LifeMap

You can explore the world of work by visiting a Valencia Career Center. The Career Center can help you:

• Decide on a career or major
• Discover options for careers related to your major
• Choose a major to support your career interests
• Get information on factors you need to consider in making a career decision - education level, salary, working conditions, skills, certification or license requirements, number of openings projected in 5-10 years, and more.
• Develop a career plan

Career development is a lifelong process. Once you learn the steps of the process, you will be able to repeat it whenever you need to throughout your life.

Identify career interests through assessments that relate your personality, interests, skills, values and aptitudes to various career fields. Such assessments include:

• Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
• CHOICES Career Exploration
• Career Assessment Inventory
• Harrington-O'Shea Career Decision-Making System
• Holland Self-Directed Search
• Work Values Inventory
• Career Values Card Sort
• Motivated Skills Sort
• Occupational View-Deck

Explore the world of work through a wealth of online and hard-copy resources:

• Occupational Outlook Handbook
• Encyclopedia of Careers
• Vocational Biographies
• Career Books, Videos, and CD-ROMs
• Career Web sites

Based on your assessments and new knowledge of career options, you can begin to develop an educational plan. Understanding your decision-making process will assist you. You can then select an area of study that will lead to your initial career decision.

Researching your major includes:

• Understanding career options related to your major.
• Identifying colleges that offer your major and the courses required for transfer into that major.
• Talking with faculty with experience in your career or major.
• Conducting a career interview with people who are working in your career field. Find out their career preparation and path.
• Exploring options for Internships, part-time or volunteer work to gain experience in your career and major. Visit Internship Services for more information.
• Learning about professional associations that can enhance your career preparation.
• Develop an educational plan using My Educational Planner in Atlas - LifeMap tab. You can also visit the Atlas Access Lab for assistance.

As you become more confident in your career and educational plan, you can continue to evaluate your options and make adjustments as needed.

As you move toward completing your degree at Valencia, you will want to explore:

• Transition to a 4-year college or university. Career Development Servcies have transfer manuals, catalogs, and admissions guides for Florida colleges and universities, and resources for out-of-state colleges and universities.
• Transition to Employment. Career Advisors and Career Counselors can help you with your job search such as:
  • Preparing a resume
  • Developing a cover letter
  • Practice interviewing techniques
  • Videotape a practice interview
  • Referrals to Central Florida employers
• Transition to Graduate School. The Career Development Services have information about graduate, law, medical, dental, pharmacy, physical therapy, and other professional schools.