Emilio Lorenzo is a Career Adviser in NSU’s Office of Career Development. He graduated from NSU with a Master of Science in College Student Affairs and a concentration in conflict analysis and resolution. Emilio understands the importance of helping students reach their career goals and works with all students, including undergraduate, graduate and professional level students, to achieve their professional goals.
Emily Tasca is a member of the career advisement team in NSU’s Office of Career Development. She works with current students and alumni at the undergraduate, graduate and professional levels to ensure that each individual is supported throughout his or her career exploration and planning process. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies from the University of Rhode Island with a focus on interpersonal communication and a minor in psychology.
If only finding your passion and deciding on a major was as easy as choosing a meal from a restaurant menu. Deciding on a career path can seem scary if your friends seem to already have had their lives planned out from day one of college. But a career journey is never a straight shot to the finish line, and each student should approach it in their own strategic manner with informed decisions. In the beginning of your career journey, there are a variety of steps and techniques you can follow to illuminate your overall passion and find a major that best fits you.
The first step in this journey is learning more about yourself, which includes evaluating your overall interests, personality and skill sets. You know yourself better than anyone; think back to the classes you enjoyed in high school and the activities you participated in before college. It’s also important to ask clarifying questions about these interests, such as “What did you enjoy most about these classes?” and “What skills were needed to be successful in such activities?” In addition to your interests, it’s important to identify the values that were embedded within these past experiences and to ask yourself if such values are needed in your career to be happy. Values can be anything from finding a career that provides a service to others, utilizing communication skills and other key strengths you’ve identified or a multitude of other themes you deem significant. Values can spark the fire that ignites your overall career passion.
Sometimes, it’s difficult to be objective when evaluating yourself, which is why engaging in more formalized assessments, such as the MBTI, MyPlan and StrengthsQuest, can also be useful in collaboration with your own self-exploration. Assessments provide an inside into your personality strengths, weaknesses and your overall approach to decision-making and problem solving. With assessments, there are more grounds for interpretation than just reviewing a Scantron test result, which is why it’s important to focus on the essence of your results. By the end, you want to be able to say, “Now I know a little bit more about myself.” You wouldn’t buy a car without knowing the full details of what’s under the hood. People are just like cars in this way. The more you know about yourself, the easier it will be to see how all of your working parts align with a certain career or industry.
Now that you know yourself better, you will apply theory to practice. There is hardly a better way to do that than participating in internships, clubs and organizations or even engaging in informational interviews with professionals in your field of choice. An informational interview is a strategic way of gaining valuable information about a profession while networking with employers. At this point in your studies, you are still exploring your options, which is why talking to people in industries you are currently considering can be a useful tool in solidifying your decision. However, speaking to a professional and experiencing hands-on work within that field are two different approaches in your career journey. This is why internships can be so valuable, as they provide an avenue to develop skills needed within the profession while also helping you uncover if you truly enjoy the field as a whole.
Deciding on a major during your career journey should not be rushed or influenced by classmates who seem to have it all figured out. Each one of us has our own personality, interests, values and a unique perspective on how we make sense of our passions. For these reasons, we need to follow a path of exploration that is entirely our own, and these tools can be a guide in finding that path. Changing your major is a common occurrence, and as long as you have taken the proper steps to explore the next chapter of your career interest, the process is only another road to finding your true passion. Self-exploration and experiential learning, such as interning, can provide light to this path when it seems winding and dark. Do not fret because once you do find that passion, you will feel like a ship captain who has finally found the island he or she has been seeking.
Tips for exploring your major and career:
- Evaluate your interests, personality and skill sets
- Take a formal assessment like the MBTI, MyPlan and StrengthsQuest to get an objective evaluation of your strengths and weaknesses
- Participate in clubs and organizations
- Take on an internship and meet with an expert in a field of interest for an informational interview to gain better insight of that career path
- Don’t be afraid to change your major if it leads you one step closer to finding your passion
