Careers & Majors

Major choice does not dictate career choice.  Unless you are planning to enter a technical field, such as engineering or accounting, you can obtain the skills necessary to succeed through any of the majors offered at Tufts.  In addition, taking the time to research different careers will enable you to make better decisions when applying to internships, job opportunities, or graduate school.

• Getting Started - Self Assessment
• Choosing a Major
• Researching Careers
• Gaining Experience
• Making Decisions

Self Assessment

Understanding your skills, interests, values, and personality is the first step toward choosing an eventual career path. Developing your self-awareness can be as formal as taking a personality or interest inventory or as informal as participation in extracurriculars. Here are some activities and suggestions that will help you learn more about yourself and begin to link this knowledge to possible careers:

Skills/Interests	Values/Family and Culture
Interests Checklist	Work Values Inventory
What are your Interests?	Family and Culture Assessment
Skills Inventory

Check out the Career Interests Game, courtesy of the University of Missouri, which will help you begin thinking about how your interests and personality will fit with specific work environments and careers.

The O*Net Online Skills Search links your skills to a variety of occupations.

Join clubs, activities, or community service projects. Participation will illuminate new areas of interest and help you develop career-related skills such as teamwork, leadership, and effective communication.

Inquire about the Strong Interest Inventory or the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), two assessments offered by Career Services.

Meet with a Career Counselor to discuss your interests, reflect on your skills, and discern your ideal work environments.

Choosing a Major

Download the Choosing a Major packet to begin thinking about your interests, skills, and choice of major.

 

Check out What Can I Do With This Major? a tool that will help you connect your major with possible careers. It lists areas you may wish to pursue along with employers and strategies to land a job in that field.

 

Engage in discussions with fellow students about what they like and dislike about their majors, as well as requirements and favorite courses.

 

Check out the websites of Tufts academic departments.  Here you can find information on majoring in that discipline, courses offered, and faculty.

 

Talk to your Academic Advisor or Dean to make sure you are aware of the requirements for completing your chosen major.

 

Meet with a Career Counselor to discuss majors that interest you and how you'll develop skills that relate to the world of work.

Researching Careers

Learn about careers by engaging in discussions with family, friends, faculty, and fellow students and through the following resources:

• The Tufts Career Advisory Network (Tufts CAN) - a database of more than 9,000 alumni who have volunteered to share their career experiences.  Read what they say, observe their career paths, and note what those in your major are doing. The most valuable learning will come from Informational Interviews which you can arrange with alumni working in areas that you’d like to explore.

• Careers A-Z - a collection of websites, with fields ranging from education, engineering, and entrepreneurship to marketing, math, museums, and more!

• Identify resources offered in specific industries – professional associations, for example – or broader ones, such as the government’s  Occupational Network database.  Use the Tisch Library Research Guides for additional databases and materials.

• Gather information at Career Fairs, Employer Presentations, and Alumni Career & Networking Programs.

• Determine whether a graduate degree is necessary to pursue the careers you are exploring.
   
• Talk to a Career Counselor about ways to research fields that interest you.

The following resources can be accessed through the Career Services Web Resources menu on WebCenter:

• Vault Online Library - a subscription to 90+ PDF career research guides
   
• Spotlight on Careers - career research for a variety of fields

• Career Spots - videos that offer practical advice for researching companies, internship and job searching, and more

• CareerSearch - an extensive employer directory, searchable by industry and location 

Gaining Experience

You can gain work experience through an internship, volunteer work, a part-time job, or carefully chosen activities. Here are some steps to consider:

• Attend our Career Fair each fall to meet employers and learn more about the characteristics and requirements of various fields.

• Secure internships and work experiences that will immerse you in environments where you can learn the daily requirements of the careers you’re considering.
   
• Update your resume with recent experiences and sharpen it with critiques by a Peer Advisor or a Career Counselor.
   
• Talk to a Career Counselor about finding opportunities to gain experience and practice interviewing in a videotaped mock interview.

Making Decisions

Remember that the decisions you make today will not define your entire career. Instead, focus on the experiences you would like to gain over the next couple of years. To prepare for life after Tufts, Career Services recommends the following steps:

• Meet with a Career Counselor to form a clear career objective and develop an action plan.
   
• Continue your career research through informational interviews, using the Tufts Career Advisory Network (Tufts CAN) and your own circle of acquaintances to arrange meetings with individuals who can offer insights and information.
   
• Use Career Services resources to search for jobs, including Tufts Career Connect, the Campus Recruiting Program, as well as recruiting events in NYC and DC.
   
• Evaluate job offers and talk to a Career Counselor for help in interpreting and negotiating offers.
   
• Follow many of these same steps if you’re on a track to graduate schools or professional programs.

Career Services is a lifelong resource for you.