Career Exploration: Industry and Career Research Tools
One thing I’ve learned during my years as a Career Coach is that new industries and job titles are being created every day. So many jobs exist today that didn’t 25, 15, or even 10 years ago. It amazes me, but it also inspires me on behalf of my clients. The young people I coach have a massive variety of opportunities to pursue. Of course, with variety often comes overwhelm. That’s where I help budding professionals work through their values, goals, and practical needs so that we can hone in on the industry and career they’re really seeking.
There are several publicly available research tools that I encourage all young people to use to start exploring their interests. These tools help students understand what kind of education and training they’ll need for certain careers, and it will give them an idea of what they can expect to make and how that industry is growing. These are important considerations in career exploration. Sometimes students want to follow a specific path without first calculating if the payoff exceeds the investment.
Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook
The Bureau of Labor Statistics provides a vault of information about occupations all over the country. The Occupational Outlook Handbook is an excellent database of all kinds of jobs within every industry that reports to the federal government.
Using this tool, job seekers can sort occupations by median pay, level of education required for entry level, what kind of job training is available, and how the industry is projected to grow. Once you identify an interesting occupation, you can even navigate into state and area data to find out where you’re most likely to find a job in that field. If you’ve never thought about where you might need to live in order to work in your preferred profession, start digging into that information.
U.S. Department of Labor O*NET OnLine
The U.S. Department of Labor sponsors the O*NET OnLine website for career exploration. Search jobs by:
Career cluster - jobs in a specific field where common training and skills are needed across many different occupations
Job family - groups of jobs that share similar training or education
STEM - jobs within the science, technology, engineering, or mathematics disciplines
Bright Outlook - fields that are growing
Industry - broadly defined business groups
Job Zone - occupations based on certain amounts of training and preparation
This site has many advanced search options, and allows users to drill down on specific job descriptions, knowledge bases, and work activities. O*NET is especially a great resource for military veteran job seekers.
Additional Career Exploration Resources
While the government resources offer a great deal of information, there are many other options for researching your potential future career:
University Career Services office - Available to both students and alumni, Career Services provides a bit more of a personal touch in your search, and you may get access to alumni currently working in your chosen field.
Glassdoor - This website shows salary information and employee reviews, but keep in mind that reviews are going to be pretty biased whether positive or negative.
LinkedIn - The Jobs category in LinkedIn is a great place to look at job descriptions, see some salary information, and get an idea of what kind of education and experience employers require. It is also a valuable tool for connecting with industry professionals and your alumni network.
If you’re not even sure where to begin at all, we should chat. Maybe you just haven’t yet identified how your particular strengths and interests are geared towards a particular career track. I know about a lot of occupational fields because I’ve been helping teens and young adults navigate this exact journey for many years. Schedule a free strategy session with me to start exploring the options that are a perfect fit for you.