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Alumni - Career Exploration

Whether you are changing jobs or making a career transition, the way to make the best choice is to conduct research, talk with people in the field, and, if possible, have a trial work experience in that field. Dickinson offers the following resources to help alumni. Use them alone or in consultation with a Career Center counselor.

Career Exploration Resources

Career Insider, powered by Vault is a career information web site good for extensive career research. It includes thousands of specific company profiles, as well as detailed industry overviews, corporate overviews, career overviews, career advice articles, and downloadable career guides. 

Job Descriptions – Online search engines find job postings that typically list the job duties and education, experience and skill requirements. Use them to research jobs. This is also the place to find professional association websites that offer extensive career information.

O*NET OnLine is an excellent web site developed for the US Department of Labor which gives job descriptions along with details on tasks, knowledge, skills and abilities, job outlook and salary information. Here you can also find suggestions for related careers that use the same skill set.

The Occupational Outlook Handbook was developed by the US Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. It provides information by occupation on the nature of the work, sources of employment, job outlook and salaries.

Major to Career – This list of careers typically associated with various academic majors may be helpful if you are selecting a first career or changing careers. You will find a list of careers Dickinson alumni have pursued, a list of skills typically developed by people in that major, and links to web sites relevant to the major.

Networking conversations are important for learning about specific careers. Potential resources are Dickinson alumni (through the DickinsonWorks program), current or former colleagues, friends, family members or other acquaintances.

Career Center Resource Library - If you are on campus, take advantage of the hundreds of books in the resource library in the Career Center in Biddle House that you can utilize when doing research on potential careers.