UMUC

Career Services

Steps to take when choosing a major or changing careers:

  1. Knowing about myself
  2. Knowing about my options
  3. Knowing how I make decisions
  4. Thinking about my decision making
  5. Creating and carrying out my plan

Steps to Choosing a Major/Changing Careers

Step 1: Knowing About Myself

Once you realize you need to make a career decision, the first step is to clarify what you know about yourself. Consider these four elements:

  1. Skills/Abilities – What do you do well? What are your strengths?

  2. Interests – What do you enjoy doing?

  3. Work Values – What is most important to you? What motivates you to work?

  4. Personality – What are your inborn preferences?

Resources that can help:

The UMUC Office of Career Services offers a variety of resources to help you gain a better understanding of your personality type, interests, skills, and work-related values. Look below to see what Career Services has to offer you:

  • DISCOVER
    This self-guided, online career program helps users (1) identify their interests, skills/abilities, and values; (2) explore a database of occupations, college majors, schools and training institutions, financial aid/scholarships, and military options; and (3) create a personalized career plan. There is no charge for this assessment.

    Please fill out an online Talk to a Career Counselor form and request access to Discover in the comments section.

  • Strong Interest Inventory
    This online assessment measures interests related to a broad range of occupations, work activities, leisure activities, and school subjects.  It provides a detailed print-out of interests and how they score on six occupational themes (Realistic, Artistic, Investigative, Conventional, Social, and Enterprising). 

    This 291-item inventory is available on the internet and takes about 30 minutes to complete. A follow-up appointment is required to discuss and receive the results. There is a $10.00 charge for the assessment. Call 301-985-6785 for an appointment.

    Requires an in-person or telephone Career Counseling appointment.

  • MBTI - Myers Briggs Type Indicator
    The MBTI is an personality assessment that will assist in identifying your personality type which in many cases can be directly related to your career interests. Through this assessment you will explore your personality and with a career counselor start to develop a career path that will complement your personality. There is a $15.00 charge for the assessment. Call 301-985-6785 for an appointment.

    Requires an in-person or telephone Career Counseling appointment.

Additional Resources:

  • Career Interest Guide
    Find jobs that are best suited for you based on your interests.

  • Job Interest Matching
    Investigate jobs that include tasks you like to do. When you indicate the kinds of tasks you prefer, they will be matched to jobs available in the government. This list contains some of the most common occupations in the Federal government, but not all Federal jobs are represented.

  • O*NET OnLine
    Explore occupations and complete a skills assessment.