Niko Castillo and Moria Dailey
Published: February 8, 2006
Only 50.7 percent of college graduates are satisfied with their current career, reports a recent study performed by the Consumer Research Center for the Conference Board in New York.ÿ If this continues, that means half of us are destined to work merely for paychecks and not personal satisfaction.ÿ
Find your passion.
Without a passion or goal, a student is likely to waste time and money pursuing a career that is wrong for them.
How does one go about finding this passion?ÿ
PJC’s Career Connection is home to a wealth of resources to explore possible majors, occupations and job options.ÿThey also have counselors available to discuss further academic study and an extensive career library.ÿ
With the help of counselors at Career Connections, students who utilize the program take several assessment tests, beginning with a personality profile that is completed in the first of four appointments the student makes.
“It’s a 72 question test, and once the student finishes the test, they get a print out of two lists of careers that people with that personality type choose,” Valerie Buscher, a student career assistant, said.
In their second appointment, Buscher explained that students take three more tests; one about their job interests, one skill assessment exam, and one in which they rate things that are important to them in a job. These tests produce another list of jobs for the student to consider.
Students spend their third appointment researching five to 10 careers they’ve chosen, and in the fourth appointment, students meet with a counselor and discuss one or two careers they’ve decided on, Bucher said, and the counselor helps them make sure they are on the right path in relation to the classes they’re taking as well as helping them choose a college to transfer to if PJC doesn’t have their desired major.
By having a vision for the future, a student can decide what classes to take and what degree to pursue.ÿ
Get experience.
Once a student has singled out a few interests, experience is available in the forms of after- or before-school employment, internships, volunteer opportunities, or simply freelancing.ÿ It’s a great way to build up a portfolio or resume to make the post-graduation job hunt easier.ÿ But experience doesn’t have to come in a traditional form.ÿ
Another option is to interview people who have realized the dream as possible mentors.ÿ By talking to people living out their careers in their field of interest, a student will not only gain valuable information, tips, and truths, but may also make connections that will help later in their career.ÿ Furthermore, through this experience, a student may even discover that the field of study isn’t a good fit and be able to change majors before getting too far.ÿ
Don’t feel trapped.
While it’s definitely never too late to make a career change, pursuing your dreams pays off in many ways.ÿ
Some students may already be well on their way to a career they will hate.ÿ Whether they are on the brink of graduating with a degree they are not interested in or realizing half-way through their freshman year that they aren’t in the right program,ÿwhat it truly comes down to is that a student has to forge a path to turn dreams into reality.
Forget money.ÿ Forget careers.ÿ Pursue passion.
