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build skills and knowledge for your career.
Make plans to drop by your career services or a related office early in your time in school. There, you’ll learn
about events you can attend, and you’ll get to know some of the people there who can help you. The
department may offer the formal assessments discussed earlier in this chapter, including aptitude testing,
which can help you discover some of your areas of strength and give you insight into some high-potential
career destinations. Career services may also have skills/interest inventories. These can help you match your
attributes and ambitions with potential careers and suggest additional resources to explore.
Your college is also likely to have a resource that goes far beyond the campus itself: the alumni association.
College alumni often maintain a relationship with the school and with their fellow graduates. Just by attending
the same college, you have something in common with them. You chose the same place, maybe for similar

381

382

12 • Planning for Your Future

reasons, and you might be having similar experiences. Often, alumni are eager to help current students by
offering their professional insights and making career connections. You can find out about alumni events on
your campus website, at the career center, and in the alumni department. These events can be fun and
beneficial to attend, especially those involving networking opportunities. Note that specific departments or
campus organizations may have their own alumni groups, whether formal or informal. Try to find former
students who majored in your field or who have a job similar to the one you’d like one day. Remember,
members of alumni organizations make a choice to be involved; they want to be there. It’s very likely they’ll be
interested in offering you some help, mentoring, or even introductions to the right people.

Figure 12.8 Alumni often hold many events at colleges, some of which you can attend to build your network and learn about career
paths. (Credit: University of the Fraser Valley / Flickr / Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC-BY 2.0))

Alumni may often attend events at your college, such as visiting guest speakers, art show openings,
homecoming, or sporting events. You can find and talk with them there (under the right circumstances) and
enjoy the event at the same time.
Networking is such a critical part of professional life that nearly every city or region has organizations and
events devoted to it. Meetups are occasions for people with shared interests, skills, and professions to gather
together and talk about their experiences and insights. The events might involve a brief talk or demonstration,
a discussion or question-and-answer period, and then plenty of time for mingling. You can likely find these
events with a quick search. But before you go, carefully review the guidelines and limits on who can attend.
Some meetups may not be open to students or others not formally employed in a field; they may also be held
in bars or involve alcohol, preventing those under 21 from attending. Don’t be offended by these barriers—the
meetup organizers have specific goals and members to consider—but if you find one you can attend, try it out.
You can also network with people right at your college. Many of your college faculty likely have (or had) other
roles and positions. A computer science professor may have worked for a tech company before moving into
academia. Accounting faculty, especially certified public accountants, might take on tax work every spring.
Nursing faculty likely maintain a role with a hospital or other medical office. Learn from them what the job is
like and how you can better prepare for it. And don’t forget to talk to adjunct instructors; they may have an
entirely separate career on top of their teaching role that gives them access to a network of potential mentors
and employers.
Finally, you’ll likely encounter graduate students or preprofessional students, some of whom may be in the
workforce or have work experience. While they themselves are still working on their education, they may have
insights, connections, and ideas regarding your career.

Access for free at openstax.org

12.2 • Your Map to Success: The Career Planning Cycle

Try Things Out
In the first two steps of the Career Planning Cycle, you gather information. You may have some ideas about
jobs and careers that you may like, but you also may wonder if you will really like them. How will you know?
How can you be more certain? Take an interest or a skill, and try it out in an experience. By putting it to work
for you in any one of a number of different environments, you can get practice and learn more about who you
are and just how much you can do. It’s a great idea to try out a new skill or career field before you commit to it
fully. You might find out that the field isn’t right for you, but you also may find that you are heading in the right
direction and want to keep pursuing it. Experiences help you become more qualified for positions. One
exciting aspect of college is that there is a huge variety of learning experiences and activities in which to get
involved. The following are some ways that you can try things out and get experience.

