Wiki Page, Starting Your New Career: Front Page

Wiki Page
2013-04-04T00:01:55-06:00

Identifying Your Career Field (Lecture)

What do you want to be when you grow up? No, not the job you have now, but what you really wanted to be. Not the job you have because it pays the bills, but the job you wanted because it was your calling.

Finding that perfect career, the dream job, can be a daunting task. The questions are many: What skills do I need? What education is required? Where can I get educated/trained in the field? Are there any jobs available in my dream career field?

The answers, though, are really not that difficult to find. The best starting point is within yourself. You should be able to determine the kind of job you want and how you can achieve your goal. But, you need some direction.

In this module, you will focus on the first step. Identifying your dream job and learning about it. You might already know what field you want to enter, but you likely don't have all of the information regarding that field or the salary numbers or projected job openings. You'll need this information to determine if now is the best time to make the move to that dream job.

The first step is to find the Occupational Outlook Handbook (OOH). This is provided by the United States' government, and it covers many of the major career fields.

Your first assignment is to use the OOH to find out all the information you can about your desired career field. When you have found that information, complete your assignment, post it to the assignment area, and also post it to the discussions. Then, take the time to observe and comment on the other posts that people have made. Ask questions about their career areas and add your own perspective on their career fields.

When you have completed that, move to the next module, "Utilizing a Job Search Site."