Exploring Careers on Your Own

Want to explore different careers and opportunities but not sure where to begin? Here are some simple ways you can start the exploration process today.

Career Explorer

This is a free, 30-minute career assessment that will ask questions related to your personality, talents, values, etc. Your results will give you specific careers that align with the answers you gave. This is a great place to start exploring careers. And, who knows? You might find a career you’ve never heard of!

Google Search

Yup. The title says it all. Google searching can be an excellent exploration approach! Although this might seem overly simplistic, you can learn a lot in 30-60 minutes just by searching different industries, companies, and jobs on the internet. If you don’t have a good idea of what you’re looking for yet, start broadly by searching different types of industries. If you start reading about an industry that’s interesting to you, try to find some companies that occupy that industry. If there are some companies that stand out to you, make a list!

* If you’re not sure where to begin, start with what you think is interesting. For example, maybe you’re interested in politics. Start there. Look at different government agencies and explore a range of government careers. No matter how generic the subject is, you will have a starting place to begin your search.

My Next Move

This platform allows you to explore careers based on your interests. It provides an in-depth analysis of 900+ careers with information about necessary skills, education, job outlook, and salary – just to name a few. Although the website might seem a little outdated, the information is up-to-date and relevant. 

What Can I Do with This Major?

This resource gives you different pathways that people will typically take with a specific major. However, this is only a starting point for exploration. As a liberal arts student, your degree is flexible—you can choose almost any job, no matter what you study. 


Pro Tip

Doing this kind of exploration can take time, so be patient. What’s the worst that can happen? You don’t find something remotely interesting to you, and that’s just not very likely! And at least you’ll discover what NOT to explore.


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