By: Ashley
So I was browsing through the Career Services web page when it struck me that I didn’t really know what was under the Current Trends link on the web page. Other than the obvious I was curious and so I clicked on it. First of all, I will say that to get to this part of our web page look under the “Exploring Majors and Careers” section on the left side of the page and there you will see Current Trends listed. This helpful section lists general resources to use to find current trends in your major/career, employment projections, State Departments of Employment/Work Force or Economic Development, and websites that show changes in industry specific trends. The page starts off with 3 very important questions to ask oneself when researching current trends in your chosen career path/major.
- What is the demand, or need, for your occupation or industry? (statewide/nationally/globally)
- What is the salary typical for your occupation and experience level? In a certain geographic area? (Cost of living for certain area will impact your salary.)
- Where are recent graduates being employed?
One of the best resources I found that has answers to both questions one and two is the Occupations Outlook Handbook which will tell you projected growth rate, median salary, projected number of new jobs, and even if on the job training is needed. You can search vaguely by amount of education or put in as specific as salary, percent growth and number of new jobs. To get to this handbook go under general information and click on Career Guide to Industries.
iseek.org is also a great resource that allows you to explore careers and plan you education out based on that career in the state of Minnesota. When you search a certain career, iseek.org will show you a bunch of quick facts about that career. Some things it will tell you are average wages, job outlook, educations and training needed, and even some examples of what you would do while at work. The further you explore it will show you current training programs that are available to further yourself in your chosen career path.
There is a lot more information than the two resources listed above under the Current Trends section of the Career Services web page. The State Departments of Employment/Work Force or Economic Development section has information listed for the states of North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, and Michigan. Each state has its own link that brings you to a state specific website full of helpful information. Under the Industry Specific part there are links to just a few Industry related websites where trends can be reviewed and seen.
To answer question three I would say the very best resource would be our graduate follow-up report which is the link below the Current Trends link under the Exploring Majors and Careers part of the website. I chose to highlight this section of our website because it contained so many resources that I have found helpful in my exploration of Medical Technology and to be honest I had no idea these resources were even there! To you, the reader, I would say explore and have fun because that is the only way to really learn what it is you want to do and where it is you want to go!
Peer Into Your Career 