Boston University - Career Services - Career Exploration

It would be almost impossible to really know about all the different careers and career fields that exist in the world, and new industries are constantly developing or evolving. Think about the new jobs and careers that have been created, just in your life-time, in bio-technology or robotics.

You can, however, make a start. First, do the self-exploration that we mentioned above. Continue to do this; you will constantly grow and change throughout your life time, and you will always be learning more about yourself.

Read books and look at websites that give information on “great careers for…” certain types of people, such as artists, or extroverts, or math whizzes, or people who love the outdoors.

Read books and look at websites that give information on “what you can do with a major in…”

Find websites for professional associations and explore them. Read journals or magazines devoted to a specific field.

Talk to people. Find out what they do. Find out how they got to do it. Find out what they like about it, and what they maybe don’t like.

Observe. Be curious. Whatever you see around you, wonder where it came from, how it got there, who made it, who thought of it, who maintains it, who writes about it, who teaches it, who improves it, who uses it. You’ll get ideas from watching the news, going to a concert, walking through the city, shopping for a new suit, or watching a new building going up.

When you have ideas, write them down. Every now and then, review your list and see what the elements have in common.

The important thing to do is to start somewhere. You can pick a direction and do some internships to see how you like it. It is being said now that people will have several careers over the course of their life-times. That means careers, not jobs. So don’t be too stressed out by this process; a life-time of adventure awaits you.

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