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 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?
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!
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