My Potential Plus

Considering a Major and Career Field

• Know your abilities. In which classes do you feel most comfortable? Take the ASVAB! It’s free, and it might give you some ideas of vocational strengths you possess. Your actual skills and natural talents may differ from your interests, and what you’re good at doing could be a more important consideration than what you think you like doing (since hobbies change more frequently than abilities over a lifetime).
• Think about your interests. You’ll spend a lot of time studying your major or career field, so you should concentrate on something you enjoy. In all likelihood, your natural talents usually will be in an area or career field that you will find appealing.
• List your priorities. Most folks would say a decent salary is an important motivator, but money isn’t the only important factor in deciding a career. The challenge a field poses, the opportunity to serve others, flexibility and stability are all important vocational considerations.
• Don’t panic!! If you can’t decide on a career path, choosing a good liberal arts college will help. Your first courses will be general requirements and will probably give you good ideas for a major.

The Career Information System (www.oregon.cis.uoregon.edu) is a great tool for identifying career interests, and most schools offer access to it (talk to your counselor, librarian, or business teacher for log-in information). This site also has links to schools that offer training in particular fields and descriptions of working conditions (pay, employment prospects, qualifications needed, etc.)

If your school does not have access to the CIS, the Occupation and Skills Explorers pages at www.qualityinfo.org may give you good ideas about potential careers and majors. Two more good career research sites are www.thefunworks.org and http://online.onetcenter.org/.