Explore Career Paths (w/ O*Net and LinkedIn)

Due No Due Date
Points 10
Submitting a file upload

Sometimes the biggest step after selecting a major(s) is deciding what you'd like to do with that major(s). There are a lot of different career paths you can choose from. One major does not equal one career path (and vice versa). This assignment will introduce you to a number of different career options. (This assignment is not meant to give you an exhaustive list of career paths; there are many more out there you could discover outside of the assignment as well.)

Instructions

Go to O*NET OnLine- onetonline.org Links to an external site. AND complete the steps below:

Step 1: Pick 3 ways to search for jobs/positions.
Look under the main O*Net OnLine logo to find the menu bar with "Find Occupations," “Advanced Searches" and
“O*NET Data":

Screenshot of O*Net website with the following headers/drop down menus circled: Find Occupations, Advanced Searches and O*NET Data.

Find Occupations > Career Clusters
Find Occupations > Industry
Advanced Searches > Soft Skills
Advanced Searches > Technology Skills
O*NET Data > Interests
(“Interests” are your strengths: To decide if you’re: Social, Enterprising, Investigative, Realistic, Artistic, Conventional, take the O*Net Interest Profiler that is linked on that same page. Once you get your results, it’s best to search with your top two codes to get better results. (ex: search Investigative and Social together as a two letter code)
O*NET Data > Knowledge (Search by similar major(s) to what you are currently studying)

Step 2: After searching the 3 different ways, write down 4 job/position titles that you found interesting and include them in your reflection paper.

Step 3: Explore 1 job/position in more detail:
Click on the job title in your search, find out more information, and reflect on the questions below:

Tasks: Would you enjoy this job?
Skills:
- Do you have the skills to perform at least some of the tasks? Will you be able to perform these tasks after you graduate?
- Does your resume highlight these skills?
Technology: Have you used any of the instruments and/or software mentioned? How can you acquire any missing skills?
Education: Does the job/position require a graduate, professional degree? Specific courses? Certification?

After going into more depth, would you keep or discard the job? Update your list!
Repeat these steps for other job/position options, if you wish to learn more.

Step 4: Use LinkedIn to find UMD alumni that have this job title and see what jobs/internships or experiences they had that led them to that job/position. To view instructions for using the Career Insights Tool on LinkedIn, watch this video Links to an external site.. The tool is more helpful the more connections you have because you are more likely to have 2nd or 3rd level connections. If you haven't connected with people, consider doing that before starting this part of the assignment.

Step 5: Write a one page reflection of this assignment, addressing some or all of the questions below. (Remember to include the 4 position titles from Step 2)

What job titles did you find?
Which interested you?
Which one did you decide to explore further? What did you learn about this job/career interest of yours?
What did you find when searching LinkedIn?
What skills or experiences did alumni list on their LinkedIn profile either in the skills or experience sections? Did you see some that you already possess or ones you plan to pursue?
Did you learn anything additional from alumni's profiles about the position or about experiences/education to prepare you for a job/position/career in this area?