CONTENTS: Introduction Part 1: Researching a Career online      Step 1. O-Net      Step 2: Occupational Outlook Handbook      Step 3: Professional Associations      Step 4: Online Catalog      Step 5: Periodical Indexes      Step 6: Federal Government Information      Step 7: Louisiana State Government Information Part 2: Researching a Career in the Library Part 3: LSU Career Services Printer friendly version BACK TO: Tutorial Home Library Homepage Library Instruction Page

Researching a Career

Part 2: Researching a Career in the Library

     Specific resources to look for:

American Salaries and Wages Survey, call number HD 4973 .A447 at the Middleton Library Reference Desk.

If you'd like to know what kind of money different job types earn, you can check the American Salaries and Wages Survey. This reference book names over 2000 different occupations, and lists their average wages, broken down by region, state, and city. It also includes US Territories. An Outline cross-references similar job titles to compare (Nurse and Anesthesia Nurse), and the Appendices list the 200 different government, business and news sources from which the data was compiled.

The Directory of Business Information Resources, call number HF 54.52 .U5 D567 at the Middleton Library Reference desk.

If you'd like to know more about a particular field, a good place to get some leads is The Directory of Business Information Resources. Say you were interested in Agriculture, Financial Services, or Real Estate. The Directory lists professional association, newsletters, and trade journals for those industries and 95 more. It also lists industry trade shows and Web sites. It does not neglect smaller or less profitable industries, like "Hobbies and Games" or "Performing Arts" The Directory has a cross-reference to search by Standard Industry Code or SIC number, and for trade journals and magazines, it has a Special Issue Index, “to help the researcher locate the exact special issue they need. Find not just boats but kayaks, not just performing art, but opera, not just automobiles, but automotive engineering."

Career Guide to Industries, call number L2.3/4-3: at the Middleton Library Reference Desk.

The Career Guide to Industries is yet another publication from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. It is a companion to the Occupational Outlook Handbook and the Occupational Outlook Quarterly; however, the Career Guide looks at employment from an industry perspective instead of an occupational perspective, giving an overview of various industries as a whole, and describing the many jobs contained within them. The Guide covers 45 different industries which together account for 75% of the paying jobs in the United States - everything from manufacturing to hospitality, and even including “Grantmaking, Advocacy, and Civic Organizations” for the non-profit minded. Each entry presents a discussion of the nature of business in the industry, an overview of occupations, including training and education, and an outlook of future growth and earnings.

Encyclopedia of Careers and Vocational Guidance, call number HF 5381 .E52 in the Middleton Library Reference stacks.

Another good source is the Encyclopedia of Careers and Vocational Guidance Careers are listed alphabetically; each entry gives an overview of the work, discusses training and compensation, describes the work environment, and gives an "Outlook" of future growth and development in the field. This five volume reference work is aimed specifically at students; each entry has sections on "Exploring" and "Starting Out," and offers advice on which high school and college courses to take to prepare oneself for the career. Professional, skilled, and service careers are all covered. Volume One offers guidance on preparing for, applying for, and starting a job. It also surveys careers by field or industry, such as Social Services, Sales, the Law and Aerospace.

Jobs Rated Almanac, call number HF 5382.5 .U5 K72, in the Middleton Library Reference stacks.

The Jobs Rated Almanac looks at 250 jobs from the "quality of life" angle - what is the working environment like, how stressful is the job, how physical is the work, what is the job security? This information is interesting to know, because as the book points out, even people who may have some familiarity with a field often have no idea what it's like to actually work in it. The types of jobs rated are eclectic, ranging from Teacher and Nurse to Archeologist, Philosopher, and even President of the United States. The jobs described are specific - Engineering Technician instead of Engineer, Rabbi instead of Minister. Many charts rating the jobs by criteria are included, and the jobs are listed alphabetically as well.

Occupational Outlook Quarterly, call number L 2.70/4: in the Government Documents section of Middleton Library, Room 53 in the basement, and online at http://www.bls.gov/opub/ooq.

The Occupational Outlook Quarterly is published buy the Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. It covers much of the same information as the Occupational Outlook Handbook, but each issue covers a career or industry in depth, so the information is more detailed. The Quarterly discusses working conditions for the given careers, education and training, dispels misconceptions about the work, and gives a forecast of future job growth and earnings. Each issue also includes a “Grab Bag” of brief stories of general interest to job-seekers, such as how to create a portfolio, and how employers feel about body piercings. The OOQ is written in a friendly, accessible style, and includes a column called "You're a What?" that showcases unusual jobs.

What Color is Your Parachute?, call number HF 5382.7 .B64, in the Middleton Library Reference stacks.

What Color is Your Parachute? has been called "the gold standard of career guides" by Fortune magazine. This unusual book details what it calls "the creative approach to job hunting" - it counsels you to first discover what you love to do, and then create the career which will allow you to do that. It includes many worksheets and exercises to help you identify your skills and strengths. Then, it charts out a non-traditional strategy to help you hunt down that ideal job, instead of passively waiting for it to appear. This is a good book to use if you are near graduation and have no idea what you want to do. But even if you do, your skills and values as revealed by the worksheets may surprise you! Parachute is also good if you feel stale and bored with your current work or course of study.

          

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