Academic Advising and Career Center • (916) 278-6231 • www.csus.edu/careercenter

Relating Your Major to the World of Work

Career Planning Process

Self-Exploration

Researching Careers and Academic Programs

Decision-making, Goal Setting and Action-steps

Experiential education

Effective job search strategies

Before You Begin Your Job Search: Self-Assessment

Skill preferences Transferable skills / Skill set Work and Personal Values Attitude Work / Life Balance Self-care strategies Interests Personality Strengths Aptitude

mY oFfiCe

#1#2#3#4#5#6#7

Pay attention to your interests, strengths, aptitudes, and preferences. Factor them into your education and

career decisions. They are what make you unique and valuable!

#8#9#10

• What are your interests?

• What are your natural talents?

• What classes have you enjoyed in school?

• What have you dreamed about doing?

• What are your hobbies or things you like to do for fun?

• What life experiences/activities have you had that you enjoyed?

• What are your favorite subjects to discuss?

Explore Who You Are…

Types of Majors

Broadly speaking there are three types of majors:

Applied Majors, e.g., Accounting, Computer Science, Graphic Design

Liberal Arts Majors, e.g., Communication Studies, Humanities and Religious Studies, Ethnic Studies

Either Applied or Liberal Arts, depending on what field and/or occupation is pursued

College Majors:

● Help you develop valuable transferable skills that employers seek, such as

● Communication

● Organization

● Leadership

● Time management

● Research

● Working with others

● Writing

● Technology

Choosing a Major First

What are my career options?•Careers that require any BA/BS degree•Careers that related directly or indirectly to your major, coursework, or concentration•Teaching: college or K-12•Other: Graduate school, add a certificate, Peace Corps, JusticeCorps, AmeriCorps, start you own business, vocational training

Use GE to Explore Career Options

Career CE 1A: Civil Engineering Seminar

RTPA 1: Orientation to Recreation, Parks and Tourism

Administration

NURS 10: Health Care Issues & Delivery Systems (GE)

ANTH 3: Introduction to Archaeology (GE)

CRJ 1: Introduction to Criminal Justice and Society (GE)

INTD 20: Design (GE)

SWRK 96: Introduction to Social Work

Activity #1: Brainstorm a List of Key Search Words

Brainstorm a list of 8-10 key search words or phrases related

to your interests. Your interests might include:

Topics related to your major

Class topics you enjoyed

Activities you enjoy doing or reading about

Fields or industries

Natural talents

Topics you like to explore

• Government: City, County, State, Federal

• Association Management

• Non-profit Organizations

• Distributors / Wholesalers

• Supply Chain Industry

• Non-governmental Organizations

• Small and Medium Private Companies

• Colleges and Universities

• Multinational Corporations

• Start-up Companies

• Entrepreneurs

Many Opportunities Exist in the World of Work

For All Majors

Remember the Power of Liberal Arts Majors

Humanities and Religious Studies English Psychology Communication Studies Ethnic Studies Women’s Studies Sociology Anthropology Asian Studies Liberal Studies

Sample of Liberal Arts Occupations

Account ExecutiveProgram ManagerSales RepresentativeBookstore ManagerBuyerExecutive AssistantFinancial Aid CounselorGovernment serviceHuman Resources AssistantInsurance AgentClaims RepresentativeUnderwriterLoan OfficerLobbyistManager Trainee

Marketing AssistantMass Media AssistantProject ManagerPublic Relations AssistantResearch AssistantSpecial Events CoordinatorSpeech WriterStockbrokerPress SecretaryOperations ManagerMedia SpecialistParalegal AssistantStaff AssistantReal Estate Broker

Occupations may require additional training and/or experience*

Don’t forget emerging occupations:

Astrobiology Behavioral Geneticist Bioinformatics and Computational Biology Business Ethics Carbon Management Consultant Computer Animation and Digital Imaging Data Mining Emergency Management Specialists Green / Environmental Career Fields Health Informatics Specialist/Manager Human-Computer Interaction Immigration Specialist International Logistics Manager Materials Science Personal Chef Sub-orbital Space Flight Wellness Coach

Think about Combining Your Choice of Major with Who You Are….

Relating Your Major to Interests

Identify your career and/or educational goals. The student who is very creative who majors in Interior Design.

The student who enjoys leading and becomes President of a student club majors in Business Administration with a concentration in General Management.

The student who loves hiking and the outdoors and majors in Recreation, Parks and Tourism Administration.

The student who loves to speak in front of groups who majors in Communication Studies.