Community Involvement, Volunteering, and Clubs
You’re in college to develop yourself as an individual. You’ll gain personally satisfying and enriching experience
by becoming more involved with your college or general community. Organizations, clubs, and charities often
rely on college students because of their motivation, knowledge, and increasing maturity. The work can
increase your skills and abilities, providing valuable experience that will lead to positive results.
Participate in clubs and volunteer in areas that appeal to your interests and passions. It’s just as important that
you enjoy them and make a difference as it is to increase career potential through networking and skillbuilding. But of course, it’s great to do both.
Once you join a club or related organization, take the time to learn about their leadership opportunities. Most
campus clubs have some type of management structure—treasurer, vice president, president, and so on. You
may “move up the ranks” naturally, or you may need to apply or even run for election. Some organizations,
such as a campus newspaper, radio station, or dance team, have skill-based semiprofessional or roles such as
advertising manager, sound engineer, or choreographer. These opportunities may not always be available to
you as freshmen, but you can take on shorter-term roles to build your skills and make a bigger impact.
Managing a fundraiser, planning an event, or temporarily taking on a role while someone else is busy are all
ways to engage further.
Volunteering can be an important way to access a profession and get a sense for whether you will enjoy it or
not, even before you do an internship. And in certain arenas, such as politics, it might be the only readily
accessible approach, especially if you have no prior experience. In all of these cases, you can build important
skills and increase your experience working with people in your chosen field. Spend time reflecting on and
recording your experiences so that you’re better prepared to talk about them and utilize what you learned.

Internships and Related Experiences
Many employers value experience as much as they do education. Internships and similar fieldwork allow you
to use what you’ve learned and, sometimes more importantly, see how things work “in the real world.” These
experiences drive you to communicate with others in your field and help you understand the day-to-day
challenges and opportunities of people working in similar areas. Even if the internship is not at a company or
organization directly in your field of study, you’ll focus on gaining transferable skills that you can apply later
on.
Speaking to career or academic counselors and planning your major will help you learn about internship
requirements and recommendations. You’ll find out how, where, and when to apply, the level of commitment
required, and any limitations or guidelines your college indicates. If you’re going to receive credit for your
internship or fieldwork, it must be directly related to your field of study.
When you intern, you are usually treated like you work there full-time. It’s not just learning about the job; it’s
doing the job, often similarly to an entry-level employee. The level of commitment may vary by the type of

build skills and knowledge for your career.

Make plans to drop by your career services or a related office early in your time in school. There, you’ll learn

about events you can attend, and you’ll get to know some of the people there who can help you. The

department may offer the formal assessments discussed earlier in this chapter, including aptitude testing,

which can help you discover some of your areas of strength and give you insight into some high-potential

career destinations. Career services may also have skills/interest inventories. These can help you match your

attributes and ambitions with potential careers and suggest additional resources to explore.

Your college is also likely to have a resource that goes far beyond the campus itself: the alumni association.

College alumni often maintain a relationship with the school and with their fellow graduates. Just by attending

the same college, you have something in common with them. You chose the same place, maybe for similar

381

382

12 • Planning for Your Future

reasons, and you might be having similar experiences. Often, alumni are eager to help current students by

offering their professional insights and making career connections. You can find out about alumni events on

your campus website, at the career center, and in the alumni department. These events can be fun and

beneficial to attend, especially those involving networking opportunities. Note that specific departments or

campus organizations may have their own alumni groups, whether formal or informal. Try to find former

students who majored in your field or who have a job similar to the one you’d like one day. Remember,

members of alumni organizations make a choice to be involved; they want to be there. It’s very likely they’ll be

interested in offering you some help, mentoring, or even introductions to the right people.

Figure 12.8 Alumni often hold many events at colleges, some of which you can attend to build your network and learn about career

paths. (Credit: University of the Fraser Valley / Flickr / Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC-BY 2.0))

Alumni may often attend events at your college, such as visiting guest speakers, art show openings,

homecoming, or sporting events. You can find and talk with them there (under the right circumstances) and

enjoy the event at the same time.

Networking is such a critical part of professional life that nearly every city or region has organizations and

events devoted to it. Meetups are occasions for people with shared interests, skills, and professions to gather

together and talk about their experiences and insights. The events might involve a brief talk or demonstration,

a discussion or question-and-answer period, and then plenty of time for mingling. You can likely find these

events with a quick search. But before you go, carefully review the guidelines and limits on who can attend.

