How to Find Out All the Details About That Potential Career
Did you know there is a free website where you can explore all the details about occupations?
Do you ever find yourself wondering about the salary of a career you're considering? Or what a person actually does, day to day in that career? There are lots of questions you might have about that career title.
The U.S. Department of Labor collects all of this data and shares it for free on an easy to use website:
The O*Net Online website is what I consider an under utilized treasure trove. Most young adults I work with have never heard of it before. But it contains all of these wonderful details!
Here's one of my favorite examples - genetic counselors. Did you know this is currently a career with a "bright outlook" (careers that have openings, room for growth, etc)?
Apparently all genetic counselors have their master's degree and their median wage in 2015 was $72,090. I can even click "local salary info" to learn more about salaries broken down by region and state. Their work values include "relationships" and "achievement." They use both email and face-to-face discussions every day. Genetic counselors are good at reading comprehension and critical thinking.
That whole paragraph was just from a quick scan of the O*Net website.
I don't even know any genetic counselors personally, but reading the details on O*Net gives me a clearer picture of that occupation.
If you don't have a particular occupation title in mind, you can search by categories. There are thousands of occupation titles I didn't even know existed! I bet you could find the same thing to be true if you explored the website yourself. Or if you're in a current occupation, read the details about that position to make comparisons across the United States. There are many ways to use the O*Net Online website. I'm just on a mission to share it with all young adults!