Is your course taking in you in the right direction?
Wednesday, 22 March 2023
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If you're reconsidering you choice of course, talk to a Career Advisor.
Is your course taking you on the right track, or is it feeling like you might want to make an adjustment and head in a different direction.
Are you in the wrong course and not sure what to do next?
It's not unusual to make some adjustments to your learning plan along the way, and question where your heading once you graduate. The ECU Careers and Employability Team have put together 11 things you can do if your a little unsure of where you're heading.
Take a look at these tips, links and resources to help you make career decisions based on your personality, values, the job market and other considerations.
1. Compare you course to some of the others on offer
Using the ECU online handbook, you can investigate the Course you are thinking about, the Learning Outcomes, the Units attached to the course and the Assessment Tasks attached to each unit. Leave no stone unturned to understand the commitment you may be taking.
2. Investigate what the job market is doing
It’s always useful to have a look at jobs advertised and the sorts of skills, knowledge and attributes that employers are looking for. Understand the market.
Here are some useful job seeking sites:
3. Look into potential Graduate Programs, Internships and Vacation Work
4. Log on to Myfuture and see what it recommends for you.
Myfuture is a free online careers tool for ECU students. You will need your ECU login details. There are 350 occupations, and you can search the many courses offered and access My Career Profile, the career exploration tool.
5. Take a personality test to get an idea of what kind of work might suit you.
Self-reflect on your chosen area of study. Does it match your personality? The Myers Brigg Personality Test is a fun interactive questionnaire asking questions all about you. It takes 12 minutes. Are you the right person for the tasks?
6. Take a look at the Get Career Ready checklists.
Take a look at these check lists that can guide you through Career building skills whether you're in your first, middle, or final year of studying.
7. Find out about some Professional Organisations.
Every profession usually has a professional organisation attached to it. Often there is useful information about the profession which could provide you with additional depth of knowledge. Search the professional organisation attached to your potential course using this link below.
8. Browse some Labour Market websites.
Job Outlook can help you make decisions about study and training, your first job, or a step up in your career. It also has a career quiz and you can explore in-demand careers based on where you live.
The Labour Market Information Portal provides you with information on employment rates by industry. It provides details on employment projections and additional data relevant to the job market.
9. Dive into LinkedIn
LinkedIn is a great way to follow potential organisations that you may want to work for. In particular, you can use LinkedIn to find people that work in the area you could see yourself working in. Have a look at their career path, qualifications and the steppingstones to their careers. Does it align to the career path you have chosen? Are you on the right track?
10. Sign up for some volunteer work
Volunteer Work can be a great way of finding out if you would like to work in a field or career. For example, if you were interested in education, you could volunteer in a school with a numeracy program or school breakfast club. Some useful links to find volunteer work:
11. Make an appointment to chat to a Course Adviser or the Careers and Employability Team
Make an appointment to see a Course Adviser at the Student Hub. The Careers and Employability team have a wide range of service to help you focus, develop and achieve your career goals.