Career Exploration Research Paper

Within society, there are many occupations to explore and chose. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) results showed that my personal career strengths fall under the area of teaching and counseling. Currently, as a school counselor for a high school in Duncanville, Texas, a suburb outside of Dallas, I find the results of the assessment to be very accurate. Making the decision to become a counselor is a rewarding and exciting career choice. In the world of counsling, there are many individuals who place emphasis on not just basic implications, but also on theoretical studies that usually are a part of

When I was young I wanted to become a teacher; however, that all changed throughout the years. What had motivated me to become a teacher was all the supplies they had like the whiteboards, the markers, and the construction paper. It seemed fun and interesting to me to have all the supplies. I no longer wish to become a teacher. As I grew older I realized that I wanted to do something that has me going to places, seeing new things, speaking with diverse individuals, and for that reason I chose to be involved in Real estate.

The career I chose to undertake as my profession is that of a mechanical engineer. Why do I want to become a mechanical engineer? Well, for starters, I would be able to design, build and possibly repair many various machines and other technologies that are complex. These technologies can range from being already in use on a global scale to new, futuristic designs that are highly technical. Also, this career includes being a sort of jack-of-all-trades, where I would possess knowledge in mathematics, physics, etc. Finally, this career offers me the chance to expand outside my immediate area since mechanical engineers are well desired around the globe as well.

The first category, professional support services, is listed on the Career Interests assessment as well as the Skills Confidence assessment. This field has a school counselor and social worker listed as occupations. The third category, mental health and counseling services, also has social worker and school counselor listed, along with a few similar career choices. The last category on the Skills Confidence assessment, family and community services, is extremely similar to the mental health and counseling

The theoretical career development framework that I chose to assist in Catherine’s career counseling process is Donald Super’s counseling theory. I decided to chose this particular career development framework because I thought it would be the most effective and appropriate to use with the client. The client is thirty-seven years of age and is dealing with a lot on her plate. Equally important, people grow and change throughout their lives and this theory respects that.

Through my research I have found multiple jobs that interest me, but there are two that stick out the most: Psychosocial Rehabilitation Specialist and Psychiatric Technician. Before researching, I had no idea about these jobs, but now I know good deal about them. After researching, I found out in what settings people in these positions work, how much they make on average annually, what their job entitles, what the education requirements are, what the growth rates for these occupations are. The jobs’ settings are very similar, but their salaries and duties are very different. I was able to find that if one just looks at the average, annual wage for each occupation, Psychiatric Technicians make about $28,000 while Psychosocial Rehabilitation Specialists make about $34,000. The growth rate for Rehabilitation Counselors, in general, is faster than Psychiatric Technicians, but only by four percent. The overall tasks of each occupation, however, differ greatly from each other.

Obtaining a career focus is valuable in any college student’s lifetime; therefore, it would be profitable to meet with a career counselor to discuss occupational goals and interests. Moreover, involvement with the Focus 2 assessment is another contributing factor used to guide the career decision making process. The Focus 2 is comprised of five simple tests that will analyze compatible careers for the individual taking the assessment. Mr. Richard Glass, the career counselor that agreed to meet with me, believes that the work interests assessment produces the most promising results. For instance, my work interests fall under the social, artistic, and investigative categories. Through computerized analysis, I was given a list of occupations that would agree with the data received. The content of this paper will evaluate the results of the Focus 2 assessment, in addition to the major points discussed by Mr. Glass. Come the end of this paper, the reader will gain a better understanding of my work

1.What is one short term goal you have on your agenda to achieve in the next couple of weeks to a month?

Some of my interests include flying and gaming. Two of my aptitudes are computers and technical engineering. Two skills I have are figuring how things work and exploring things I have not done before. Some of the good qualities I have are being kind-hearted, patient and having a good sense of humor.

I have been working on my academic career for many years now. I am currently in my third year of community college, and have come across multiple teachers who have helped and inspired me in many ways. A teacher not only teaches the content of their course, but life skills as well. They are kind, caring, considerate, and understanding of their students. A teacher who goes above and beyond for their students is one that will make a difference. One teacher who I believe has made all the difference to me, was my accounting professor.

We use our strengths, values, and interests to help us realize our career aspirations and academic goals. Based on my assessments the career options that best suit my results are in the fields of medicine or technology. Other possibilities specified include Dentistry, Computer Science teaching, and Database Administration.

Throughout my life, I always wondered what my profession would be when I grew up. My first choice was to be a nurse because I love to help people and make sure that they are well taken care of. When I reached high school, my thoughts about nursing tapered off because other careers interested me even more, such as becoming a lawyer. As I began researching more and more about lawyers, I talked to my work based learning teacher at school, and she recommended a part time job at a law firm. I began calling around, and entering my senior year of high school, I received my first job at a law firm. The first days of working at the law firm, I was extremely excited because I thought that I would be one step closer to reaching my goals as an attorney. I had the privilege of seeing what the attorneys did throughout the day, however as my experience in the firm progressed, my interest in becoming an attorney dwindled. I then realized I was back to square one and was extremely discouraged, because I did not know what I wanted to do with my life.

Throughout the years that I have spent in the workforce and during my myriad attempts to complete a postsecondary degree, I have learned many things about myself and about the direction that I would like my career to take. In my most recent encounter with higher education, I was shown and given many tools to utilize in my journey. The most useful of these is the CSU-Global Career Center, which contains quite a few tools and resources of which students may take advantage. By delving through these resources and materials, I have been able to use self-assessment to reflect on my journey thus far and redirect my efforts to better prepare myself for success in the long run. This self-assessment and redirection has helped me to identify my strengths and weaknesses, and has enabled me to understand how to overcome my weaknesses and how to employ my strengths to continue to grow in my life and career.

Career assessments are very beneficial when an individual is trying to determine what career path they may be wanting to take. Sometimes new information will become apparent and other times information that is already known to that individual will just be simply solidified. It is important to answer the questions as accurately to oneself as possible. My personal results only reassured me of what I already knew.

Finding a specific career path can not only be difficult, but it can also induce bouts of anxiety, anger, and sadness over a crucial part of an individual’s life. Settling on a career can be unnerving when thinking about the fact that this is the career that you spend thousands of dollars on in college, that this is the career you will work in until you retire. With this course, I’ve found that it has been easier to narrow down a goal towards finding a career. Through career assessments, different assignments and discussions, I have realized what my barriers and strengths are. Overcoming these and improving these skills or applying them to an actual career assisted me in narrowing my goal as well. I am now able to clearly see the advantages and disadvantages of my career goal and to think clearer about the next steps that I will take after this course.