Finding Out About the World of Work

The Berkeley Guide to Employment you have gathered, analyzed, and organized information about yourself and have tentatively determined your career goals, you need to find out more about that particular kind of work and the range of employment opportunities it offers. Your research into the world of work will not only give you a chance to confirm the feasibility of your tentative career goals, but will also ease you into the task of job hunting. You will be able to use much of the information you collect and many of the contacts that you make at this stage when you start to look for a specific employment opportunity later on.

Information about the world of work can be obtained from four sources:

1. Printed resources, such as career pamphlets, occupational guides and some directories;
   
   
   
   
2. Computerized resources;
   
   
3. People resources (personal discussions with individuals in your area of career interest); and
   
   
4. Actual work experience.
   

Printed Resources

Printed information is available about most career fields. In fact you may have a problem in limiting the information you collect to that which is most pertinent to your career objective. Clearly define the category or type of information you are seeking prior to your research. For example, you might initially want to know the types and titles of positions for recent college graduates found in the textiles industry. Or you might want to find out the typical duties and responsibilities of a particular position, or the usual qualifications that are expected.

Many public libraries, and most college libraries, have sections de voted to occupational information and employer directories.

In researching the world of work you need a plan for obtaining information. Initially, your search may seem ambiguous and undefined, but as you learn more about different possibilities you will become more focused. Of course, the self-analysis that was done in the previous unit will serve as a great starting point for what you want and need in a job.

You need to have a general level of understanding about an industry to be able to ask intelligent questions about careers in that field. By answering the following general questions, more specific questions will be raised in your mind that can be asked of individuals who work in the profession of your interest

• What career fields initially seem compatible with my goals?
  
  
• What organizations employ people who are interested in these careers?
  
  
• What do people in these career fields actually do?
  
  
• What do people like most/least about working in these career fields?
  
  
• How does one best prepare for these career fields?
  

Printed occupational information can be consulted to clarify and confirm your initial impressions about the career field and for more detailed occupational descriptions. Among the more widely used general career in formation references are:

• Encyclopedia of Careers
  
  
• Dictionary of Occupational Titles
  
  
• Occupational Outlook Handbook
  
  
• Occupational Thesaurus
  

In addition to these general career references, printed information on specific career fields is usually available free of charge from the national professional organizations representing that career field. Consult the National Trade and Professional Association Directory at your library for names and addresses. Also, several publishers offer books or pamphlets on specific careers as part of "career series" information.

Two examples of such series are the "Opportunities in_" series published by VGM Career Horizons, Skokie, 111., and the "Career Options Series for Undergraduate Women" (men can read it too!) published by Catalyst, New York City.

In addition to these formal career publications, don't overlook the value of background information on your career field which you can glean fixing newspapers, magazines, professional journals and other special interest publications.

Despite the possible drawbacks of printed material being out-dated or not providing a comprehensive description of the work in which you are particularly interested, you must read before you start going to people for information about your ideal career field. Reading published materials will provide the base of knowledge you need to be well-informed and intelligent as you use other career resources.

Action Step: Exploring Your Ideal Career Field

Based on your stated career objective begin identifying and reviewing books, articles and other printed material that will begin to answer your questions about that career field. Start with the library at the career planning and placement center on your campus.

Computerized Resources

Computerized resources are gaining in prominence and can provide current information about a wide variety of career fields. These resources are regularly updated and overcome the dated character of many printed career materials. Perhaps the best way to seek information through computerized resources is with the assistance of trained personnel at your library or career planning and placement center. Typical career data bases include a description of duties and responsibilities, qualifications, employment outlook, and salary information. Some computerized career guidance systems offer one or both of the following programs:

1. Career Development Programs-These programs administer general interest inventories and questions relating to work values and attitudes and then suggest appropriate occupations based on your indicated occupational interests, needs, abilities, values, and goals.
   
   
2. Occupational Information Programs-These programs provide specific searches for information on occupations. Information is indexed by job duties and responsibilities, entry-level qualifications, pay, location, working conditions, training programs, and related topics. Depending on the specific system that is available, you can obtain varying degrees of assistance. The following are among the most well-known systems used on college campuses today.