Career decision making is one of the greatest developmental challenges that people face. In my own career as a counseling psychologist, I’ve served the students of four universities, facilitating their academic, social, emotional, and vocational growth. I’ve seen countless students struggle with the questions “Which career will I pursue?” and “What will be my major field of study?” The answers aren’t found through a test, but through a thorough and structured exploration of oneself and the world of work.
To facilitate this process for people everywhere, I created and published the book Career? Your Guide to Exploring Yourself, Understanding College, and Choosing a Career. This book is available as an ebook in Amazon’s Kindle format and in Barnes and Noble’s Nook format, priced at just $4.95.
Career? contains step-by-step instructions for identifying one’s interests, values, abilities, and personality traits. Also included is a system for matching one’s pattern of interests to likely career fields. The book includes detailed directions for gathering information about occupations, choosing an occupation, and planning a career path.
The book also contains a chapter that describes the world of colleges and universities and explains terms that are particular to that world. In this chapter, I also describe five types of skills and insights that college students often develop, and I suggest certain extracurricular activities and college offices that can help a student maximize these dimensions of development.
As a homeschooling father, I’m aware that homeschooled students don’t have the easy access to career counselors that some students have in their institutional schools. However, I’ve also learned that many high schools provide very little help to students who want to explore themselves and the world of work. To fill these gaps, I can tell you that any student who makes good use of this book and its instructions will have a better career exploration process than most people ever have.
Dr. Thomas Maple lives in Alabama with his wife and two daughters, focusing on spirituality and family.
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