Getting from Major to CareerBased on the book:

You Majored in What? Mapping Your Path from Chaos to Career by Katharine Brooks, Ed.d.

NMU Career ServicesMelissa Sprouse, Assistant Director

The QUESTION• What’s your major?• What are you going to do with that??

The Linear PathHard to break this kind of thinking – it’s ingrained in our culture!

At Two: Oh cute, you like firetrucks? I bet you’ll be a firefighter.

High School Graduation: What’s next? Have you decided what you’re going to school for?

Junior Year: You’re an art major? What are you going to do with that??

… it’s a lie.The problem is a few things. The roots of this come from a method of career analysis developed in 1909….

Today’s workforce isn’t clearly defined by majors…

Often it’s based in a desire to be financially successful. Studies have shown a weak correlation between your major and your income – it’s much more closely linked to your location, your field of work, and your job title.

Consider Chaos Theory

• Ask real alums how they got their jobs. Most stories have some element of the unpredictable.• Butterfly Effect – an unplanned event that ends up significantly

influencing the outcome• Consider this story…

Quick Overview of Chaos Theory• Originally developed to help predict weather.• Helps us understand that too many variables

in a complex system make them outcome hard to predict.

• Assess what we currently know, what we cannot know, and what we can learn.

• Abductive reasoning is important – can’t base decisions on single factors/traits

• Change occurs constantly, and the unpredicted/unexpected will occur.

• The system will ultimately reveal an order. Sometimes you’re just too close to see it.

Take a minute to think - What variables might affect your career path?• Family• Level of education• Skills & talents• Job market• Where you want to live

• What you know :• Have a variety of interests• Unsure of decisions

• What you don’t know:•

• What you can learn:•

Chaos Theory & Behavior• Several types of attractors help

control behaviors: • Point attractors (move us to or away

from something… drawn to a party, getting a raise),

• Pendulum attractors (two or more points we move between… like choosing between grad school or working??),

• Strange attractors (random events that don’t repeat)

• Torus attractors (cycles of behavior we repeat… like procrastination)

Any “butterfly moments” in your life?

• Day you chose NMU?• Day someone gave you

valuable advice?• Day you learned a new skill?• Decision your parents made?

Unexpected Event: ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Result:____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Wandering MapWhat? Why are we doing this??• Brainstorm new ways of

viewing/understanding your past.• Identify themes and threads• Break out of linear thinking• Order in chaos• Vision for planning future• Get excited!

Okay. Keep this in mind:1. It WILL be a work in progress2. No rules. You don’t have to

finish today, you don’t have the know the answers today, you don’t have to make something perfect, you don’t need to include things that your parents think are important.

Let’s take 15 minutes….

• Think about all the interesting and significant things you’ve done, or have happened to you. Go as far back as feels important to you.• Unique jobs? Classes?• Summer experiences?• What are you most proud of?• Hobbies?• Awards or honors?• Particularly valuable lesson?• Knowledge you rely on, developed from

your education and/or experience?

• Write them down. Not just what you think is career-related, but whatever comes to mind. KEYWORDS not sentences.• Don’t try to organize

them, just get them out of your head. • 10 or 40 or 400

• Objects you use and/or enjoy:• Computers• Musical instruments• Books• Binoculars• Skateboards• Telescopes or microscopes• Sailboats• Paintbrushes• Journals

• Events in your life:• Jobs you’ve held, wonderful or awful• Taking a fantastic class• Tutoring a child• Baking cookies for holidays• Designing a web site• Acting in a school play• Running for office• Playing sports• Creative projects• Adventures/risks you’ve taken• Assignments/papers you’re proud of• Family heritage/culture• Hobbies• Ideas you developed• Internships• Places you’ve traveled• Summer activities or vacations• Volunteer activities

Think about:

Objects you use and/or enjoy:• Computers

• Musical instruments

• Books

• Binoculars

• Skateboards

• Telescopes or microscopes

• Sailboats

• Paintbrushes

• Journals

Events in your life:• Jobs you’ve held,

wonderful or awful• Taking a fantastic class• Tutoring a child• Baking cookies for

holidays• Designing a web site• Acting in a school play• Running for office• Playing sports• Creative projects• Adventures/risks you’ve

taken• Assignments/papers

you’re proud of• Family heritage/culture• Hobbies• Ideas you developed• Internships• Places you’ve traveled• Summer activities or

vacations• Volunteer activities

1.Identify Categories (5 mins)

• Are you surprised by any?• Are there categories you weren’t

expecting to see?• Is there a pattern?• Does any one category have a lot

of items?

