Step 2 Career Exploration Options

1. Instructions for Doing Step 2 Career Exploration
2. What is 'Occupational Research'?
3. Why is doing Occupational Research worth your time?
4. FAQS about Occupational Research
5. Link to Research the Major Occupational Groups

• On this page you can look through the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQS) on Occupational Research before you move on to doing the actual research.
• On the next page, you'll begin researching the Major Occupational Fields to find the one that is your main interest.
• You'll follow the instructions on how to do your Occupational Research using the database links given.
• You'll choose your Occupational Field and move to Step 3 - Choosing Your Dream Job.

Note: The process of Career Exploration is a research process. Steps 2 and 3 provide you with the tools you need to do your research. Step 2 researches Occupations. Step 3 researches Jobs in the Occupation you choose in Step 2.

Research is a systematic investigation into sources of information in order to learn new facts about a chosen topic. Here you will research the Fields of Knowledge - called Occupations, using 'Occupational Databases' Online. Then you'll choose the main field you're interested in -- which will bring you joy for many years to come.

The decision you make in Step 2 - Career Exploration, sets the stage for Step 3 - Choosing Your Dream Job.

In Step 3 you go on to choose a Job in the Field that interests you.

There, you'll apply all the information which you gathered from the self-assessments in Step 1: your personal preferences and natural inclinations, what you bring to the workplace, your personality, intelligences, work environment preferences, and work values. Weighing this information, against the types of jobs that are performed in your Chosen Field, will help you to find a natural Job Fit.

• Discover new areas of interest you didn't know about, and see if they are worth pursuing.
• Decide whether you need to change your job or look for more suitable work.
• Save time and money, by determining if you are suited to an occupation before you get involved in an expensive and time-consuming training program.
• Find the quickest way to prepare to enter an occupation.
• Find out all the details about an occupation, kinds of jobs you can do, the expected salary and actual working conditions involved in the field you are considering, before you get into the work yourself.

1. What 'tools' are available for doing this research?
2. What kinds of questions will I be finding the answers to?
3. What if I can't find an occupational group that I really like?
4. What if I'd like to work in more than one occupation or field?
5. Why should I do all this research?
6. What if my personal talents seem to fit an occupational category that I don't really want to work in?
7. Help! I find all this research on occupational groups too overwhelming, what can I do?
8. All this information I'm coming across, is getting out of control, how do I remember it all?
9. I have talent that gives people a lot of pleasure and I love doing it. But it doesn't earn me much money. Why can't I make a living with my talent?

GUIDING COMMENT: Choosing a "Field of Interest" or a "Field" to work in (as an occupation) is as important as choosing the particular job you will do in that field. The work you do, is the golden thread that you will weave, all through the tapestry of your life. You need to get it right. When you choose a focus area or career direction, through your Career Exploration Research, you are choosing more than a list of activities you will be doing, you are also choosing a lifestyle.

Of course, if you find you have taken the wrong fork in the road, you can always take the other path. It's just better to take your time and get it right the first time, rather than finding that you have to change your career direction later, because you don't really like where it's taking you.

Occupational Research is the key to finding a satisfying field of interest that suits your personal needs. This site gives you the tools and shows you how to do it.

READY TO BEGIN YOUR OCCUPATIONAL RESEARCH?



Go to: THE MAJOR OCCUPATIONAL GROUPS

Links to Step 1 - The 5 Career Tests on This Site

1. Discovering Your Work Style Preferences

• Your Work Style Preferences Overview
• Work Style Preferences Inventory
• Work Style Preferences Descriptions

2. Choosing Your Work Values

• Your Work Values Overview
• The Work Values Inventory
• Sam's Story
• Karen's Story

3. Identifying Your Personality Style

• Your Personality Type - An Overview
• The Personality Test
• FAQS On Personality Type

4. Pinpointing What Motivates You

• Your Central Motivators - An Overview
• Your Central Motivations Quiz
• Central Motivations Descriptions

5. Making Your Multiple Intelligences Work For You

• Multiple Intelligences - An Overview
• Multiple Intelligences Inventory
• Multiple Intelligences Descriptions
• 60 Ways to Boost Your Intelligences
• The Quick Job Analysis Guide
• Career Chart

Links to Step 2 - Career Exploration

Getting Started - Opening the Door to Exploring New Careers

• Step 2 - An Overview

9 Frequently Asked Questions on Job Searching

• Get the Answers Here

How to Do Job Research - Your Search Tool Links

Familiarize Yourself With the Major Occupational Groups

Links to Step 3 - Getting into the Nitty Gritty

How to Do Job Searching

• Step 3 - An Overview

Paper Research

• Help For Doing Paper Researching

Online Research

• Help For Doing PC Researching

People Research Links

• Help For Doing People Researching
• How to Prepare for the Information Interview
• 20 Interview Questions for Informational Interviews
• Sample Phone Scripts for Information Interviews
• Writing the Interview Thank You Letter

Participation Research Links

• Help For Doing Participation Researching
• Open Houses in the Workplace &at Schools
• Job Shadowing
• 21 Sample Job Shadows in the Workplace
• Temping & Volunteering as Participation Research
• 50 Basic Questions Checklist For Job Researching

Links to Step 4 - Taking Care of Your Career

Ways to Make Yourself More Valuable to Employers

• Managing Your Career
• Taking Care of Your Career
• Arriving in Your New Career