Activity #2: Occupations or Fields of Interest

List or discuss

with someone 2-3

occupations or

fields you would like

to research or learn

more about

Many positions within the same industry…

Marketing

Human Resources

Nursing

Training and Development

Finance

Medical Records

Physicians

Accounting

Sales

Administrators

Customer ServiceInsurance

Distributers

Lobbyists

Creating Career Options for Your Major…Strategies

English careers

allintitle:”marketing careers”

allintitle:”careers for engineering majors”

sociology inurl:careers

allintext:”computer science careers”

#1: Identifying Career Options for Your Major: Use Google and type in the following search strings…

Creating Career Options for Your Major……Strategies

Anthropology association OR society OR council

“graphic design” association

California “civil Engineering” association OR society

Professional associations will often have career information on their website

#2: Locate Professional Associations or Societies related to your major, career field of interest, class or concentration: Use Google and type the following:

Creating Career Options for Your Major…Strategies

Go to: www.csus.edu/soal to search for student clubs and organizations on campus.

Student clubs will often have mentoring programs, guest professionals from the field, or field trips to companies/industries.

#3: See if there are student clubs or organizations that relate to your field or area of interest.

#4: Informational Interviews/Job Shadowing: Meeting and/or observing professionals in the field is a great way to learn about career options related to your major.

Professional associations

Faculty contacts and referrals

Linked In and other social networking sites

Career Fairs and other Career Center events

Creating Career Options for Your Major…Strategies

Activity #3: Informational Interviews

What person or

profession would

you like to speak to

about what they do

in their job or field?

#5: Attend Employer lectures and Panel events: Academic departments, student clubs and the Career Center sponsor employer career panels and lectures.

Career Center website: www.csus.edu/careercenter

Student clubs and organizations

Professional meetings

Conferences and trade shows

Creating Career Options for Your Major…Strategies

#6: Meet with Faculty Advisors in your academic department of interest: Faculty and academic departments are excellent sources of career and major information.

Career Center website: http://www.csus.edu/academics/AtoZ%20academic%20departments.html

Department website

Faculty with knowledge and/or experience in the field

Alumni

Creating Career Options for Your Major…Strategies

#7: Job Listing Websites: Utilize job listing websites to search for your major and see what occupations appear.

www.indeed.com

www.simplyhired.com

Creating Career Options for Your Major…Strategies

#8: YouTube: Use YouTube to search for videos on your career field of interest. Search on the following:

Biochemistry Careers

A day in the life of a technical writer

Creating Career Options for Your Major…Strategies

#9: Conferences and Trade Shows: Search conferences and/or trade shows near where you live. Often volunteering at the conference will result in a reduced registration fee. Use Google to search for the following:

Writing conference 2013

Interior design trade show OR conference 2013

Search old conference programs to learn about a field: Sociology conference 2012

Creating Career Options for Your Major…Strategies

#10: Social Networking Sites: Gather career and major information through social and professional networking sites:

www.linkedIn.com

www.facebook.com

www.twitter.com

Creating Career Options for Your Major…Strategies

#11: Experiential Education: Meet professionals in the field, as well as obtain internships, part-time positions, volunteer opportunities, and/or job shadowing/informational interviews, in order to learn career options related to your major.

Creating Career Options for Your Major…Strategies

Career Connection Volunteermatch.com Visit the Career Center, Lassen

Hall 1013, Monday – Friday, 9am – 5pm

Volunteersac.org handsonsacto.org Career Center Listserv Handout

#12: Visit the Academic Advising and Career Center Lassen Hall 1013

Information on relating your major to the world of work

Assistance with networking and meeting professionals in your field(s) of interest

Assistance with identifying career options or how you can use your major in the world of work

Action-steps toward achieving your education and career goals

Identifying career options Strategies for overcoming obstacles or

barriers

Creating Career Options for Your Major…Strategies

Activity #4: Questions You Would Like To Ask

List 3 questions

you would like to

ask about an

occupation or field

of interest

The 21st Century Worker Needs to…

• Multiple skill sets / be versatile• Tech savvy• Flexible, adaptable, and open to change• A global mindset• Multilingual• Ability to work in diverse teams• Willingness to take initiative• Good writing skills• Ability to get along with others; positive

attitude• Communication Skills• Willing to learn

Russell Hancock, Silicon Valley Joint Venture, 2011

Resources

California Career Zone: www.cacareerzone.org Sacramento State Majors:

http://www.csus.edu/webpages/collegedepts.stm EUREKA, California Career Information System:

www.eureka.org Site ID Code = SDJOP5F

Occupational Outlook Handbook: www.bls.gov/ooh/ Career Center Website: www.csus.edu/careercenter Career Planning Process with links:

www.csus.edu/careercenter/students/career_plan_process/in

dex.stm O*NET Online: http://online.onetcenter.org