2. Identify Themes and Threads (5 mins) • Does anything follow you from

elementary school to college?• Is there a pattern to the types of

jobs you’ve held?• What might your experiences

have in common?• What did you learn/strengths did

you gain

Ideas for Themes & Threads• Achievement/Awards• Alone or with others• Animals• Art• Computers• Creative ideas• Doing or Thinking• Drama• Family• Fun• Hobbies• Learning• Internal or external motivated• Indoors or outdoors

• Risky or safe• Roles you’ve played• Solving problems• Reading• Research• Analytic• Communication• Counseling• Detail/follow-through• Interpersonal• Presentation/Perform• Serving/Helping• Thinking Strategically• Challenge

• Leadership• Justice• Harmony• Power• Spirituality• Variety• Wealth• Friendship• Expertise• Diversity• Health

• Share your map with your neighbor, to see if they can identify themes or connections you might have missed.

• Consider showing this to others who might help you make some connections about yourself – friends, roommates, parents, adviser, etc.

Show and Tell

Think about the following questions:1. If you’re having trouble seeing your themes, ask yourself “If a miracle

occurred tonight and I could suddenly see my themes, what do I think they’d be?”

2. What 2 or 3 items are you most proud of? What skills/behaviors did you use to accomplish them? How might you apply those in a work-type setting?

3. On a scale of 1-10, which theme do you rank as most important and why?4. If you knew you couldn’t fail, which one of these themes would you keep

pursuing?5. What theme would you like to take a step toward pursuing in the next 24

hours? What step would you take?

That’s great but… what do I do with it??

• The map process is designed to help you identify key themes, skills, interests, values, and other important aspects of your life, but isn’t meant to point you directly at a career.

• Part of that “Assess what you know and don’t know” part of chaos theory.

Mapping Your MajorLet’s take a quick look at your major, what you’re

getting out of it, and how you can use what you’re learning to set yourself apart in the job search

(whatever that looks like!)Hooray, another map!

1. Put your major in the center, draw a circle around it.

2. Scatter the following words on your paper, drawing a circle around each one.1. Courses2. Skills3. Theories or ideas4. Interesting items5. Knowledge6. Related courses from other

departments7. Future

3. Jot down ideas related to each of the categories and draw circles around them as well.

4. If you’re stuck, find a “major-buddy” who can help you fill in some blanks.

Afterwards:5. Take a step back –• What pops out? • What’s the most interesting part?• What ‘speaks’ to you?• How have you done something

unique with your major?• How have you tailored it to fit your

interests?• Series of courses on a specific aspect

of your major (concentration?)• What skills did you learn?

6. Pull it together –List three characteristics

you’ve developed or acquired from your major

Quick reviewPull out your Wandering map.• Do you have a point attractor – a field, job, or activity that seems to call you?• Do you have a bunch of attractors, so many that you don’t know where to

start?• Do you have no attractors? Nothing interests you because you don’t know

what’s out there?• Is your attractor something that seems unattainable? Why?• Are you being advised by your parents, professors or others to pursue a

particular path? Do you agree with them? Is it YOUR attractor or theirs?• Do you have those pesky pendulum attractors pulling you in disparate

directions with no middle ground to be seen?

The Last Map

Mapping Your Possible Lives1. Write your current status in the center. 2. Write down 2-10 possible lives all over

the paper, in no particular order.• Include one blank circle for the yet

undiscovered career• Don’t censor your ideas• No limitations (other than the laws of physics

or physiology)• Don’t consider education or talent• Don’t consider the salary• Jot them down, even if you “know” they’re

unrealistic

How many would you seriously pursue?One? • That’s where you start your

planning. On the line connecting your first choice to you, list some step you’d need to take before you can start doing that activity or job.

• Good resources for research include the Occupational Outlook Handbook and CareerOneStop

Two or Three?• Star your top choices. Start

thinking about how you could begin pursuing each of them now, and write those ideas on the lines.• If any of your choices require a

particular skill, can you look for opportunities to develop that skill?• Can you think of a creative way to

combine opposing ideas (pendulum attractors)?

How many….More than three?• You don’t necessarily have to choose.• Pick one at a time, enjoy it, then

move on.• Pick several and try each by pursuing

several avenues at once – creatively combine interests• Bounce back and forth, choosing one

as your consistent option.• Pursue one as a hobby or volunteer

option

How many…None?• Don’t quit. You just don’t have an

idea right now. • You just figured out the part of

chaos theory that you don’t know!• Be honest with yourself – are you

not sure because you’re too afraid? Do you not have the energy or the interest? Is there something blocking you? • Take your maps to someone else

and talk to them about it!

Explore!

Resources for Exploration:• Occupational Outlook Handbook: www.bls.gov/ooh• O*Net (also has skills profiler and other assessments):

www.onetonline.org• LinkedIn “Find Alumni” tool: www.linkedin.com (informational

interviewing)• My Next Move: www.mynextmove.org• Riley Guide www.rileyguide.com

NMU CAREER SERVICES3302.3 Hedgcock * 227-2800