EXPLORE CAREERS

Build your career decisions on accurate information rather than hearsay! Listed below are strategies and tools for obtaining reliable career information.

Read

Read about career possibilities from a number of highly informative websites.

• Occupational Outlook Handbook: 341 occupational profiles covering 85% of the jobs in the U.S. economy
• O'Net: Information available for over 900 occupations
• Indiana Career Explorer: Information about each of 16 National career clusters, their pathways, and titles of their related occupations and majors
• America's Career INFONET: User-friendly occupation and industry information
• The Sloan Career Cornerstone Center: Read about many science and engineering fields
• Professional Associations: Connect with resources about prospective careers through professional associations
• Career Research Portal : An online comprehensive career resource that includes numerous Purdue-subscribed databases supporting students’ employer research efforts.

Talk to People in Jobs

Informational interviewing is an excellent way to learn about the day-to-day tasks, required skills, abilities and personality traits needed in a specific career.

Informational Interviewing

Shadow People in Jobs

Job shadowing is a way for you to spend time with a professional who is currently working in a career that you want to learn more about. It gives you an opportunity to experience a day in the life of a professional and learn more about the career through asking informed questions. 

Gain Experience

Perform a variety of activities to acquire in-depth knowledge of what it is like to work in a particular field.