Explore your career options

Your degree is just one of the many important pieces you bring to your future career. These resources can help you discover:

what motivates you
where your skills and interests lie
what career options would be a good fit

Careers by area of study

Your academic program can give you so many experiences. View your area of study for:

potential careers
what you'll learn
opportunities for related work experience
hands-on learning courses

Future job demand

Labour market information (LMI) can show you where the jobs are now and predicts where they may be in the future. It helps you find work, feel confident in your career decisions and answer important questions like:

Where are the jobs related to my degree?
What opportunities are available in the region or regions that I want to work in?
What are the prospects for this career option?
Where can I find an entry-level job when I graduate?
What salary range could I expect for my career choice?

Identify your motivators

Start your career exploration by identifying what motivates you. This will help you find opportunities that align with your personality and interests.

The 3 types of career motivators

Contribution motivators: how you want to contribute to the world through your work—things you want to create, passions and causes, or how you like to work with people and information.
Work environment motivators: elements in your workplace that are important for you—the environment, work culture or your role on the team (leader, support person, expert, etc.).
Lifestyle motivators: how your career supports other areas of your life—salary, location, work schedule, flexibility, time off, etc.

Activity: Discover your career motivators

Research career options

Start by brainstorming a list of potential career areas or options. This is a rough brainstorming process, so don’t rule out ideas too quickly. Include long-range and short-range ideas.

Start here:

Write down your own ideas.
Look at popular careers for your program area.
Google search: "What can I do with a degree in [area]?"
Check job posting sites for an idea of current positions.

Activity: Brainstorm a list of career options.

Online research

Once you’ve made a list of interesting career options, the next step is to do some research. Consider:

the basic requirements of the work: education, experience, skills
what the work is like: salary, working conditions, work prospects, work culture, schedule, flexibility, contract/ongoing
where the work is: sector, industry, size and type of organization, location

Start here:

Research jobs and occupations at Career Cruising (log in using username: uvic and password: careers)
Check out WorkBC.
Explore the Canada Job Bank and O*NET OnLine (US website).
Watch Career Trek (videos about different careers).
Learn how to find and use labour market information.

Activity: Learn more about a particular career area.

Networking

Meeting with someone who works in a position, company or industry that interests you can often teach you more than a job posting or website. Asking that person questions about their position is called an informational meeting and is great way to learn more about a career and/or company.

Activity: Learn more about how to conduct an informational meeting.

Set your goals

Now that you've done some career research online and/or in person, it can be helpful to compare your career options side-by-side and see which ones stand out.

Activity: Compare career options based on what you've learned from your research (see a sample comparison)

Make a plan

Once you have some appealing options, look at the specific requirements and plan how you can approach them.

Activity: Set goals to reach your career options (see sample goals).