Fear Comes From The Unknown

As a student in college, you come in undecided, and take a few GE classes, maybe come in for an assessment at the Career Center, and eventually decide on a major. Usually your major includes those classes you loved or things you enjoy doing outside of school. This decision and your path towards a career becomes easier once you start taking classes within your major and learn more about the requirements to get into and succeed in that field. What’s happening here is classic psychology, you’ve eliminated the fear of the unknown because now you’ve gained the knowledge and have a better idea of how to do those jobs.

This fear is something that comes up a lot in life. Maybe you’re hesitant to join a club because you’re unsure how they run their meetings or if the members are friendly. Maybe you’re looking to apply for an internship but decide not to because it doesn’t look like something you could ever do. You’ll never know until you overcome that fear and get that initial burst of knowledge. By exploring different paths, you learn a little more, and fear a little less!

A resource I believe combats this fear of unknown is Career Explorer, which is accessed through PrideCMS. Here, you can search a variety of careers and it will give you detailed information about the job such as average salary, projected growth, a description of the job, what education you need, and even the skills and cognitive abilities needed! By gaining some inside knowledge of the career, you start to overcome that fear of the unknown.

And remember, in the same way a stuffed toy or a blanket provides support and comfort to a child scared of the boogeyman, the counselors at the Career Center are here to support you as you venture into the unknown of your future Path of Pride. Give us a call at (516) 463-6060 and make an appointment today!

Anne Monique Concepcion, Graduate Assistant

Figuring Out Your Major

Welcome back Hofstra students!

Hopefully you enjoyed your summer and are back in the swing of things. Many of you have not yet picked a major, are looking to change your major, or are not sure what to do with your major. Let us at the Career Center help you. We have an array of personality and career assessment tools that can help guide you through this process. You can see another resource provided by the Department of Labor that may assist you in deciding to whether take an assessment or not.

Lastly, don't forget you can also book appointments online to meet with a counselor to discuss these options and help you on your Path of Pride.

Lorraine Massiah, Assistant Director

Tips to Finding Your True Path!

This past weekend, I chaperoned an Explore Next Door Trip as part of Move-In Weekend.  Before boarding the bus I asked the 20 first-year students in attendance to introduce themselves to one another and share their majors.  Out of the 20, only one stated that they were undecided.  Boy, was I was surprised that there was only one undecided student! 

Many would think that this was terrific.  In other words, how wonderful it is to have such focused students who know exactly what they want to study!  But wait, maybe it was wrong of me to ask the question the way I did.  Should I have asked them to share their career interests?  Or what their plans are for after graduation?  Or how confident are they that they chose the right major?  I assume these questions may have produced different results. 

Many students entering college choose majors based on:

• What their parents or families want
• What careers are “popular” especially those they see in the media
• What subjects they were good at during high school
• What their college roommate or friends are studying
• What seems “practical” 

Another thought I had was just because a student may be interested in studying a topic does not indicate that this topic has to be their major.  Or just because a student chooses a certain major, it may not indicate what they want to do after graduation.

So, now that I have rambled on a bit, where does this lead us? Exploration!  As a first year student there is so much to experience.  Perhaps, we as a society unintentionally put way too much pressure on first year students to have a major on their first day of college.  Do not let others or the media drive your choice of major.  Remember, there is no rush to declare a major right away.  Here are some exploration tips during your first year.

1. Take a variety of classes and ask questions.
2. Read course descriptions and determine which classes sound interesting.  Is there a pattern?
3. Attend campus lectures and special events.  Listen and learn!
4. Join a club of interest and maybe one just to have fun and meet new people.
5. All faculty members need to take part in research.  Find out what your faculty members are researching and ask them some questions about the topic.
6. Come to The Career Center, talk with one of our friendly counselors and take an assessment.  We can help you identify how your skills, interests, and values lead to certain careers and majors!
7. Make use of online career exploration resources like “What Can I Do With This Major?” to get listings of majors and typical careers.
8. Use sites like the Occupational Outlook Handbook, ONet or Vault.com (located under MyApps on the Portal) to explore careers and related majors.
9. Talk to family and friends.  These are the people who know you best!
10.  Meet with an Academic Advisor to review the requirements for majors and clarify which majors are not only of interest to you but that you believe you will excel in.  

Suzanne Dagger, Director of Career Services

Starting Your School Year Off Fresh…

Hello, I hope you are all enjoying your first week of classes! My name is Anne and I’m going to be the Career Center Graduate Assistant. I am brand new to Hofstra University and am starting as a first year Mental Health Counseling student. I recently graduated from SUNY New Paltz, but I am excited to get to know Hofstra and all the students through the Career Center!

As an undergrad, I majored in Psychology. I knew that was the major for me, but not everyone has an easy time figuring out what major works best for him or her. A great resource to explore majors and careers is What Can I Do With This Major? There, you can do research of what majors connect to which careers, the locations you could work at, and even school-strategies to meet those goals. This can help make picking a major easier and put you on the path you love!

But remember, the Career Center is always available to support you with career counseling, so call, drop in, or even schedule an appointment online through our website or stop by quick question hours Monday-Friday from 10-11 AM and 2-4 PM everyday!

Anne Concepcion, Graduate Assistant