Research Guides: ACA 111 College Student Success: 6.1 Career Research

Careeer Research and Exploration

Career Research

Engaging in career research will provide you with additional information and resources to assist you in better understanding the world of work and where you see yourself fitting in. This module will teach you how to conduct online research to navigate several career resources.

As you research career information, make notes of tasks, work environment, skills, job outlook, necessary training, and salary information. You will also want to research industry expectations. This entails researching the job market, looking for open job applications, and learning what the minimum qualifications are for employment. The more you know about industry expectations, the more prepared you will be to meet industry demands.

Online Resources for Career Information

Researching the internet for career information can be fascinating. You have so much information at the touch of your fingertips. This can be exciting, yet overwhelming at the same time. In this section, we will explore some common online tools used in career counseling. Keep a notepad nearby as you explore the different online career resources. Take notes of your findings and record information that stands out to you. At the end of this chapter, you should be able to start putting the pieces together and getting closer to making some career decisions.

National / Federal Resources

Occupational Outlook Handbook (OOH)
The Occupational Outlook Handbook is a nationally recognized source of career information, designed to provide valuable assistance to individuals making decisions about their future work lives. Revised every two years, the Handbook describes what workers do on the job, working conditions, the training and education needed, earnings, expected job prospects in a wide range of occupations, and links to professional associations.
O*NET Online
O*Net Online has detailed descriptions of the world of work for use by job seekers, workforce development and HR professionals, students and more. Making occupational information interactive and accessible to everyone. This site contains both summary and detailed information on occupations in the US economy as well as the ability to search for information by various criteria such as job family, industry, skills, knowledge, interests, green jobs, bright outlook occupations and several others. It is produced by the federal government, is updated frequently, and contains state and national wage information, occupational projections, related occupations and opportunities for more information from professional and trade associations.

State Resources

NCcareers.org
NCcareers.org aims to be North Carolina’s central online resource for students, parents, educators, job seekers and career counselors looking for high quality job and career information. Within NCcareers.org, users will identify their skills/interests; explore occupations and local job/employer needs; identify education and training opportunities and prepare to enter/re-enter the job market. The system provides clear, consistent information about North Carolina’s current and future job needs and education/training offerings to all, starting with students in middle school and continuing through adulthood.
NCWorks.gov
NC Works offers a full range of features and services to assist job seekers and employers in their workforce development needs. For job seekers, that means finding assistance in researching the job market, figuring out what careers they are qualified for, how much those jobs pay, and other issues of interest. Employers can use the system to post their available job openings to a large pool of candidates, search for candidates using a wide variety of criteria, and research the local labor market. Registration allows users to save personal information, settings, and preferences that make using the system easier and quicker during future visits.

Review

Notes, Licenses, etc.

License

ACA 111 College Student Success by Nancy Jesmer and Angela Davis, Copyright © 2025 Pitt Community College, is licensed under CC BY 4.0 unless otherwise noted. This text may not be used in the training of large language models or otherwise be ingested into large language models or generative AI offerings without permission from Pitt Community College.

Attributions

This content has been adapted from:

Dillon, D. (2024). “Chapter 26: Career Research and Exploration.” In Modern Blueprint for College and Career Success v. 2.0. License: CC BY 4.0.
Note: This book may not be used in the training of large language models or otherwise be ingested into large language models or generative AI offerings without Dave Dillon’s permission.

Chapters 26 (Dillon) is a derivative of:

Martinez, G., & Shaker, E. (2019). "Unit 3: Conducting Career Research." In COUNS 110 Career and Life Planning, Version 3.. License: CC BY 4.0.

Modifications

Excludes sections, charts, images, and activities found in the original
Split the chapter into two smaller modules