Career Exploration
Exploring career options is a crucial step for high school students aiming to align their interests and skills with potential professions. The following online tools offer diverse approaches to career exploration, each one does something a little bit different, whether that’s helping you to assess your interests, do research about specific jobs, or finding inspiration in your chosen field, these top tools assist students in making informed decisions.
Overview: Offers a self-report test that categorizes individuals into 16 distinct personality types, suggesting corresponding professions that align with each personality.
Features: Easy-to-understand assessments linking personality traits to potential careers.
Considerations: While insightful, it’s essential to remember that personality tests provide a general perspective and should be one of many tools used in career planning.
Overview: A comprehensive assessment that considers individual interests, guiding users through various “Job Zones” to explore specific careers.
Features: Interactive interface that broadens understanding of available job possibilities based on personal interests.
Considerations: Provides a broad overview; you may need to conduct further research on specific careers of interest.
Overview: A documentary production company creating videos and interactive resources that showcase various career and life paths.
Features: Roadtrip Nation is a fun visual resource that creates videos and interactive content, allowing you to “get behind the wheel” of different career and life paths. Through the camera lens, viewers can see what it’s like to pursue various directions. Their videos are designed to show why it’s okay to feel lost and help you realize that you’re not alone—moments of doubt and uncertainty are all normal on the road to building a fulfilling career and life.
Considerations: Best suited for students who prefer learning through visual and narrative content.
Overview: Designed to help students contemplate their future studies, ideal “dream jobs,” and the degrees that might lead them there.
Features: A 10-15 minute quiz encouraging self-reflection on preferences and aspirations, aiding in the initial stages of career research.
Considerations: Provides a starting point; students should seek additional information to make well-rounded decisions.
Overview: Aimed at inspiring girls to explore various career possibilities and envision a bright future.
Features: Offers a career quiz, role model videos, and information on diverse professions to empower young women.
Considerations: While tailored for girls, the resources can be valuable to all students interested in exploring careers.
Overview: Evaluates personal interests to suggest compatible career options, starting with everyday preferences and activities. For example, do you like to do any of the following? Your answers will guide the tool towards jobs that wil work for you.
• Be physically active
• Spend time outdoors
• Focus on real-world things, like plants and animals
• Take machines apart
Features: User-friendly assessment that connects individual likes and dislikes to potential job roles.
Considerations: Provides a general direction; further exploration of suggested careers is recommended.
Overview: This tool is very helpful. It offers nearly 400 interviews with professionals across various fields, providing insights into different careers.
Features: Categorized interviews that allow users to explore real-life experiences in specific professions.
Considerations: Provides qualitative insights; pairing this with quantitative data (e.g., job outlook, salary) can offer a comprehensive view.
Overview: A free platform where students can ask career-related questions and receive personalized advice from professionals completely free of charge. The process is simple
• Students ask a question about any career.
• Questions are matched to relevant professionals.
• Professionals answer those questions with their personalized advice.
Features: Connects students with a community of professionals, offering guidance.es in specific professions.
Considerations: Relies on volunteer professionals; the quality and timeliness of responses may vary.
Overview: Provides resources including career quizzes, college search tools, and scholarship information to assist in comprehensive career planning.
Features: Integrates career exploration with college planning, offering a holistic approach to future planning.
Considerations: Requires users to navigate multiple tools; a clear plan can enhance the experience.
Overview: This page offers detailed articles on the daily routines of professionals in various roles, providing an insider’s perspective on different careers. Articles like “A Day in the Life: Social Media Manager” give a clear picture of what working in a particular job entails.
Features: In-depth narratives covering typical tasks, work environments, and challenges to help students understand specific careers.
Considerations: Primarily text-based, which may not engage students who prefer videos or interactive tools. Some profiles may be limited, requiring extra research. Full access may need an account or subscription. Best for students exploring specific careers in depth.
