DACC Library: Careers: Choosing a Career

Featured Streaming Videos

A Student's Guide to a Meaningful Career
14 minutes. Thinking about a potential career can be overwhelming. The career you end up with will be a big part of how you define yourself, and so you want to make the right choice. But just how DO you find your eventual career? Your journey begins with a better understanding of yourself. Until you know who you are, you cannot know what you will become later! A Student’s Guide to a Meaningful Career will help students discover their unique qualities, passions, and strengths, and turn them into future career paths. Ideal for students, career counseling centers, and student success programs, this video will help students learn how to take advantage of the opportunities available to them while in college, many of which can make a student more marketable to future employers.

Choosing a Career

These websites can help you to learn about different careers:

DACC's Career Coach
Provides a self assessment, career information, and information about programs at DACC that lead to the career you want. Also includes a special section for veterans and a Build Your Resume tool.
Bridge2Careers
A collaborative effort of Doña Ana County educational institutions, businesses, workforce development centers, and government offices. Provides access to a host of resources to help students, parents, teachers, and members of the business community know their options as they become active participants in the workforce talent pipeline.
Ready NM
A new partnership between the New Mexico Higher Education Department, the New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions, and the New Mexico Workforce Connection that aims to provide easy, consolidated access for both individuals and businesses across New Mexico to the training, education, and employment resources they need as our economy recovers.
New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions - Career Solutions
Provides a Career Exploration tool that helps you to evaluate yourself for possible careers, a Why I Work tool that shows you how muchg money you need to make to afford the things you want and need, and a tool for searching for internships.
CareerOneStop - Explore Careers
Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment, and Training Administration. Has areas for self assessments (interest, skills, work values), learning about careers, and planning your career.
Occupational Information Network (O*NET)
Containing hundreds of standardized and occupation-specific descriptors on almost 1,000 occupations covering the entire U.S. economy. The database, which is available to the public at no cost, is continually updated from input by a broad range of workers in each occupation. The data have proven vital in helping people find the training and jobs they need, and employers the skilled workers necessary to be competitive in the marketplace. The Occupational Information Network (O*NET) is developed under the sponsorship of the U.S. Department of Labor/Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA) through a grant to the North Carolina Department of Commerce.
Occupational Outlook Handbook
From the U.S. Bureau of Labor Satistics. Provides a lot of current information about many occupations and occupational fields. For each occupation this information is provided: What They Do, Work Environment, How to Become One, Pay, Job Outlook, State and Area Data, and Similar Occupations.

These library databases can help you to learn about different careers:

Vocations and Careers: OneFile
Content: Offers hundreds of current periodicals, ranging from general career guides to specialized industry journals, aiding users in researching vocations, finding educational institutions, job searching, and career maintenance.
Purpose: Supports individuals in career exploration, education planning, job searching, and career development by providing relevant and up-to-date resources.
Vocational and Career Collection
Content: Provides full-text coverage of trade and industry-related periodicals, designed to meet the vocational and technical research needs of high schools, community colleges, trade institutions, and the general public.
Purpose: Supports career development and vocational training by offering valuable resources for research in various trades and industries.