Majors & Careers

Your "My Career Planning Involvement" results will include a bar graph stating your different levels of preparedness for life after college.

• The more active you're in your career planning process, the higher the score.
• Please note: this assessment results will show where you are now, not where you will be. So don't get bummed if you have a low score.

Now that you've looked over your "My Career Planning Involvement" results, here are a few tips to help you start designing your life during and after college.

• Continue with your self assessment and complete the Work, Leisure and Personality assessments.
• Share your results with people you admire.
• Join student clubs and go to campus events.

• Join a Career Community (or three) that's interesting to you.
• Have informational interviews with people in interesting majors and careers.
• Try a job shadowing experience, like Real Experience and Leadership Mentoring Program (REALM).

• Participate in on-campus research, an internship, volunteering opportunities or find other ways to get involved in gaining experience related to your desired career field.
• Compare your values with your career interests, identifying where they intersect.
• Have an informational interview with someone excited about their career. Learn about all the twists and turns they went through to get where they are today.

• The two interest areas on the left side of the graph should be higher than those on the right side.
• If they are not, consider retaking your assessment. Remember, only focus on what is truly interesting to you, regardless of what others may think.        

Use these questions to reflect.

1. What are my top two interest areas? Descriptions of each interest area are below the bar graph.
2. How do my top two interest areas relate to what I've enjoyed in the past? Hint: Think about past jobs, volunteering, internships, sports, clubs, and class projects or assignments.
3. How do my top two interest areas relate to the major I'm currently in or the majors I'm considering?
4. How do my top two interest areas relate to the occupations/careers interesting to me?

• To find the rest of your results, scroll to the bottom of the screen and click the "Continue" button.

• Look for the “Sort By” drop down menu, which is slightly below “Filter Results.”
• Select “Job Family."
• Click the “Update” button slightly below the "Sort By" button.

Pick a "Job Family" and ask yourself the questions below. Tip: Start with the "Job Family" you see the most.

1. On a scale of 1-10 (1 = no interest, 10 = most interested), what's my interest level in finding an occupation/career in this “Job Family”?
2. What interests me about this “Job Family”?
3. What past experiences have I done related to this “Job Family”?
4. How does this “Job Family” link to my major or the majors I'm interested in?
5. How does this “Job Family” link to the occupations I'm interested in?
6. Who do I know that works in the “Job Family”?
7. What are 3 opportunities I could pursue at UB to learn more about this “Job Family?” Tip: Look into the different offices, events, and clubs & activities available at UB.

Bonus round: Once you've done steps 1-4, you can learn more about majors and careers by doing steps 5 and 6! 👍

1. Click on any of the occupations that interest you.
2. What do I find interesting about that particular occupation? Hint: Look at "Occupation Overview, Job Tasks, Skills, Values, Work Conditions and Outlook."

1. What do I find interesting about the description of the major?
2. When you're done, you can closeout of this window.

• Read the class descriptions of the 300- and 400-level classes under "Program Requirements."
• If you like a lot of the upper-level courses, that's great!

• The two interest areas on the left side of the graph should be higher than those on the right side.
• If they are not, consider retaking your assessment. Remember, only focus on what is truly interesting to you, regardless of what others may think.        

Use these questions to reflect.

1. What are my top two interest areas? Descriptions of each interest area are below the bar graph.
2. How do my top two interest areas relate to what I've enjoyed in the past? Hint: Think about past jobs, volunteering, internships, sports, clubs, and class projects or assignments.
3. How do my top two interest areas relate to the major I'm currently in or the majors I'm considering?
4. How do my top two interest areas relate to the occupations/careers interesting to me?

• To find the rest of your results, scroll to the bottom of the screen and click the "Continue" button.

• Look for the “Sort By” drop down menu, which is slightly below “Filter Results.”
• Select “Job Family."
• Click the “Update” button slightly below the "Sort By" button.

Pick a "Job Family" and ask yourself the questions below. Tip: Start with the "Job Family" you see the most.

