Essay about Personal Career Development: Course Review

My selected mentor is Jerry Martin RN, BSN. He is a co-worker that has inspired me to return to school and that any dream is obtainable. Jerry has a degree in biology and was working as a ward clerk in our ER when I met him. He has a degree in biology and worked in finance before working at the hospital. Jerry states” I was unhappy with my career in finance and I realized I had drifted a long way from my education and my core belief. During a conference a guest speaker said “true happiness is found when you find the one thing you would do in life even if you did not get paid for it”. That was my “aha” moment.” G.M. Martin (personal communication, September 3,2013) Jerry entered nursing school in 2006 and graduated with a BSN in 2011. He is currently working toward a MSN and striving to be a FNP. He is a great nurse and it is a privilege to have him as a co-worker and my mentor.

During the interview, Stashia presented issues of career changed frequently as she diverted from majoring in one career path to another. She divulged in the interview that she had once listened to others and not decided on her own path. She reported changing her major, considered doing things differently if she could, and not having taken any vocational assessments that would have helped her. The writer will conceptualize interviewees barriers with theories of career counseling.

Admittedly, receiving my Myers-Briggs report I felt a little disheartened from the result. When I observed to the career report I saw a flood of occupations I had never before considered or even knew existed but despite that I decided to look into them.

Pamelia E. Brott, an associate professor of counselor education at Virginia Tech with a Ph.D. in Counseling and Counselor Education at the University of North Carolina, wrote the article “A Career Story Approach to Management, Business, and Financial Occupations”. The article discusses what the future outlook is on business, while giving a personal story on how to achieve a good future outlook in the field. The target audience deals with business majors in general, with some specific majors in mind. Searching for something to do for the remainder of one’s life requires a lot of thinking, which produces a large amount of stress and uncertainty. For one to be able to pick a career that he or she will find a passion for many years will never be

On May 27, 2011, I sat in the crowd of thousands of people waiting to see the cheer from the football field. No, this wasn’t a professional football game, or even a college game. This was the graduation and commissioning of 1000 men and women from the United States Naval Academy. As the covers of all the former midshipmen went into the air, and the crowd went wild, I stood in awe, speechless. Even as an 11 year old boy, I knew that I wanted to be that young man standing on the ten yard line, in an immaculate white uniform, jumping up and down and hugging his buddy next to him. As I read stories and biographies of men like Marcus Luttrell and Chris Kyle, some of the most courageous men in the world, I realized my calling in life. I was to be an officer in the United States Navy.

Most individuals struggle at the stage of making career choices and hence they decide to go for career counselling to guide them to the right path by weighing various factors that influence a career like personality. This is where career development theories come into place, these are frameworks that guide the career counsellors in examining and explaining individuals’ career related behaviour. Each career development theory gives a certain unique way to career development and choice. As quoted in Schreuder & Coetzee (2011),” Career counsellors must understand well established and emerging career theories, their strengths and weaknesses and how to apply them to client career development and choice to be able to effectively and

Patton and McMahon (2006) developed a systems theory framework for development of careers called the Therapeutic Framework. The system categorizes the various factors that influence the choice of career into individual factors (for both the learner who is to choose their career and their counselor), organizational factors, or environmental factors (Patton & McMahon, 2006). The system also recognizes the effect of timing on these factors; thus incorporating the aspects of past, present and future (McMahon, Forde, & Dickson, 2015).

Throughout life, people are influenced by others when it comes to career paths. For example, career paths can be directed by our backgrounds such as family and culture. The career path I chose has been influenced by family and those who support me and encourage me during school. The career path, I have chosen is to work with women survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault. I will discuss how self-assessments helped me gain an understanding, which careers might be worth pursuing because of my interests.

For many people, finding a career that is both fulfilling and practical is a strenuous task. Fortunately, there is a plethora of different interventions, techniques, assessments, and inventories designed to aid those individuals in making the wisest career choices possible. But are any of those routes inherently better than the others? Or are all the differing options separate but equally effective? Donald Super’s Life Span Theory and John Holland’s Theory of Vocational Choice are just two of the many theories used for career counseling. Both methods are distinct in the way they approach career issues, yet despite their differences, there are some resemblances between the two theories as well. Comparing and contrasting these two theories will make it easier to see if one theory is better than the other for career counseling or if they are both equally effective.

This paper is a career counseling plan for Katie Golanski and examines her current skills, potential and as well as future goals. Several assessments will be examined and applied to this plan, such as the Kuder scale, and Meyers Brigg. Specific career counseling theories will also be applied to the output. Finally, recommendations for Katie will be made to best utilize her assets.

Career development involves the integration of psychological, sociological, educational, physical, economic, and chance factors that provide the basis for a career over an individual's life (Isaacson. 1986). Career development is, in fact, a lifelong process. (Isaacson, 1986, p. 17).

The question “What do you want to be when you grow up?” meant so many things throughout middle childhood, adolescence, and was even relevant in adulthood. My interests varied from law, to education, and even construction for a period. It took most of my lifetime and lived experiences, up until very recently, to actually figure out, make a decision, and follow through, with my true occupational goals. This paper will examine my current career path and goals. It will investigate the results of the O*Net Interest Profiler in which I participated, and how they compare to my current occupational goals. Finally, it will discuss gained insights and further resources for future career exploration.

Career progression is the aim for most workers, but career development is not something most of us think regularly. But without proper understanding of what we want from our career and how we can achieve our goals quicker, we can quickly end up dissatisfied with our jobs.

This lesson mainly addressed aspects related to career development. This lesson encourages students to discover their academic and personal strengths, their skillsets, and their interests. Students then take those concepts and apply them to career exploration. They are able to link their strengths, preferences, and abilities to potential future career paths. Some of the specific aspects of career development that I addressed include applying planning and career exploration in setting and obtaining lifelong career goals, applying necessary skills for career readiness and success, and teaching students where and how to obtain information about post-secondary options. In this lesson students are encouraged to apply decision making skills to place different careers into the appropriate career fields. In doing so, they are also encouraged to begin thinking about careers that are of interest to them and what career goals they have for themselves. They will be given resources in order to continue career exploration outside of the classroom. While I do not expect sixth graders to fully decide their career path, it is my firm belief that it is never too early to get students thinking about careers and having them set goals in order to obtain the career and future that they desire. I also believe that this unit touches on social and emotional development as well as academic development. This lesson allows the student to collaborate with one another and work in groups as well as in pairs. This promotes relationship building and teamwork. It also allows students to take an inventory of their personal strengths and skillsets. This could boost self-esteem and promotes a sense of self-awareness. Lastly, this unit also encompasses academic development. Students will understand that good grades and academic success are key elements to obtaining the career that they wish to have. By being academically successful, this will allow them greater options and opportunity post high school graduation.

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.