There are thousands of career options. Research careers that fit your interests, values, skills, personality and strengths and will allow you to do your best.

Informational Interviewing

• An informational interview is an appointment that you schedule with a particular career professional for the purpose of gaining current, regional and/or specialized information from an “insider” point of view. If you are in the process of deciding on a college major, selecting a career, changing careers, or looking for a job, informational interviews can help you learn if a career or job within a career field fits your interests, skills and personality.

General Career Information Web Sites

Career Resources Available in the JCCC Billington Library

Chronicle Guidance Publications

• Career Occupational Briefs are available online for review in the Career Development Center. They represent 650 comprehensive descriptions for professional, technical, blue-collar and white-collar occupations with information on more than 2,500 careers. That’s more than 95 percent of the jobs in today’s workforce.

Vocational Biographies

• A computerized software program available on computers located in the Career Development Center offers 1,001 career stories of real people in a variety of traditional and newly-emerging careers. Each four-page career story includes information about the job description, training, salary, job outlook and what to do now.

Occupational Outlook Handbook

The U.S. Bureau of Labor and U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics annually compile occupational projections and trends every two years. According to the Occupational Outlook Quarterly (Spring 2012), 2010-2020 job outlooks include:

Fastest Growing Occupations, projected 2010-2020

• Personal Care Aides
• Home Health Aides
• Biomedical Engineers
• Tile and Marble Setters
• Carpenters
• Veterinary Technologists and Technicians
• Reinforcing Iron and Rebar Workers
• Physical Therapist Assistants
• Pipelayers, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters
• Meeting, Convention, and Event Planners
• Diagnostic Medical Sonographers
• Occupational Therapy Assistants
• Physical Therapist Aides
• Glaziers
• Interpreters and Translators
• Medical Secretaries
• Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists
• Marriage and Family Therapists
• Brickmasons and Blockmasons
• Physical Therapists
• Dental Hygienists
• Bicycle Repairers
• Audiologists
• Health Educators
• Stonemasons
• Cost Estimators
• Medical Scientists, except Epidemiologists
• Mental Health Counselors
• Pile-Driver Operators
• Veterinarians

Occupations with Largest Growth, projected 2010-2020

• Registered Nurses
• Retail Salespersons
• Home Health Aides
• Personal Care Aides
• Office Clerks
• Food Preparation and Food Service Workers
• Customer Service Representatives
• Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers
• Freight, Stock, and Material Movers
• Postsecondary Teachers
• Nursing Aides, Orderlies, and Attendants
• Childcare Workers
• Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks
• Cashiers
• Elementary School Teachers, except Special Education
• Receptionists and Information Clerks
• Janitors and Cleaners, except Maids and Housekeeping
• Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers
• Sales Representatives, Wholesale, and Manufacturing, except technical and scientific products
• Construction Laborers

For a summary of the job descriptions for the occupations listed above, typical education requirements or preferences, median annual earnings and career contact information, consult the current Occupational Outlook Handbook in the Career Development Center, public libraries or on the Web at www.bls.gov/oco/.