Career exploration
What can I do with this major?
What Can I Do With This Major? provides a series of links and handouts provides an excellent starting point for you to think about job titles, possible employers, and ways to build experience in different career fields. Explore multiple majors to learn about a wide range of career opportunities.
Career Readiness+ Inventory
Assess your skill and confidence in 4 areas:
• NACE Career Readiness Competencies*
• Social Capital
• Career Mobility Best Practices
• Life Design Mindsets
*These were identified by a national group of employers as critical to students’ success in the job search and in the workplace – Career & Self Development; Communication; Critical Thinking; Equity & Inclusion; Leadership; Professionalism; Teamwork, and Technology.
For each area, you’ll answer 3-5 questions. The assessment should take less than 5 minutes.
Immediately after the assessment, you’ll be provided with your results that include a rating system of:
Emerging Knowledge
• Understanding
• Early Application
• Advanced Application
Your results, which will also be emailed to you, will also contain 1) a comparison of your ratings to the competencies employers deem most important in college students and 2) recommendations for further developing in each competency area.
It’s important to approach reviewing these results with a growth mindset. It’s typical for students to have lots of room for growth in their career readiness competencies. Inventories are valuable tools for self-awareness and growth. Approach the process with a positive attitude and a commitment to continuous self-improvement. Use your self-reflection to set actionable goals to further your skill development and seek out opportunities to showcase your skills.
Graduate school
Have you considered attending graduate school? Does your career goal require an advanced or graduate degree? Learn the steps to take to apply to graduate school.
Professional and continuing education
Advance your career today! UW Bothell offers a variety of certificate programs to help you gain new skills. UW Bothell also offers courses through Professional and Continuing Education at the UW Bothell and Seattle campuses.
Career courses
BCORE 133 – Reflect, Engage, Prepare
BCORE 133 is a 2-credit course aimed at helping students explore their intended majors that fall under their respective Meta-Majors: Arts & Media, Health & Natural Sciences, Business & Policy, Technology & Engineering, and Education & Society. There is also a BCORE 133 designed for students who are unaware of what they want academically and/or professionally. Within each 133, students will engage in smaller, weekly activities focused on Major Exploration and Career Planning. In addition to providing both UWB and outside resources, as well as writing assignments aimed at academic/professional reflection and cultivating documents for job searching, there may be guest speakers, co-curricular events, and other campus connections. Please talk with your Academic Advisor to learn which 133 section will fit your Meta-Major best.
BCORE 233 – Pre-Health Professional Pathways
BCORE 233 is a 2-credit course aimed at helping students explore careers in health to find those that best intersect with their skills and interests. We’ll then learn about the steps needed to prepare for applications. Students ready to apply to graduate and professional health programs will receive additional instruction and support in applying to those programs.
BISSKL 250 – Career Exploration
This course addresses personal, educational and career choices. The class will read about, discuss and reflect on the work world, career options, academic pathways and the process of selecting a major and/or career path. Students will research and gather information, assess their strengths and weaknesses, and learn how to make quality career decisions. This will involve career exploration, life/career planning, identifying resources, and developing goals based on individual preferences, skills, life and work values and interests. Sample syllabus (accessible word doc).
BIS 495 – Worlds of Work
This is the Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences internship course. It is designed to integrate the knowledge and skills cultivated in the IAS program with hands-on work experience across a variety of internship sites and collaborative self-reflection on the changing demands and possibilities of work. The learning and skills students gain from the work they do in their internship will be complemented with readings, field research, and online discussions. The is largely an online course meeting only three times throughout the quarter. Sample syllabus (accessible word doc).
CSS 290 – Career Exploration in STEM
This course will address personal, educational, and career choices. Students will examine strengths, interests, and goals, and use the results to research their desired career. Students will research the best courses (minors, electives) to develop needed skills. The course will involve life/career planning, goals development, resource identification, and career exploration, based on individual preferences, interests, skills, and work values. Sample syllabus (accessible word doc).