Exploring Careers

Another part of career planning is exploring various careers, occupations and industries of interest to you.  Many strategies exist first for identifying career interests and thenfor exploring and researching those careers. It is important to remember that more than one major can lead to the same type of work, and there is not a “right” answer when it comes to career planning. In our ever changing world, we may likely transition through several careers during our lifetime. In the meantime, the following checklist will assist you in your exploration:

• Meet with the career services coordinator to discuss various career paths and even take an interest, values, skills or personality assessment. A good place to start is by conducting a self assessment.
• Ask your family, friends, or other close acquaintances how they identify your interests, values, and skills.
• Write about or contemplate what you enjoy doing, what you do not enjoy doing, what values you hold, what skills you have that you enjoy using, and where you see yourself down the road.
• Read about career information on some of the most widely used websites. Here are a few to begin: Occupational Outlook Handbook, O*Net, Wetfeet and Vault; visit Career Services’ Web Resources for more.
• Research professional associations in the field via print or web resources. Often these groups have a wealth of up-to-date information about the field.
• Visit Naropa University’s Allen Ginsberg Library, the Boulder Public Library or the Career Services Library and check out books on various occupations.
• Speak with a faculty member or Naropa alumni about their experiences and knowledge of career options in your interest area.
• Once you have narrowed your choices of possible careers, consider job shadowing or informational interviewing a professional in the field. Visit Career Services for tips on job shadowing and informational interviewing.
• Volunteer through the Community Studies Center at an organization in the field of interest to you.
• Participate in the UCAN Serve AmeriCorps, a federally funded program that provides educational scholarships to students who engage in service work while at Naropa.
• Join or develop a Naropa student group or organization that relates to your occupational interests.
• Complete internships in the field of interest to you.  Internships are an excellent way to explore a particular career in a formalized manner in which you can apply your academic learning in a work setting. Visit the career services coordinator for more information.

Sarah Steward, career services coordinator
Arapahoe Campus ~ Allen Ginsberg Library
second floor (6210)
303.245.4863 ~ ssteward@naropa.edu