Career Path
With a new economy comes new job opportunities. However, many workers are finding that going back to school is necessary to gaining entry into new growth fields. Education marketing firm AcademixDirect offers ten tips for choosing the major that best matches your desired career path.
1. Research the top growth fields – there are growing opportunities in healthcare, financial services, and trade jobs, etc. A good place to start your research is US News & World Report’s article on The 50 Best Careers of 2010 http://www.usnews.com/money/careers/articles/2009/12/28/the-50-best-careers-of-2010.html
2. Ask yourself what you love to do – people excel at doing what they enjoy. If you’re struggling with this step, take a personality test, like the Myers-Briggs test, to help uncover your strengths.
3. Think about the classes you did well in – this can be a good starting point for identifying your academic strengths.
4. Match your passion and academic strengths with a growing field – if you enjoy helping people and education is a passion of yours, consider a growth occupation like school psychologist or social worker. If you have an analytical thought process and enjoy numbers but prefer to stay behind-the-scenes, financial analyst and cost estimator positions could be of interest to you. Or if you’re good with your hands, consider a certificate program in the growing fields of plumbing or security systems installation.
5. Look up the course requirements for each major – do the classes interest you? Be sure to request curriculum from schools.
6. Honestly ask yourself if you’ll put in the work – in addition to particular courses, a degree in a given major might require commitments like an internship and lab work. Are you willing to complete these extra steps? Request college packages from schools and learn things like: average time it takes to graduate by major, extra requirements, etc.
7. Visit the departments you’re interested in – talk to some of the professors and students. Enter your zip and find schools in your area or research online schools.
8. Consider online college options – online schools can offer working adults many certificate and degree options that allow for flexibility if you need to continue working while you pursue training for your new career. A good resource is the Career College Association www.career.org.
9. Talk to someone working in a field you’re interested in – put the word out to friends and family that you’re interested in a certain career and ask if they know someone you can talk to find out more about their job. Or call the human resources department of a company in your desired field and ask for an informational interview. Firsthand accounts of what a job is really like will help you make an informed decision.
10. Remember that choosing a major can be a matter of trial and error – many students switch their majors at least once before graduating.
About AcademixDirect ( www.academixdirect.com )
As the leading education marketing company focused entirely on higher education, AcademixDirect strives to innovate better ways to connect college-bound students with the schools that will help them succeed.