Explore Occupations

Explore Occupations

Exploring Occupations: The Building Blocks of Your Career

Occupation vs. Industry: What’s the Difference?

Understanding the difference between and occupation, industry, and career is an important aspect of exploration.

Occupation

An occupation is a specific job or profession a person engages in.

Occupations Examples:

  • Accountant
  • Teacher
  • Programmer

Industry

An industry defines the type of business that produces goods or offers services.

Industry Examples:

  • Finance
  • Education
  • Technology

Ways to Explore

There are many ways to explore both potential occupations and industries. Sometimes, exploration begins with discovering industries of interest, then narrowing down to more specific occupations within the industry.

Exploration Activities:

  • Job Shadowing
  • Conducting Information Interviews
  • Internships

How to: Explore Occupations

There are a variety of ways to gain a better understanding of available occupations. Consider taking a self-assessment, or engage in student employment.

Resources

Learn more about the occupations that are out there. Looking for a list? You’ll find it here.

O*Net
Career OneStop
Occupational Outlook Handbook

Assessments

Take a free assessment that will determine occupational matches based on your personal attributes.

O*Net Interest Profiler
Work Value Matcher
Skills Matcher

Activities

Looking for other activities to help with exploration? Consider finding student employment.

Student Employment