What makes you happy in life? Do you love being outdoors? Do you love to photograph nature? Are you happy in a laboratory mixing chemicals and figuring out formulas? Do you enjoy working with people and listening to their problems? Are you fascinated with animals and are frequently called the "animal whisperer"? When we think about majors and careers, we often feel pressure from family or society about what we "should" do.
*You're good at biology so you should be a doctor.
*You're a great artist but that doesn't make money. You should be an architect.
*You're a math genius, you should go into engineering.
*You're a great listener, you should be a counselor.
Have you felt like you're settling for a major and career path because of what people say you "should" do? What if you're a great artist but don't really want to do that as a living? What if you also love English and want to be a writer instead? Or a mathematician? Or a coal miner? Elle Luna writes in her book "The Crossroads of Should and Must" that "all too often, we feel that we are not living the fullness of our lives because we are not expressing the fullness of our gifts". We need to think about what we
love to do as well as things we are
good at doing. The combination of those thoughts will create a major and career path that you can get excited about and you can be one of those people who LOVE their jobs!
"Choose a job you love and you will never have to work a day in your life." Confucius
So how do you get to that dream major and career? The first step is to ASSESS YOURSELF. There are many different career assessments on the market, many of which are free, that give you some great information about your personality and careers that match with said personality. As a student at Salt Lake Community College, you have access to a couple of free career assessments that can guide you in the right direction. TypeFocus is available through your mypage (Student Tab, Academic/Career Advising, TypeFocus New User) and the college has invested money to offer this resource to students whether they are undecided on a major or want to make sure they are headed in the right direction. TypeFocus uses some of the personality assessments that are offered through the Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) and gives you a four letter type. That four letter type matches you with careers based on your personality, interests, or values depending on which assessment you decide to take. You can take all three (it takes about five minutes per assessment) and at the end of the assessment, you receive a list of careers that match. Going along with our theme of "100 days, 10 minutes per day" to explore majors and careers, TypeFocus offers opportunities for students to explore without taking too much time out of the day.
Another free assessment that is given, along with a one hour workshop to discuss results, is StrengthsQuest. I highly recommend taking StrengthsQuest along with or after you've taken TypeFocus so you can match the two ideas together. StrengthsQuest is offered through Student Life & Leadership (http://www.slcc.edu/sll/strengthsquest.aspx) and again, it's FREE!
If you've exhausted the free resources available and you're still confused about a major and career path, then it's time to make a small investment and take some paid assessments. The Myers Briggs Type Indicator and the Strong Interest Inventory are offered at SLCC at a very low cost. In fact, it's the lowest in the state! Each assessment costs $25 each but taken together, the cost is reduced to $40. This is where you'll ask yourself the all important question, "If I ruled the world, what would I be?" When taking the paid assessments, go with your gut feeling. Answer questions based on what you would do if you had no restrictions, no holds barred, no barriers. What do you prefer? Some questions may be a little harder to answer as you are only given two choices per question but always go with what makes you the most comfortable and lean towards your natural tendencies. This will give you what's called a "True Type". The paid assessment comes with a one-hour session with a certified advisor who interprets your results. The ability to have follow up sessions is also available and part of the $40. If the cost is what's holding you back, think of it this way...
$40 can buy you:
*The entire set of Harry Potter books, used, through amazon.com
*At least one of your college textbooks
*Dinner at McDonalds for a family of 6
*Movie with popcorn and snacks for 2
*A full tank of gas
*40 things at the Dollar Store
*40 items on the dollar menu
The list could go on forever but when it boils down to paying for a lot of classes to discover your major and career versus spending $40 to help narrow down some ideas, which would you pick? Choosing your major and career takes time and money, why not invest in your future today?
http://www.slcc.edu/academicadvising/careeradvising/assessments.aspx
Other resources for major and career exploration:
- Major and Career Discovery Series (FREE online Canvas Course-email michelle.tuitupou@slcc.edu through your Bruinmail account with the subject line "I Want My MCDS")
- LE 1200 Major and Career Exploration (1 credit class-elective)
- LE 1220 Human Relations-Career Development (3 credit class-SS, HR designation)
