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When searching for a job in this career field, what helped when you were searching for a job to fit what you've wanted to do after college?

I have been very interested in science since I was very little. The one thing I've always wanted to do was become a wildlife field biologist and have wanted to do this since I was 7. The only problem is, there are so many jobs out there but I don't know which one would be the type for me. Even though I am a Junior in High School, I still think of after college and the types of jobs that pay well, and have me doing work I love. #science #field #career

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Ken’s Answer

During my education/career journey and my many years in Human Resources and College Recruiting, I have found that these steps have helped many to determine a path to fulfillment. Selecting a career is like buying a pair of shoes. They may look great, but you need to find the proper size for you and then try them on and walk in them for a while to determine proper fit and comfort. Too many times, when I was doing college recruiting, I found that students had skipped these steps and ended up in the practical application of their chosen career that did not match with their expectations and was not a good fit at all. I am presenting these tips, so that you might avoid that awkward situation.

Ken recommends the following next steps:

The first step is to take an interest and aptitude test and have it interpreted by your school counselor to see if you share the personality traits necessary to enter the field. You might want to do this again upon entry into college, as the interpretation might differ slightly due to the course offering of the school. However, do not wait until entering college, as the information from the test will help to determine the courses that you take in high school. Too many students, due to poor planning, end up paying for courses in college which they could have taken for free in high school.
Next, when you have the results of the testing, talk to the person at your high school and college who tracks and works with graduates to arrange to talk to, visit, and possibly shadow people doing what you think that you might want to do, so that you can get know what they are doing and how they got there. Here are some tips: ## http://www.wikihow.com/Network ## ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/nonawkward-ways-to-start-and-end-networking-conversations ## ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/4-questions-to-ask-your-network-besides-can-you-get-me-a-job?ref=carousel-slide-1 ##
Locate and attend meetings of professional associations to which people who are doing what you think that you want to do belong, so that you can get their advice. These associations may offer or know of intern, coop, shadowing, and scholarship opportunities. These associations are the means whereby the professionals keep abreast of their career area following college and advance in their career. Here are some tips: ## https://www.careeronestop.org/BusinessCenter/Toolkit/find-professional-associations.aspx?&frd=true ## ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/9-tips-for-navigating-your-first-networking-event ##
It is very important to express your appreciation to those who help you along the way to be able to continue to receive helpful information and to create important networking contacts along the way. Here are some good tips: ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/the-informational-interview-thank-you-note-smart-people-know-to-send?ref=recently-published-2 ## ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/3-tips-for-writing-a-thank-you-note-thatll-make-you-look-like-the-best-candidate-alive?bsft_eid=7e230cba-a92f-4ec7-8ca3-2f50c8fc9c3c&bsft_pid=d08b95c2-bc8f-4eae-8618-d0826841a284&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily_20171020&utm_source=blueshift&utm_content=daily_20171020&bsft_clkid=edfe52ae-9e40-4d90-8e6a-e0bb76116570&bsft_uid=54658fa1-0090-41fd-b88c-20a86c513a6c&bsft_mid=214115cb-cca2-4aec-aa86-92a31d371185&bsft_pp=2 ##
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Marilynn’s Answer

Curiosity and research are key here!

For a start, it is better to choose several job options and assess them on different levels (maybe by listing the pros and cons for each option):
- First: Identify the topics and subjects taught at university for each of these options to check if some topics might be more interesting to you and if on the other hand, some other topics might be challenging. This can be done by searching the list of courses or the curriculum offered by the universities of your choice.
- Second: After browsing the courses that you might be studying for each of your options, it is time to research the job opportunities and types of career paths that you can adopt. You can research the various fields/types of work, job opportunities and the day to day tasks related to your options by navigating some career websites, job hunting websites, platforms like LinkedIn, or maybe by starting with a simple google search which can lead you to your answers. This step will help you identify the different types of jobs you can apply to in the future based on the options you have and help you imagine what you would be actually working on in your chosen field, based on your preferences.
- Third: Trying to imagine which type of job fits your preferences, skills and personality is not enough, hence it is important to try out your options. As your are still in high school, it might be difficult to apply for a short internship; however, what you can do is try to search for a company related to the job of your choice or even for all the options you chose, and inquire about the possibility of visiting that company, chatting with professionals in the field and even shadowing their daily tasks and activities for a few days/weeks. This will help you have a clearer vision about the daily activities on the job, the skills and effort required for such a job and will also allow you to be in direct contact with professionals and ask them any question that comes to mind related to their daily work, their background and education, and how they got here. This third step is very important, not to be overlooked, as it brings to life all the theoretical things you have researched and shows you the practical aspect of the job, which should be one of the key factors assisting you in your decision making.

In summary, lay out your options, research the courses and topics related to each option, research the future career and job opportunities/types and companies you can possibly work in after graduation, and get in contact with professionals in the field to know more about their work and observe their day to day tasks (and maybe help them out a little if possible) to get hands-on experience for each of your options.
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