Choosing Your Courses, Major and Career

Having made the decision to attend the University of Calgary, you now face a number of key decisions that shape your course work, your major and what your job will be once you complete your degree.  These choices start right at the beginning of your program, including the courses, job and activities you decide to participate in during your first year.  The Counselling Centre has a number of resources that will assist you in making the best decisions leading to the acquisition of satisfying work.

Having a satisfying career is much more than a job (a specific position within an organization) or occupation ( a field of work such as engineering).  Your career involves the amount of time and commitment you have in all your major life roles, including your work, your studies, leisure activities, volunteer work and home and family involvement.  Decisions you have already made regarding hobbies and high school courses will shape what you like and the choices you make in the future.  Futurists predict that we will have three to five occupations in our future and change jobs up to 15 times.  Your feelings about making career decisions and your decision-making skills will determine how satisfying your career future will be.  Ensure you are prepared to make the best choices for your future.

How certain are you about your career direction?  Some students know exactly what they want to study at university and the job they want when they graduate.  Other students are very unsure as to what they want to major in and where they would like to work.  Fifty to sixty percent of students change their minds about their university major during the first two years of university.  All students make three major career decisions while at the University of Calgary.

• choosing a major or confirming your original choice of major;
• deciding on the specific occupation within your field; and
• at the end of your studies, choosing either a specific job or entering further education.

It is by making these major career decisions that you can narrow down a choice of  particular job from the 25,000 occupations from which you have to choose.

You can reduce the risk of ending up with an unsatisfactory career by using an effective method of career decision making each time you face a major decision.  Making an effective career decision involves a number of steps:

Step One:

Once you are ready to make a decision, it is important to gather information about yourself and available occupational or occupational options.  The kinds of information you need to know about yourself are:

• your passions and interests
• skills
• values
• personality, and
• lifestyle preferences.

This information can be discovered or confirmed by doing a number of self-assessment tests and exercises at the Counselling Centre.

Step Two:

You also need to research occupations and educational programs to determine how suitable they are for you.  You can do career research by visiting career libraries and Internet sites, talking to people or working as a volunteer.  Here is a list of career libraries available on campus:

Career Services - MSC 188
Haskayne School of Business Library - SH 301

Step Three:

When you have gathered enough information about yourself, potential ocupations and educational programs, you will be able to narrow down some alternatives.  Compare these alternatives to the self-assessment information to determine the most suitable alternative for you.  You can then make a decision that meets all your important criteria for a career.

Step Four:

Take action to implement your decision by choosing courses and trying out the choice through volunteer work.  Volunteer work is an excellent way to confirm your choice and acquire work-related skills that make you employable upon graduation.  Review this decision continually as you try it out and adjust your career journey as necessary.

Make a commitment to your career success now by going to the Counselling Centre in MacEwan Student Centre, Room 375, where you can:

• Sign up for a Career Workshop
• Drop in to see a Career Counsellor
• Do career-related self-assessment exercises and tests

How you think about your future will affect how you approach career decisions.  Even though the future is uncertain and the world is changing rapidly, you can maintain a positive outlook on your future by utilizing an effective model of decision-making and seeking assistance with your career planning at the University of Calgary.  And most importantly, by following your passions!

© 2002 Sharon Crozier, Counselling Centre, University of Calgary