Northwest Missouri State University


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[ Freshman Seminar Career Exploration ]


This exercise will help you to learn more about a career of your choice. Click on the underlined text to link to resources.

Assignment: Research a career of your choice and write a 500 word double-
spaced essay (approximately 2 typed pages). Include a Works Cited page.

Step 1: TypeFocus

  • Look at the TypeFocus program. This program will provide an overview of your interests and aptitudes in an assortment of areas.

  • Use your CatPAWS login to get to the TypeFocus main screen. Click to register. Follow the instructions to enter your Login Username and Login Password.

  • After logging in, click to start and enter your student ID number (919#).

  • Start the Personality Questionnaire. There are 66 simple questions to answer.

  • When you finish, put a check next to Step 1: Your Personality Strengths and scroll to print the report. Print your results and use them to complete this assignment in Step 2.

Step 2: Occupational Outlook Handbook

  • Look at your Self-Awareness Report that you just printed from TypeFocus. In the Careers that fit your strengths section, choose one of the careers listed.

  • Click to go to Occupational Outlook Handbook, linked below, to examine career information about your chosen career.
    Occupational Outlook Handbook
    http://www.bls.gov/OCO
    "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, and expected job prospects in a wide range of occupations."
  • Type your career in the Search box and go on to Step 3.

Step 3: Questions

Write an introductory paragraph telling which career you have chosen and why it interests you. Answer the questions below to complete the body of your paper. Use TypeFocus, Self-Awareness Report and the Occupational Outlook Handbook to complete your assignment. Please be sure to use complete sentences, proper punctuation, and correct spelling.

  1. What are the typical hours worked per day and per week for this occupation?
  2. What are some of the qualifications needed in this field of work?
  3. What are the formal educational requirements--high school, post-secondary vocational or technical training, college, or graduate or professional education? What are desirable skills, aptitudes, and personal characteristics for this career?
  4. What are the numbers of jobs in the United States in this career? Is there a geographic distribution of jobs in this career?
  5. What does the typical worker in your career field earn?
  6. What is the job outlook for this field of work? How will it change over the next few years?
  7. After reading about your career choice, what are some of the other related careers to this occupation?

Step 4: Closing

Write a closing paragraph reflecting on what you have learned about your career choice. Are you still interested in the career that you chose for this assignment? Why or why not?

Step 5: Works Cited

1. Include a "Works Cited" page listing the resources that you used to complete this assignment Use a separate page at the end of your paper for your "Works Cited" page. Parenthetical references are used within the text if you are quoting or paraphrasing something from within each source.

2. The Library has a Citing Sources Page that can be used to find examples of how to cite resources. Click here to find that page. For this assignment you will use MLA citation style. Both of the resources that you have used for this assignment are websites. Here are the elements that you will need:

Author/editor. [NOTE: if no author is listed, begin entry with the title of the web page] "Title of Page from Web Site." Title of the Overall Web Site. Publisher or sponsor of the site (if not available, use N.p.--MLA Handbook, p.184), Date of publication (day, month, and year, as available; if no date is available, use n.d.--MLA Handbook, p.185). Medium of publication consulted. Date accessed.

3. So for Occupational Outlook Handbook you would cite as below. For this assignment you can copy and paste this into your paper, but be sure to change the title to your choice of careers

"Social Workers." Occupational Outlook Handbook. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 2010. Web. 17 Aug.

     2010.

4. For TypeFocus, you would cite as below. For this assignment you can copy and paste this into your paper.

"Self -awareness." TypeFocus Careers. N.p. 2010. Web. 17 Aug. 2010.

5. If you are quoting or paraphrasing one of these sources, you need to use a parenthetical reference and here are the MLA references.

("Social Workers").

("Self-awareness").

Step 6: Turn in your assignment

Turn in your completed word-processed essay to your Freshman Seminar instructor.

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Revised (Aug. 6, 2010)
Created (July 1996)
Links Verified (July 2009)