Career Exploration

Currently, in my career exploration process, I am still trying to figure out what jobs near me would be the right fit both for what I’m interested in, and what to base my major off of. Originally, I wanted to work with exotic animals, but after a little research and a couple meetings with my academic advisor, I realized this path might not actually be for me. There isn’t a huge job market for exotics, and those jobs that do exist are extremely competitive and may not be able to support me financially. I am leaning more towards wildlife conservation or some sort of research based career with local wildlife. The workshop in class helped my confidence that I was going into the right career path with some sort of investigative studies. My RIASEC code was IAS, meaning I am mostly investigative, very artistic and quite social. O*Net recommends three careers for the IAS type, Anthropologist, Political Scientist, and Sociologist. I was really surprised with these options they gave me, I always thought I was the least interested in politics and sociology, but apparently they would suit me well. On the other hand, I did not see any options for animal science career paths, and I think if they would have made a broader list I would have been happier with my outcome. The high level for artisticness sparked my interest. I am a very creative person and have a huge passion for art, but didn’t think it was something I would be able to take in college. After this workshop however, I had another meeting with my advisor and she highly recommended that I minor in art. My current plan is to major in Animal Sciences-Animal Industry Specialization, with a minor in Art and a second minor in Human and Animal interactions. So far, I am on the right track to graduate in four years with this major and two minors, but I would like to, and need to, do more research regarding studying abroad to count towards my credit hours, and taking at least a biology class over the summer to remain on course. My next steps toward my career are simply planning each semester out, and looking into summer internships or jobs that would help my resume. I have already scheduled my classes for my spring semester of 2019, but will have to look into which classes I will need to  take the following years. I also have an internship in mind in my home town too. This internship is at a rehabilitation center and works with local wildlife like owls, squirrels, and fox. As long as I stick to a plan, I will be able to achieve my goals.