Morton Ranch HS College & Career Advising
Career Advising
Choosing a career can be overwhelming. Thankfully, there are resources available to help you identify possible career interests and to research careers you may be considering. As you explore, keep in mind that no assessment is absolute and that experience is the best way to explore your options. If you take an assessment, please schedule a meeting with your College & Career Facilitator so we can discuss your results.
(SchoolhouseTeachers.com, n.d.)
Career Development
There are many theories of career counseling, including Donald Super's life-span theory. Super believed people develop and change over time based on lived experiences, meaning their career development is constantly evolving (Careers New Zealand, 2012). While not everyone changes at the same time, there are natural stages of life that typically align with career exploration. As shown in the image below, during high school, students are in the exploration stage. Click on the image to read more about Super's theory, and use the resources on this page to help you explore your interests and career options as you prepare for your life after high school.
(Careers New Zealand, 2012)
Texas Workforce Commission
TWC is a great resource for exploring your interests, lifestyle desired, careers, colleges, and more! Click Texas Career Check to explore either careers or colleges. Texas Reality Check allows you to enter your lifestyle preferences, such as type of home you want, type of car you want, etc., to see what type of job you will need to support your desired lifestyle. Texas Auto Coder gives you careers that align with your interests. And more!!!
Interest Assessments and Career Exploration
My Next Move is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor and was developed to help people learn about career options. You can explore jobs based on education level, salary, skills, interests, and more. There is a free interest inventory, which uses John Holland's theory of career choice to help people discover their work personality, which can help discover possible career interests.
This free personality assessment offered by Humanmetrics is based on Carl Jung's and Isabel Briggs Myers' personality type theory. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is a "self-report questionnaire designed to make Jung's theory of psychological types understandable and useful in everyday life" (Kennedy & Kennedy, 2004). The test will give you your personality type along with a detailed description, strengths of that type, and careers that align with that personality type. The results are only as accurate as your truthfulness in your responses. These results can offer a starting point for exploring career interests.
The Occupational Outlook Handbook by U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics offers detailed information about hundreds of careers. Users can find information on jobs about the job duties, work environment, how to prepare, salary, job outlook, similar occupations and more! This is an excellent site to discover more about a career you may be considering.
My Next Move and O*Net Online is an interactive tool students and job seekers can use to learn about career options. Users can take interest assessments on My Next Move and then explore matching careers on O*Net Online. The site has information on more than 900 careers. Use this site to not only match careers with your interests but to also explore the job growth, salaries, training/education required and much more for careers you may enjoy!
Career One Stop is another great career and education research tool. This site is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor. Students can search for careers by interest, fastest growing, highest paying, and much more. There is also a scholarship bank on Career One Stop with more than 8,000 scholarships.
Considering a major but not sure what kind of career you can get with that major? Buzzfile shows employers in each state who have hired graduates with a degree in a particular major. This is a great way to explore how you can study something that interests you and make sure you know how to turn it into a career once you graduate.
Whether you're planning on college, a technical school, the military, or you're just not sure yet, the ASVAB Career Exploration Program can put you on the right path toward a satisfying career. Understanding your skills, abilities, and interests will help you make the best decisions about your future. Learn more about the ASVAB by clicking the picture. If you're a MRHS sophomore through senior and want to take the ASVAB test for free at MRHS, navigate to the home page Announcements to sign up for the test. We will offer the ASVAB in October and April this year.
Our very own MRHS Librarian has shared and created some great career exploration resources! Explore careers for if you like helping people, coding careers, exploration if you aren't sure what you want to do, how to succeed in college, and more!
Katy ISD students have access to a wonderful resource called SchooLinks! In it, you can take career assessments, explore interests, research careers, watchi videos, research and explore colleges, apply for scholarships and jobs, and more! To access SchooLinks, log in to the My Katy Cloud and click on the green SchooLinks icon.
Click on Activities, then Assessments to access the career and interest assessments.
What To Do If You Don't Know What To Do
It is ok to not know what you want to do with your life just yet! The key is to explore your options and to work hard to give yourself options after high school. Below are a few suggestions to help you get started in your search.
​
1. Take one of the assessments above. The results help you to understand more about yourself and can give you ideas to begin your search.
2. Get involved. The only way you will learn what your real interests and skills are is to put yourself in new situations. Join a club at school. Volunteer with an organization that interests you. Get a job to earn money and learn about yourself as an employee. All of these things not only help you discover more about yourself, but they also build your resume.
3. Job shadow. Whether you have a strong interest in a career or not, the best way to learn more about it is to see it firsthand. This will allow you the chance to see what that job is really like and to make connections with people in the field.
4. Ask questions. Get out from behind the computer and talk to people. Ask adults about their jobs. They will be more than happy to share information with you that can help you discover what you do and don't like.
5. Take advantage of opportunities. When college representatives visit our campus, go learn from them, and talk to them! If you have the chance to participate in a student opportunity or a college fly-in, take it! Every opportunity can teach you something and make your process of discovering your next steps easier.