Introduction to Occupations

Chapter 4 Outline

  1. Planning your job seeking effort- this consists of the following basic steps:
  2. Know yourself- Identify your strengths and weaknesses, interests and values and determine your primary lifestyle goals.
  3. Understand basic career options- Identify sources of career information. Select a broad occupational area based on this information
  4. Match yourself with career options- Use the decision making process to consider the consequences of career decisions
  5. Reduce your options- Discard those areas that you feel would not satisfy your interests, abilities and wants..
  6. Choose one or more broad career areas- Select a career area and identify current employment opportunities within that area.
  7. Identify the educational requirements for the selected area.
  8. Set a tentative course of study that will help you to reach that requirement.

Activity: Have students pick a job from the want ads by using this process. Write down answers to each step.

  1. Job and career information sources- This is the third step in the process approach. Important to have these resources so that you can match yourself to these opportunities. Two categories, Print and non-print.
  2. Examples of where to find opportunities:
  3. U.S. Department of Labor publications and bulletins
  4. State, county and local government civil service bulletins
  5. Publications of trade associations, professional societies, labor unions, large corporations and educational institutions.
  6. Books, magazines, and brochures available at libraries, career centers, and school guidance offices.
  7. Computer software packages such as the Passport program by South-Western Publishing Company.
  8. School counselors
  9. Civil Service offices at various government agencies.
  10. Employment or personnel offices of private businesses
  11. Chambers of commerce, trade associations and other business organizations
  12. Commercial employment agencies
  13. Private counseling services
  14. Family, friends and neighbors
  15. Print Sources- Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOT). More than 20,000 occupations in nine primary classifications.
  16. Professional, technical and managerial occupations
  17. Clerical and sales occupations
  18. Service occupations
  19. Agricultural, fishery, forestry and related occupations
  20. Processing occupations
  21. Machine trade occupations
  22. Bench work occupations
  23. Structural work occupations
  24. Miscellaneous occupations

Each of these categories are divided into occupational divisions, each division into occupational groups and each occupational group into specific job titles and descriptions of the functions performed by the worker.

  1. Print Source- Occupational Outlook Handbook (OOH). Contains current information on a wide variety of occupational titles. Types of information:
  2. Nature of the work
  3. Working conditions
  4. Employment
  5. Training, other qualifications and advancement
  6. Job Outlook
  7. Earnings
  8. Related occupations
  9. Sources of additional information

This book comes out yearly and is published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. It also publishes quarterly updates called the OOQ.

  1. Non Print sources-
  2. School counselor
  3. Colleges
  4. Vocational Schools
  5. Career planning offices
  6. Job-placement offices
  7. Government Civil Services offices
  8. Private businesses and industries
  9. Telephone directory
  10. Employment agencies
  11. Chamber of Commerce
  12. Trade associations
  13. Labor Unions
  14. Family and Friends
  1. Matching yourself to opportunities- This is the fourth step in the process approach.
  2. Basic skills needed for the workplace-
  3. Reading- instruction manuals, charts, job specifications.
  4. Writing- simple reports, recording data
  5. Math- using addition and subtraction, multiplication and division to calculate figures. The ability to measure.
  6. Oral communication- speak so that you can be understood and listen so as to understand others.
  7. Basic values and attitudes-
  8. Values- Productivity and quality work are values. These are standards for what you do.
  9. Attitudes- Your demeanor and mood are your attitudes.
  1. Educational, physical and emotional requirements for the workplace. Different jobs have different requirements.
  2. Educational:
  3. High school level vocational/technical programs for jobs such as:
  • Nurse’s aide
  • Carpenter
  • Machinist
  • Cosmetologist
  • Secretary
  • Two year or four year degree program
  • Nursing
  • Engineering
  • Computer technology
  • Business
  • Training in an apprenticeship program.
  • Electrician
  • Pipe fitter
  • Machinist
  • Millwright
  • Attending a special school for training in one specific job.
  • Culinary arts
  • Tractor-trailer driving
  • Nursing
  • Cosmetology
  • Getting a license to meet state, local or professional requirements
  • Nursing
  • Cosmetology
  • Medicine
  • Law
  • Architecture
  • Engineering
  • Surveying
  • Teaching
  • Physical and emotional requirements
  • Our values may get in the way- ex: A vegetarian working in a meat packing plant. A person who is opposed to smoking working in a tobacco company.
  • Physical limitations- Heavy lifting, high places, being on your feet all day.
  • Depending on your senses- Air traffic controller, Jewelers, electronic component assemblers all need fine vision, piano tuners a good ear, dentists and surgeons need a fine sense of touch, s chef a fine sense of smell.
  1. Factors influencing job selection
  2. Ability and preferences- What do I like to do?
  3. Working with things and objects
  4. Routine, organized work
  5. Direct personal contact with others
  6. Communication of ideas and information
  7. Business contact
  8. Working on or producing things
  9. Processes, methods and machines
  10. Creative thinking
  11. Scientific or technical pursuits

Ask yourself what are the characteristics of these things? Do I enjoy them? You can eliminate certain areas you do not enjoy.

  1. Personal and family considerations.
  2. How much travel is involved in the job?
  3. How many hours does it require?
  4. Will this affect my family life?
  5. How much leisure time is there?
  6. Life style considerations.
  7. Your needs will change as you grow which is called the Life Cycle-The continuous sequence of changes a person experiences as he or she goes through life. You are not the same as you were 5 years ago nor are you going to be the same in 5 years.
  8. Building a career is a life long process.

VI.. A process approach to matching yourself to opportunities.

  1. Do the exercise on pages 46 and 47 in the text book.

VII. Summary- Remember the world of work is always changing. You need to continue to use process approaches in continually making life’s decisions.