Choosing a career is difficult for many students.  There are many options and interests to consider.  For some students a step by step process makes choosing a career makes it much easier.

Step 1

Assess Yourself

There are several different areas that a person needs to evaluate about themselves before choosing a career.  By taking  a Career Interest and Skill  Test students are able to assess their personality, skills and abilities, interests, values and lifestyle preferences.  A student needs to realize what their strengths are in each area in order to pick a career that will match them.

Step 2

Match Them Up

After a student has discover his or her strengths, they will then be able to match these to many possible careers. 

Step 3

Investigate Career Options

In this step, a student will need to weed out the careers that he or she is not interested in and begin researching the ones that do look interesting.  Students can research careers by reading about them in books or computer programs or they can talk to a person that already has this career in a workplace.  A student will want to make sure that a career is something that they will enjoy doing everyday.  They can also research other aspects of a career such as, salary, job openings and the growth outlook for that field.  A student will also need to decide how much education is required by a certain career and if they are willing able to obtain it.

Step 4

Decision Time!

After finding your strengths and potential careers and researching  them, it is then time to make a decision.  A student will need to consider all of the facts about that occupation and then determine  what they would like to pursue.

Step 5

Process to Achievement

Achieving the career that you have chosen will require different actions for each individual.  For some it may require additional education requirements, for others internships and some may be able to obtain a position with just a certificate or an associates degree.  All choices will require students to start building up their resumes.  After they have met all the educational requirements, they will then need to start searching for a position in that field.

While going through this process, students may find it beneficial to speak with a Merced College Counselor about educational questions that may arise while going through these steps.

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Career Assessment Tests / Career Classes / Career/Major Research / Career/Major Links / Career Workshops / Career Newsletter / Career Development Process / Resumes & Cover Letters / Events Calendar / FAQ's