Some meetups may not be open to students or others not formally employed in a field; they may also be held

in bars or involve alcohol, preventing those under 21 from attending. Don’t be offended by these barriers—the

meetup organizers have specific goals and members to consider—but if you find one you can attend, try it out.

You can also network with people right at your college. Many of your college faculty likely have (or had) other

roles and positions. A computer science professor may have worked for a tech company before moving into

academia. Accounting faculty, especially certified public accountants, might take on tax work every spring.

Nursing faculty likely maintain a role with a hospital or other medical office. Learn from them what the job is

like and how you can better prepare for it. And don’t forget to talk to adjunct instructors; they may have an

entirely separate career on top of their teaching role that gives them access to a network of potential mentors

and employers.

Finally, you’ll likely encounter graduate students or preprofessional students, some of whom may be in the

workforce or have work experience. While they themselves are still working on their education, they may have

insights, connections, and ideas regarding your career.

Access for free at openstax.org

12.2 • Your Map to Success: The Career Planning Cycle

Try Things Out

In the first two steps of the Career Planning Cycle, you gather information. You may have some ideas about

jobs and careers that you may like, but you also may wonder if you will really like them. How will you know?

How can you be more certain? Take an interest or a skill, and try it out in an experience. By putting it to work

for you in any one of a number of different environments, you can get practice and learn more about who you

are and just how much you can do. It’s a great idea to try out a new skill or career field before you commit to it

fully. You might find out that the field isn’t right for you, but you also may find that you are heading in the right

direction and want to keep pursuing it. Experiences help you become more qualified for positions. One

exciting aspect of college is that there is a huge variety of learning experiences and activities in which to get

involved. The following are some ways that you can try things out and get experience.

Community Involvement, Volunteering, and Clubs

You’re in college to develop yourself as an individual. You’ll gain personally satisfying and enriching experience

by becoming more involved with your college or general community. Organizations, clubs, and charities often

rely on college students because of their motivation, knowledge, and increasing maturity. The work can

increase your skills and abilities, providing valuable experience that will lead to positive results.

Participate in clubs and volunteer in areas that appeal to your interests and passions. It’s just as important that

you enjoy them and make a difference as it is to increase career potential through networking and skillbuilding. But of course, it’s great to do both.

Once you join a club or related organization, take the time to learn about their leadership opportunities. Most

campus clubs have some type of management structure—treasurer, vice president, president, and so on. You

may “move up the ranks” naturally, or you may need to apply or even run for election. Some organizations,

such as a campus newspaper, radio station, or dance team, have skill-based semiprofessional or roles such as

advertising manager, sound engineer, or choreographer. These opportunities may not always be available to

you as freshmen, but you can take on shorter-term roles to build your skills and make a bigger impact.

Managing a fundraiser, planning an event, or temporarily taking on a role while someone else is busy are all

ways to engage further.

Volunteering can be an important way to access a profession and get a sense for whether you will enjoy it or

not, even before you do an internship. And in certain arenas, such as politics, it might be the only readily

accessible approach, especially if you have no prior experience. In all of these cases, you can build important

skills and increase your experience working with people in your chosen field. Spend time reflecting on and

recording your experiences so that you’re better prepared to talk about them and utilize what you learned.

Internships and Related Experiences

Many employers value experience as much as they do education. Internships and similar fieldwork allow you

to use what you’ve learned and, sometimes more importantly, see how things work “in the real world.” These

experiences drive you to communicate with others in your field and help you understand the day-to-day

challenges and opportunities of people working in similar areas. Even if the internship is not at a company or

organization directly in your field of study, you’ll focus on gaining transferable skills that you can apply later

on.

Speaking to career or academic counselors and planning your major will help you learn about internship

requirements and recommendations. You’ll find out how, where, and when to apply, the level of commitment

required, and any limitations or guidelines your college indicates. If you’re going to receive credit for your

internship or fieldwork, it must be directly related to your field of study.

When you intern, you are usually treated like you work there full-time. It’s not just learning about the job; it’s

doing the job, often similarly to an entry-level employee. The level of commitment may vary by the type of