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3.1: Online Resources to Research Career Information

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    107754
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    Researching the internet for career information can be fascinating. You have so much information at the touch of your fingertips. This can be exciting, yet overwhelming at the same time. In this section, we will explore some common online tools used in career counseling. Keep a notepad nearby as you explore the different online career resources. Take notes of your findings and record information that stands out to you. At the end of this unit, you should be able to start putting the pieces together and getting closer to making some career decisions.

    • Occupational Outlook Handbook (OOH) - The Occupational Outlook Handbook is a nationally recognized source of career information, designed to provide valuable assistance to individuals making decisions about their future work lives. Revised every two years, the Handbook describes what workers do on the job, working conditions, the training, and education needed, earnings, expected job prospects in a wide range of occupations, and links to professional associations. (link: https://www.bls.gov/ooh/)
    • O*Net Online - O*Net Online has detailed descriptions of the world of work for use by job seekers, workforce development and HR professionals, students, and more. Making occupational information interactive and accessible to everyone. This site contains both summary and detailed information on occupations in the US economy as well as the ability to search for information by various criteria such as job family, industry, skills, knowledge,  interests, green jobs, bright outlook occupations, and several others. It is produced by the federal government, is updated frequently, and contains state and national wage information,  occupational projections, related occupations, and opportunities for more information from professional and trade associations. (link: http://www.onetonline.org/)
    • CareerOneStop - Sponsored by the U.S Department of Labor, Employment and Training  Administration, this site provides tools to help job seekers, students, business and career professionals. Career OneStop is a comprehensive site to explore careers, find training, search for jobs, connect with community resources, and additional resources for special populations including career changers, military veterans, laid-off workers, workers with a criminal conviction, workers with disabilities, entry-level workers, older workers, young adults, self-employed and credential seekers. (link: http://www.careeronestop.org/)
    • California CareerZone - A career exploration and planning site powered by Headed2, a secure career exploration and coaching platform that can be accessed from anywhere to connect learning with earning. Headed2 is an educational technology company focused on career and transition planning. Their mission is to help people explore, plan for and pursue careers that reflect their passions, skills, and life goals. You may create a free account where you can save your information and come back at any point. The site allows you to discover possibilities,  explore industry sectors, and access personalized recommendations about opportunities for you through The Career Hub. (link: https://www.cacareerzone.org/index)
    • Path2Careers Pathways Pathways to Emerging Careers - This site contains career tools used to help with important life decisions - choosing a meaningful and successful career. Connecting students to resources and job market information, career fact sheets, 15 pathways to careers critical to California’s economy, jobs of the future, and YouTube Career Videos and other resources. (link: http://fcmtest.com/path2careers/student_tools.asp)
    • CandidCareer.com - This site provides career information and career planning help through video. The video interviews are filmed without narration or actors – just real people speaking from the heart about their career experiences. Candid Career currently features a video library of 6,000 + clips. You may search the video library by industry, career title, or major. (link:  https://www.candidcareer.com/)
    • Careers.org - This site contains information regarding employment, job search, and career education. It includes detailed information about over 1000 occupations! Information includes links to corresponding college programs and careers, job, and educational resources for states, cities, and counties in the USA as well as Canadian Provinces and international countries. 
    • Career Coach - This site is supported through the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s  Office. Career Coach allows students to discover majors, and in-demand careers and education based on their interests. The site contains career assessments, career information and programs offered in the California Community College System. (link: https://ccc.emsicc.com/)
    • MY NEXT MOVE - This is an interactive tool for job seekers and students to learn more about their career options. My Next Move has tasks, skills, salary information, and more for over 900  different careers. Users can find careers through keyword search; by browsing industries that employ different types of workers; or through the O*NET Interest Profiler, a tool that offers personalized career suggestions based on a person's interests and level of work experience. (link: https://www.mynextmove.org/)
    • SalarySurfer - This site is sponsored by the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office.  It is designed to help students and their families make important decisions about investing time and money in a college education. Salary Surfer provides comparative information about the earnings of recent California community college graduates who received an award in a specific program of study. Salary Surfer uses the aggregated earnings of graduates from a five-year period to provide an estimate on the potential wages to be earned two and five years after receiving a certificate or degree in certain disciplines. This tool also provides information on which colleges offer programs in those specific disciplines. (link: https://salarysurfer.cccco.edu)

    Activity 3.1 - My Career Research Log

    Take your time and explore each of the online resources introduced in section 3.1 to help you gather career information. What are your top two or three careers that seem to be the most interesting to you at this time?

    Take notes as you conduct your research and consider researching the following questions:

    • How do these careers match with your assessment results from unit 2?
    • What part of these careers do you like?
    • What part of these careers do you have concerns about?
    • What kind of educational training/certification do you need for these careers?
    • Where can you find the training for these careers?

    Log your findings here:

    Career Title # 1:_________________________

    Career Title #2: ___________________________

    Career Title #3: ____________________________

    The more you learn about the world of work, the better equipped you are to make more informed decisions about the career path that best fits you and your needs!


    This page titled 3.1: Online Resources to Research Career Information is shared under a not declared license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Graciela Martinez and Elizabeth Shaker.