovering a wide array of jobs and the skills you'll need for them.
Petrochemical - Thriving Gulf Coast Industry - Explore a rapidly growing industry. There are a wide variety of jobs in this industry! This website give you information on how to enter the field, find training, find employers, and help you learn ways to move up in your career. Great resource!
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World of Work - The World-of-Work Map graphically shows how occupations relate to each other based on work tasks. Select a career and learn more!
O*NET Interest Profiler - Explore your interests and use your results to connect you to potential careers. Students can also explore related careers to their results.
Additional Helpful Articles
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Choosing A Major Resources
What Can I Do With This Major? - Explore further through this link. Click on the PDF link for the view that is the most user friendly. The more you know, the more you grow! Once you select a major, toward the bottom of the page there is a link for the Occupational Outlook Handbook. The OOH is comprised of information from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. You can find out things such as the degree required, salary, job growth projection, etc.
My Majors - Create an account with MyMajors to take an assessment, which will use your academic achievement, aptitude, interests, and personality to recommend your best fit majors. You will also receive a list of colleges that offer the bets fit majors and careers related to these majors.
Campus Explorer - Explore, find, and compare colleges. Tuition estimates can be found on this website as well.
Surprising Facts about Choosing a Major