“Research has repeatedly found that students who have career goals in mind are much more likely to persist and complete their degrees than students without such aspirations. And as a bonus, students with career goals are also more likely to report overall satisfaction with their college experiences.” - Student Career Goals Linked to Persistence and Degree Completion (https://blog.gouconnect.com/student-career-goals-linked-to-persistence-and-degree-completion)
It is not always easy, however, to identify careers a major can lead to and even majors with a single career path pretty clearly implied has more than one alternative to it. So how does a student find and get excited about career possibilities related to their major and interests? Introducing Career Interest Communities from University Career Services.
Career Interest Communities are designed to support students, advisors, faculty, and family in student career exploration and decision making. They allow students to discover careers paths, jobs and internships, majors and minors, and student and professional organizations unique to their interest areas.
Under Environment and Natural Resources, for example, a student will find career pathways such as climate science and energy, environment and sustainability, geography and cartography and more. Under environment and sustainability alone, 21 career pathways are listed.
Jobs and internships currently featured under the Health and Wellness Career Interest Community include a medical Affairs Internship, Fitness Coach, Hospice Practicum, and an adolescent registered nurse. These opportunities are linked to Handshake where students can find more related positions to learn about the duties of roles in the field, and if ready to do so, apply for positions.
Career Interest Communities are described in familiar, student-centered language. The management, marketing and sales community, for example, asks, “Do you enjoy persuading and influencing those around you, or collaborating with others to meet goals? Are you interested in leading people, conceptualizing new content and media campaigns, or developing and tracking strategic plans?” It further states, “Careers in this community focus on consulting, leadership, marketing and research, sales, and more.”
Students can explore the Career Interest Communities independently but are encouraged to connect with a Career Coach to take their exploration to their next steps, wherever they are at.
For more information on the Career Interest Communities, contact University Career Services at careerservices@unl.edu.
More details at: https://careers.unl.edu/channels/career-interest-communities/