Career Planning

Career Development

Career Development is a resource for career exploration and planning. It contains both printed and online resources and also sponsors a number of special workshops and presentations related to career decision making and job placement.

Career Development is located on each major campus. For more information, visit the webpage.

Career Planning Series

Florida State College at Jacksonville offers a number of college credit career planning courses that will count as elective credit in an A.A. program of study.

SLS 1301 Career Planning and the World of Work - Using self-assessment instruments as well as group discussions, this course helps you select a tentative career path which is compatible with your individual values, interests and skills. Two credit hours.

SLS 1401 Computerized Career Planning - This course uses computer-based career exploration activities to assist you in deciding on your career path. There are no formal class hours; the course is a self-paced and independent study. One credit hour.

Self-Directed Resources

Computerized Career Exploration Systems

FSCJ offers free access to a number of helpful career exploration systems, all of which provide self-assessment and career database functions. SIGI and eChoices may be found at Florida Department of Education - Choices Planner; Discover is a system available within Career Development. You are encouraged to make an appointment with a counselor to discuss which system is most appropriate and/or to discuss your results.

Spotlight on Careers

These seminars focus on a variety of different occupational fields. The speakers are people who work and/or teach in the areas covered. Speakers provide specific knowledge related to local job trends, “inside” information related to their occupational field and will answer questions from the audience. Contact Career Development for more information.

Print Resources in Career Development

Major Resources for Career Planning

• Guide to Career Exploration
  This 25-minute video explains major career planning resources and how to use them.
• Occupational Outlook Handbook (OOH)
  This career resource book, published by the Department of Labor, includes information on careers such as working conditions, training and qualifications, salary, employment outlook, related occupations and where to find additional information.
• Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOT)
  Published by the Department of Labor, this book provides brief, detailed job descriptions of over 12,000 occupations. Many career assessments are cross-referenced to the DOT nine-digit code for each job title.
• Guide for Occupational Exploration (GOE)
  Describes 66 work groups that relate to your interests and abilities. Each description contains a general overview of the occupational areas and answers what kind of work is involved, what skills you need, how you know if you would like the work and how you can prepare for a specific occupation.

Information on Careers

• Vocational Biographies
  This resource includes a series of booklets which contain stories of careers written by individuals who work in the field. In their stories, they detail what they do on the job and explain how they got there.
• VGM Career Books
  Over 60 paperbacks designed to help you become better acquainted with career opportunities and the world of work.
• Occu-Facts
  Presents details in outline form which are necessary to make informed career choices.

Information on Colleges and Financial Aid

• College Blue Book
  A five volume set that includes narrative descriptions of colleges and universities, summaries of basic information about the colleges, degrees offered by college and subject and scholarship information.
• Peterson’s Annual Guide to Two-Year and Four-Year Colleges
  Provides information on colleges and universities in the United States and Canada.
• Catalogs and transfer manuals from state universities
• Also available online:
  • Information on Scholarships
  • College Blue Book
  • Finding Money for College
  • The “B” Student’s Scholarship Book
  • The Worldwide Scholarship Directory