Career Counseling - Getting Focused Fast
Learn how a meeting with a Professional Counselor can assist in discovering your career direction.

Self-Assessment
Getting to know yourself is the first step
Testing is available to assist you in determining how your interests, skills, values and personality align with various careers.

Researching Careers
Investigating majors and career possibilities is the second step.
Learn where to find the best and most current information on occupations, job descriptions, training and educational requirements, as well as salaries and job outlooks.

Self-Assessment
What makes you tick? What major will fit you best? How will you find a career that’s good for you?

Many college students feel confused and overwhelmed by having to make a career decision. Fortunately, there is help to make the whole process a little easier.

Know Thyself
You have enough to worry about during school without trying to choose your life’s work on top of it all. So just start from the beginning: Get to know yourself first.

What does that mean? In essence, it means learning what you enjoy doing (your interests); what you’re good at doing (your skills); what’s important to you in a future career (your work values); and what makes you, well, you (your personality).

There are a variety of ways to go about these tasks. You can:

• Take the inventories in the DISCOVER Career Planning Program but first you will need a token/user ID issued by the Career and Transfer Center. Call 914-606-6760 or stop in. This is a free service to Westchester Community College students and alumni.
• Make an appointment to work one-on-one with a professional career counselor. Call 914-606-6760.
• Ask friends and family to help you identify your pertinent career related traits.
• You can register for academic courses that appeal to your interests, join a student organization, or start reading about various majors and careers—these will help you explore potential new interests and learn new skills.

Researching Careers
Once you feel you know enough about your interests, skills, work values, and personality, start investigating majors and career possibilities that seem to be a good fit. How?

• Learn about Westchester Community College’s programs of study by reading the catalog and talking to faculty in programs that sound interesting.
• Meet with a counselor in the Career & Transfer Center to learn how programs of study and majors can prepare you for specific careers.
• Read job descriptions in the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Outlook Handbook.
• For information on the outlook for various occupations in New York State and earnings in the New York Metropolitan area the best site is the U.S. Department of Labor’s Career InfoNet.
• Talk to people who are working in careers that intrigue you. This is called Information Interviewing. How did they prepare—both academically and experientially—for their jobs? What advice do they have for you? If you don’t know anyone, perhaps your counselor can help.
• Get a part-time job, internship or volunteer experience that relates to a career field of interest to you.

There are many additional on-line sites to surf for researching careers.  See Career Info Websites.

Questions? Please contact us.