Career Counseling
Career counseling is offered to assist students in identifying the steps in their career development and exploration. Counselors at Mental Health Services help students manage the concerns and stress associated with making career decisions, address personal issues that may contribute to decision-making difficulties, and utilize career assessment and resources more effectively.
Career Exploration
Utilizing career resources effectively is an important step in career exploration. Professional counselors can help you identify career resources that best help you make informed career decisions. View the career exploration tips below, and learn more about the Focus 2 Online Career Self-Assessment and Planning Program.
Focus 2 Online Career Self-Assessment and Planning Program
Focus 2 is a self-paced, interactive career planning program designed to help you explore college majors and plan your career based on your interests, values, skills, personality, and professional goals. It is provided free of charge for currently enrolled Texas A&M students.
For First-Time Users, please log into the University Health Services Appointment Portal to retrieve the access code found on the homepage of the portal. Then you can create a new user account using your TAMU email address.
For Returning Users, please sign in to Focus 2.
Career Exploration Tips
- Generate a list of occupations that best fit your interests, values, skills, personality, and career goals.
- Create a Top 10 list of occupations you feel are worth further investigation.
- Talk with people who are actually employed in the occupations you are interested in to gain a better sense of what a day in the job looks like.
- Meet with a Career Advisor through the Texa A&M Career Center to further explore your career options.
- Attempt to gain first-hand experience in work settings of interest through volunteer work, part-time or summer employment, internships, externships, job shadowing, or cooperative education. Visit the Career Center website to learn more about these opportunities.
- Decide which career to purse.
- Meet with your Academic Advisor to discuss your degree plan as it relates to the career field you have selected.
Career Assessment
Career assessment and resource exploration are essential for career decision-making. The most commonly used measures at Mental Health Services are Strong Interest Inventory, Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and Career Liftoff. If you are interested in taking a career assessment, please register online and schedule an initial tele-consultation appointment with a counselor to assess your career counseling needs.
College Academic / Career Checklist
Academic - Explore the University
- Review the undergraduate catalog
- See an academic advisor
- Meet your professors
- Observe classes you may be interested in (requires permission)
- Identify major fears about college life
- Take core curriculum and at least one exploratory class per semester
- Explore resources through the Academic Success Center, such as tutoring schedules, Academic coaching, and Supplemental Instruction
- For students who live on-campus, talk to a TAMU Academic Peer Mentor
Career - Explore Career Areas
- Talk with advisors and professors about career options
- Identify past accomplishments, skills & abilities, career related hobbies, and career values
- Talk with a counselor at University Health Services about career exploration
- Take an interest and/or personality inventory at University Health Services
- Join professional organizations
- Nurture hobbies
- Investigate Cooperative Education, internships, or other career-related employment
Academic - Gain Specific Information
- Seek academic advice
- Focus on obtaining a high GPR
- Choose a major if you have not done so already
- Develop a tentative degree plan
- Talk with others in your major
- Consider Study Abroad or co-operative education
Career - Collect More Information
- Learn about specific careers of interest to you
- Talk with professionals
- Develop short-term goals
- Look for summer internships
- Ask to observe the work life of a professional
- Talk with a counselor at University Health Services about career exploration
- Attend career workshops
- Work on a residence hall or club project
- Take on a leadership role in a Student Organization
- Join professional associations
Academic - Make Initial Choices
- Choose electives
- Focus on major courses
- Relate academics to future work plans
- Attend seminars on your major
- Attend relevant conferences
- Develop an academic mentoring relationship
- Complete a degree check
Career - Increase Experience
- Find internships
- Make tentative decisions about a career
- Learn how to write a resume through the Career Center
- Attend grad school seminars
- Develop general awareness of career options
- Become familiar with work settings and job descriptions
- Talk with a counselor at University Health Services about career exploration
- Discuss some of your decisions with a mentor
- Evaluate your major - reassess how marketable it is and investigate areas of specialization
- Set up informational interviews with professionals working in your field
- Secure career-related employment
- Volunteer in a field of interest
Academic - Long-Term Decisions
- Apply to graduate school
- Complete senior project
- Develop an independent study
- Work on research or a project with a professor
- Become a tutor/TA
- Consider life-long learning interests
- Attend relevant conferences
Career - First Career Choice
- Attend workshops on job search, interviewing, recruiting, mock interviews, applying to grad school, and stress management
- Establish life goals
- Develop contact list
- Attend grad school seminars
- Check job listings
- Interview for jobs
- Prepare yourself for your chosen lifestyle
- Talk about your first year out of school
- Make a list of your firm decisions