1. On a scale of 1-10 (1 = no interest, 10 = most interested), what's my interest level in finding an occupation/career in this “Job Family”?
2. What interests me about this “Job Family”?
3. What past experiences have I done related to this “Job Family”?
4. How does this “Job Family” link to my major or the majors I'm interested in?
5. How does this “Job Family” link to the occupations I'm interested in?
6. Who do I know that works in the “Job Family”?
7. What are 3 opportunities I could pursue at UB to learn more about this “Job Family?” Tip: Look into the different offices, events, and clubs & activities available at UB.

Bonus round: Once you've done steps 1-4, you can learn more about majors and careers by doing steps 5 and 6! 👍

1. Click on any of the occupations that interest you.
2. What do I find interesting about that particular occupation? Hint: Look at "Occupation Overview, Job Tasks, Skills, Values, Work Conditions and Outlook."

1. What do I find interesting about the description of the major?
2. When you're done, you can closeout of this window.

• Read the class descriptions of the 300- and 400-level classes under "Program Requirements."
• If you like a lot of the upper-level courses, that's great!

1. In the description of "Your Personality Type," what do I agree with?
2. On a scale of 1-10 (1 = not at all, 10 = fully), how well does the description in "Your Personality Type" match me?
3. How have I seen the description of "Your Personality Type" show up in your past? Hint: Think about past jobs, volunteering, internships, sports, clubs and class projects or assignments.
4. What “Choosing Your Career” recommendations stand out to me?

To find the rest of your results, scroll to the bottom of the screen and click the "Continue" button.

• Look for the “Sort By” drop down menu, which is slightly below “Filter Results.”
• Select “Job Family."
• Click the “Update” button slightly below the "Sort By" button.

Ask yourself the following questions for “Job Family” and Occupation.

1. What "Job Family" surprises me?
2. What activities have I done that could lead me to having a career in this "Job Family"?
3. Who do I know working in this field? Hint: Talk to this person, and ask them if they feel they could always be in this "Job Family."

1. What occupations had I not considered, but want to know more about?
2. Click on any of the occupations that interest me.
3. What do I find interesting about that particular occupation?Hint: Look at "Occupation Overview, Job Tasks, Skills, Values, Work Conditions, and Outlook."
4. Who among the people I trust may know someone in that field?

Your results will include a bar graph stating your development level for each of the NACE Career Competencies.

• The results of this assessment show where you are, not where you will be - the more you develop the skills, the higher the score.
• To view various recommendations on how you might develop each competency.
• Scroll down and click the "Continue" button.

Each skill will have a variety of recommendations to develop that skill more.

• You cannot work on all eight skills at once. Only choose 1 or 2 skills to strengthen at a time.
• For the 1 or 2 skills, select the recommendation you can most easily pursue.

You can "Describe how you are developing your" various skills at the bottom of each skill in "Your Results." What you write will be saved, even as you retake this assessment. 

This section gives you an idea of how UB majors connect to occupations/careers after college.

• Scroll down towards the bottom of your screen until you come across "Explore the Possibilities."
• Click the button, "What can I do with a major in ... Offered at University at Buffalo?"

See all of the majors recommended by any of the assessments you have taken. 

• Look for "Sort By" located slightly below "Filter Results."
• Select "Suggested" from the drop down menu.

• Click a major that's interesting to you, even if it's not one suggested by your assessment results.
• What are your impressions of the occupations/careers connected to these majors?
• Which occupations/careers fit within your interests?
• Which occupations/careers surprised you?

This part of Focus2 introduces you to the bigger picture of an occupation.

• Scroll down towards the bottom of your screen until you come across "Explore the Possibilities."
• Click the button, "Explore any Occupation."

The different ways to look up an occupation include:

• Scroll through the entire list.
• Select the letter matching the first letter of the occupation, e.g., 'A' for Athletic Coach.
• Type the occupation name in the 'Search' bar.

1. What do I find interesting about that particular occupation? Hint: look at Occupation Overview, Job Tasks, Skills, Values, Work Conditions, and Outlook.
2. How does this occupation relate to what I've enjoyed in the past? Think about past jobs, volunteering, internships, sports, clubs, and class projects or assignments.
3. Who do I know in this professional? Tip: If you do not know anyone, consider asking people you trust who they might know.
4. What place at UB can I visit (like an office, event, club) to gain some relatable experience? Hint: Visit this place and share your interests.