Researching the World of Work Have you ever written a term paper, but without researching your subject? The results can be disastrous. The same can be said for career decision-making. Why attempt to make such a profound life decision without first researching your options? Satisfying career decisions require good information, information about your own needs and desires and the world of work. While career counselors can help you with the self-assessment component of career planning, investigation of the world of work is up to you. Why should you spend the time exploring the world of work? Here are just a few reasons: Research can help you generate creative, new ideas and ways of thinking. Why limit yourself to highly visible choices such as teaching, counseling, engineering, medicine and law when other options abound? Maybe massage therapy, labor relations, medical microbiology or technical writing would appeal to you equally as well. Never stop looking at alternatives until you are assured that your choice is appropriate. Research helps you to explore options with little risk. While you might think that you want to be a physiotherapist or a pharmacist, it makes a lot of sense to investigate your choice before you spend time and energy acquiring the entrance requirements. Don't wait until you are in medicine before you find out that you faint at the sight of blood! Occupational research helps you to develop back up plans. Competition is tight for positions in many academic programs. What happens if you can't get into the required program here and you can't attend a school in another city? Avoid putting all of your eggs in one basket by identifying a number of options that may prove to be satisfying. What Do I Need to Find Out? Most important, you must discover if the occupation can meet your career needs. Areas to explore include: Skills required to succeed Typical duties and responsibilities Average pay range Working conditions (hours of work, physical demands, typical environments, etc.) Related occupations Advancement opportunities Future job outlook Where Do I Start? Career-related information surrounds us every day, everywhere. Every magazine and newspaper you read and every person you encounter can be a potential source of information. While numerous career-related books and publications are available, newspapers, magazines, films, and television and radio programs are excellent sources of information if you read them correctly. For example, an article on white collar crime can provide information on policing, forensic accounting and security consulting. Special educational programs are often highlighted in the media. Reading the employment want ads, even when not looking for a job, is a great way to learn about occupational options and potential employers. Libraries are a wonderful place to start. Even if you're not a student you can find a wealth of information in a nearby college library. In addition to books, videos, job search manuals and files on hundreds of occupations, you can find university and college calendars from around North America. Spend a few hours reading through some of these calendars. You may discover options that you never even knew existed! Surfin' the Net Career-related information abounds on the World Wide Web. Not only is the information typically more up-to-date than many print resources but the graphic presentation makes research particularly appealing. A simple net search can yield vast amounts of great information. Experience It! Don't just think about it, do it! Take the time to volunteer, job shadow, or participate in part-time or summer paid work. Not only will you learn about the job, but you will start to gain valuable contacts that may come in handy in the future. Occupational research requires no special skills except a keen awareness of what is going on in the world around you. Don't hesitate - start investigating your future today! Talk to Someone This source can be investigated formally or informally. Try brainstorming with friends and relatives. You may be surprised at the number of new ideas you can generate. The next time Uncle Charlie starts bragging about his work, listen closely. You may learn something! Informational interviewing is a more formal method for retrieving information. The premise behind these interviews is that most people love to talk about their work. Make sure that these interviews are prearranged and that you have questions prepared. Remember that while this is not an employment interview, it is a great opportunity to develop a network which may come in handy one day. And don't forget to send a thank-you note! Hot Jobs - Where Are They? What jobs are in high demand? Will there be a job for me once I chose a career? Should the state of the labor market be a factor in your career decision-making? Sure. Should it be the main factor? Probably not. There are plenty or myths out there about the new economy of the 21st century and you shouldn't be too quick to buy into them. Here are a few: the new economy is "just" a Service economy. The new economy is "just" high tech. The new economy is "only" an emerging economy so it's too small to really count. There's no job security in this new economy. Trends and general myths about the overall economy do not apply to every profession and job. After all, people used to only ride horses and now they drive cars, but there are still companies that make horseshoes and buggy whips. Someone has made a career out of doing that. Just keep in mind that buggy whips may not be an expanding business and it may not pay as much as the hi-tech jobs out there. But if you like making buggy whips, maybe that doesn‘t matter as much. Career decision-making is a complex process. Picking an occupation that fits you - your interests, skills, temperament and values is probably more important than finding one with a reported high future demand. And what happens if the projections are incorrect? Nonetheless, learning about the world of work, including projected demand for specific jobs and future trends, can help when considering your options. Where Do I Look? The federal government, specifically the Labor and Health & Human Services Dept. produces a great deal of labor market information. Much of it is available on the web. Speaking of the web, there are hundreds of websites devoted to career guidance, job hunting and other employment opportunities on the internet. Just get online and do a search for career advice. You'll find plenty of information out there. Your local library or a job center at a local college also has plenty of books, information and advice you'll find helpful. Information about the world of work doesn't have to come from a book on job futures. It is all around - in newspapers, on television and radio, on the Internet. By becoming aware of the world around you, you can make more educated, and hopefully more fulfilling, career choices.

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