Occupational Research

Once you have created a list of majors and careers that are consistent with who you are, you should begin learning more about them. Below is the list of resources to help you:

1. Talk with faculty, advisors, and students in academic departments you are considering.
2. National links to Occupational Information with trends for a variety of career fields.
3. Speak with people in the career fields you are exploring. This process is called informational interviewing (PDF). You may also consider job shadowing professionals in careers that interest you.
4. Join and become active in student organizations related to your major and career interests.
5. Enroll in different academic courses in majors you are considering; find part-time work, summer jobs, engage in volunteer activities and service learning to test out your career/major choices and gain related work experience.
6. Obtain an internship.
7. Visit the Career Services Center's Kimberly Clark Career library that contains numerous resources to help you research majors and careers of interest.
8. Check out the following online resources to learn more about different majors and careers:
   1. "What can I do with a major in...?"
      Used with permission by the University of Tennessee
   2. Learn where MU graduates get jobs, by major through the Where in the World are MU Grads?
   3. Occupational Outlook Handbook
   4. Wetfeet.com
   5. Career Zone
   6. America's Career InfoNet
   7. Major to Career Converter
   8. For additional websites, please see our Career Exploration handout (PDF)