Patricia Said:

What are the best career assessment web sites?

We Answered:

Try the occupational outlook handbook by the US department of labor. here is a link:
http://www.bls.gov/search/ooh.asp?qu=hea…
They list very good details about every job you could ever think of and includes responsibilities, pay, and outlook

Brandy Said:

What would be the best career choice?

We Answered:

This is ultimately your decision, but I'll give you my input ;)

Like you said, an RN is going to take a lot more time, schooling, money, effort - of course the money will be great but keep in mind in that profession starting out you work the night shift and do all the work the long term nurses do not want to do..

In my opinion, vet tech is the way to go. Easy time to complete the career training & what a fun job! :) Especially since you already had that passion to be a vet at a young age.

I think you should go for it! :-)

Debra Said:

How does one go about finding out what major and/or career is best for them?

We Answered:

I posted a couple minutes ago to a similar question. I pasted that below, because it was a long stinking post:-) The junk under the line gives you my best $.02 on the issue.

In college people worry about majors and spend a lot of time thinking about it. It won't actually matter unless you are going into social work, engineering, accounting, or a similar job. If you go for many graduate degrees it is actually better to have an unusual degree- unless it is a music major.

There are two schools of thought. #1 If you get a degree in something specific and if you do not end up liking it (accounting?!?) you are not trapped, but it may be a good back up. I went with the school of though #2. School of though #2 says get a degree that teaches you to think and explain this well in your interviews after school. My major was psychology, and minor was business management. I knew I was going into sales, but I learned research skills, stats, interpersonal skills, etc... My education has shaped the way I view things and taught me to learn. I was actually surprised to see how much of what I learned directly applied in a marketing gig I once had, but the method of though is what will set you apart later on.


School of thought #2 will keep you from the degree centric careers, but you can get post baccalaureate certificates later on if you need to.


_____________________Here is the repost__________________


There are inventories and tests you can take (Myers Briggs is a big one), but I think they are bogus. You are too unique to be accurately captured by such a test. If you are into statistics, check out how weakly they correlate to what they say they measure.

I suggest you start asking people you meet about their jobs and explain you are looking for new career ideas. Ask them what they like and what they don't like. Then ask them about the necessary steps to get where they are. If the flow of the conversation is good ask for an email address or phone number. I threw most of the ones I got away after I thought about it later, but I found out a lot from some of them later. Also, make sure you get a sense of the lifestyle and values of the person. You can save a 5-10 year career mistake by doing this.

That is the quick answer, if you want to know about my path, here you go.

I have been in outside sales since college. I hated my first job because it was outside cold calling, high pressure, and it sucked. I was driven and had a view of what I wanted from talking to others as I suggested above. I got promoted in the same company to a job that payed way more that I hated because it was so easy. Most people would have loved my second job, but few would be willing to pay the price to get there. The key is picking a career that just seems like you and having a view of how you want to grow. I got into that 2nd job 15 years before many others, because I was looking for it from day 1 at the company.

All good jobs have a price to be paid before you get them. Often it involves a degree and then some "developmental" intermediate jobs. Outside sales is a tough gig. In my opining having faith in yourself and the desire to learn every day is all it takes to make it in that path. For most people it is a bad path, but the point is many of the best jobs you would never imagine exist.

Many jobs pay very well for what they are and what they require. One day you will run ac cross someone with a job that just sounds cool and pays well. These jobs are cool but they are often not a job your career advisers in school know about. The only way to uncover them is start talking to people in airplanes, baseball games, etc... Don't be afraid, most people love to talk about themselves and will be more than happy to talk to you:-)

Best of luck. If you keep looking, you will find your thing!