English 2131 -- Robinson You and the world of work

For this part of your assignment, you will conduct a detailed investigation of a particular career. By the end of this investigation, you should be able, at the absolute minimum, to answer the following questions;

What are the usual responsibilities of this position? What is the entry-level salary range? Is there room for advancement in this job?

What are the educational requirements for the position? If there are no educational requirements, what other kinds of abilities and talents should you possess in order to be successful at this job?

Where might you go to get the basic educational requirements? What sorts of requirements are there to get into the program?

What are the career prospects for people in this profession in the next 5-10 years? Would you be able to find a job in Georgia doing this work or would you need to leave the state?

What to do first

The most comprehensive place to find career information and job-related projections and statistics in the United States is the US government.

Occupational Outlook Handbook -- You can use it in print (at the library) or on-line to find generic job descriptions (remember, every place you work will have their own unique description of what you will be doing) and educational and other requirements. At the end of most entries are links to professional organizations and other sources of information. This page also provides links to information about the job market in each state.

Occupational Outlook Quarterly On-line -- Your tax dollars at work (again). This quarterly journal highlights unusual jobs and gives demand projections for hundreds of careers. You will also find links to job profiles which will include salary information. (Please remember that there is often wide regional variations in salaries. The salary information you find on these pages are a country-wide average.)

OK, I have the basic information. Now what?

The governmental web sites usually give very vague information concerning educational requirements for positions. If you are interested in a particular profession, one of the organizations affiliated with that profession can often supply information concerning programs and schools (see the end of the articles in the Occupational Outlook Handbook for suggested professional organizations). These web sites often provide employment services, allowing you to browse jobs that are focused on that particular employment area.

If you are interested in a job that does not seem to be following standard operating procedure, find a job ad for that job and read the requirements. How would you meet these requirements?

Look for a job

America's Job Bank -- One of hundreds of places to look for a job, this is a huge site affiliated with the US government that lists jobs from all over the country.

Interested in finding a job in Georgia? The Georgia Department of Labor has a site for you!

There are many "Find a Job" sites on the web. Monster.com and CareerBuilder.com are only two. Remember to investigate the people who are advertising a position. Is this a legitimate posting? How old is the posting? What kind of organization or company is doing the hiring? Are the terms of employment fair and legal?

Look for a school

CollegeSource online is a GALILEO database that will give you information on colleges and the programs they offer. Under Resources is a choice called College Guides and Planning. One of the choices under this option is Peterson's Guides. This resource requires you to register and create a username and password, but will allow you to search their database of thousands of college catalogues. NOTE: Search results for this product are displayed NOT in order of relevance, but are influenced by advertising fees paid by the participating schools.

V. Horst 11/06