“I need to do some Career Research,” Amy said. “What’s the easiest way to go about it?”
“The internet makes research ten times easier than it was years ago,” I responded. “Instead of spending days in a library or trying to find a person to ask, you can do most of your basic research just by visiting some web sites.”
“At some point, you will probably need to speak to a real person who works in the career(s) you are investigating, but you can answer the basic questions by doing your research on the web.”
Where to Start?
“Where do I start?” Amy asked.
“Some people like to start with summaries, such as information on the Ten Hottest Careers."
“I really don’t have any idea what I want right now.” Amy confessed. “Is there a good road map for me to follow?”
“I always recommend that people begin by thinking about their career criteria. Sometimes the best way to start that is to look at a range of careers, including the education qualifications, the compensation, the types of organizations that employ people in that career, as well as the daily tasks. That helps you to start narrowing down what you do and don’t want.”
“The list of what you don’t want provides helpful clues to what you do want. Simply take your ‘don’t want’ list and consider the opposites. You might be surprised at what you learn once you start your career research.”
