Career Pathways

Module 13:
CAREER PATHWAYS
Reading: WORK/OCCUPATIONAL ENVIRONMENTS AND
INTERESTS
According to Psychologist John Holland:

• Jobs/careers/work environments can be classified into six categories: Realistic,
Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, and Conventional.
• There are no pure classifications, and job functions may combine different types
such as ESA (Enterprising, Social, and Artistic) or ISC (Investigative, Social, and
Conventional).
• Personalities or interests can also be classified into the same six types: Realistic,
Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, and Conventional.
• There are no pure interest types, and a person's interests may fall into
combinations like ESA or ISC, or any two or three possible combinations.
Interests Types Work/Occupational
Environments
Realistic Realistic
Investigative Investigative
Artistic Artistic
Social Social
Enterprising Enterprising
Conventional Conventional
If our interest patterns are ESA (i.e., Enterprising, Social and Artistic) we
will be attracted to a job/career in which the work activities are ESA
Look at the letters listed with each party group and their corresponding
descriptions at the next slides. Think about how much you would or would
not enjoy working in the types of situations discussed and how the
characteristics mentioned relate to your own personality and interests.
As a further note, these themes can be combined to produce several

hundred job personality types, each of which has something different to
say about the match between an individual and an occupation. For
example, a person who is primarily "realistic" (R) might also be "artistic"
(A) and "enterprising" (E) and would probably find a job doing public
relations layouts for the Department of Environment and Natural
Resources satisfying. Consider your examination of these areas, here, as
a good first step in further career and self-understanding.
R = Realistic. People high on the realistic theme tend to enjoy creating things with
their hands and working with tools and objects rather than working with people and
ideas. Realistic people tend to be rugged and practical, enjoying work outdoors.
Example of occupations that are primarily realistic in nature are:
Forester Civil Engineer

I = Investigative.
Occupations high in investigative characteristics tend to focus on scientific activities.
People high on this theme would often rather work alone than with other people and
are usually seen as idea-oriented and creative in scientific areas such as research. They
are analytical, abstract, intellectual and task-oriented.
Some specific investigative jobs are:
Chemist
Physician
A = Artistic
People who score high on the artistic theme are artistically inclined, and
usually describe themselves as independent, imaginative, creative, and
unconventional, They enjoy situations that allow them freedom to be original,
prefer to work in an unstructured environment, and are usually dissatisfied if
they are forced to follow many rules and procedures. They enjoy activities
related to language, art, music, drama, writing, etc.
Some primarily artistic jobs include:
Drama Teacher
Musician
S = Social
People high on the social theme are usually seen by others as sociable, popular,
and responsible. They prefer social interaction and social presence. They are
often interested in the problems and concerns of others, and like activities that
allow them to teach, inform, train, develop, cure and help others.
Jobs that involve these personality aspects include:
Counseling
Education
E = Enterprising
Occupations that are primarily enterprising in nature usually involve
situations where the person is in a position of leading or convincing
others to achieve team/organizational goals or economic gain.
People high on this theme are often seen as enthusiastic, dominant,
impatient.
Some primarily enterprising jobs include:
Banker Contractor
C = Conventional. High conventional people tend to prefer jobs where t given
firm structure and know exactly what is expected of them. People who rank high
on this theme often describe themselves as conscientious, efficient, and calm. they
are They enjoy activities that involve the precise, ordered use of data such as
keeping and filing records, organizing data, computing, printing, etc.
They enjoy words and numbers and systematic and structured jobs such as:
Bookkeeper Cashier
Reading: CHOOSE YOUR CAREER FIRST - NOT YOUR COLLEGE
Approximately 80 percent of college freshmen have not declared a college major. Fifty
percent of those who have declared a major will switch during college. Seventy
percent of all college students will change their major.
These numbers prove that students are not being turned into who they are before
making major decisions - a costly mistake. Most parents who have saved for college
plan on their child graduating in four years. What are the chances that a student who
changes majors over and over or transfers schools will graduate in four years? Simply
put: It's not possible.
Your College Roadmap
The typical student embarks on the college search by first choosing the college they love,
then a major, and finally choosing a corresponding career path. Students should instead
embark on their journey with the end in mind -a future career. Instead of focusing on the
four years spent in college, turn your attention to the 40+ years you will work after
graduation.
The college roadmap should be tailored to the individual student. Students should first
ask themselves, "What am I wired to do?" While there's not one simple answer to this
question, conscientiously dialing into one's personality allows one to easily identify what
they are not wired to do. From there they can consult sites like the Bureau of Labor and
Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook and O*Net Online to categorize job prospects
accordingly. Students should hone in on career possibilities that satisfy their individual
needs and interests. In that regard, the Birkman Assessment tool can be helpful since it
identifies 77 personality scores. When personality data corresponds to a student's
academic profile, the results can be profound.
The Back-Up Plan
Once potential careers are established, students should back up to the majors that feed to these
careers and research colleges that are respected in those fields. Sometimes it's one major-as is
the case with teaching or engineering-but often there are several options that feed into a given
career. On the college-bound journey, career needs to be at the forefront of each student's choice
of major. Choosing career first is actually an investment in college savings, since knowing
upfront where your degree path will take you can save a lot of time and money.
THANK YOU!

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Module 13:

According to Psychologist John Holland:

As a further note, these themes can be combined to produce several

Forester Civil Engineer

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