University of Central Florida Counseling Center

Choosing a career is a major life decision for many reasons. If you work full-time throughout your life, you will spend at least one-half of your waking hours at work. This is more time than you will spend at any other single activity. Additionally, your career choice will influence the way you feel about yourself, your lifestyle, where you will live, and the kind of colleagues and types of social relationships you will have. Finding a satisfying career is important and requires careful planning.

It is natural to feel overwhelmed, frustrated, or unsure about your college major and/or career choices at times. Most of us experience some degree of self-doubt as we tackle this important decision-making process. It is important to remain open to exploring your options and to learning more about yourself and what you need in order to be fulfilled in life. Keep in mind, you have already been making career choices for years through your choice of hobbies, extracurricular activities, and jobs. This may continue for years after college as your career evolves and your needs and preferences change over time. Remember, it is normal to backtrack, re-evaluate, and perhaps re-decide.

Counselors at the Counseling Center are available to provide individual counseling for currently enrolled UCF students in working with career issues as they relate to other personal or developmental issues. Our function is to assist students with resolving personal issues that impact academic and career planning, and to facilitate student learning for future decision-making and problem-solving. We are able to provide information and referral for students to other campus offices and services as needed.

When Should Students Seek Our services?

For assistance with:

Resolving chronic indecision, personal doubts, and/or value conflicts
Dealing with conflict with others about choice and/or family expectations
Examining life transitions affecting choice and/or cultural implications
Exploring how work and learning can help one grow as a person

The Counseling Center administers a variety of career, interest and personality assessment inventories to assist you in understanding yourself and how you might best fit into a particular career or academic major. The results of career assessment CANNOT make the decision for you or tell you which major or career is the "right" one for you. Instead, the main function of career assessment is to help you to gain a better understanding about yourself so that you can use that information to make a sound career decision. Two commonly used inventories at the center, among others, are the Strong Interest Inventory and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator.

The Strong Interest Inventory (SII) is one of the most popular, valid, and reliable of all career interest inventories. It is used primarily as an aid in exploring occupational and vocational interests, and is based on the theory that individuals in different occupations have common interest patterns that differentiate them from individuals in other occupations. It can be helpful to students just beginning the process of career exploration and selection of an academic major. The SII takes approximately 50 minutes to complete. When you receive the results of your Strong Interest Inventory, you will:

Understand your career likes and dislikes and then compare your interest pattern with the patterns of people who report satisfaction working in various occupations.
Receive information about your learning style, leadership style, and risk-taking style. * Be introduced to six occupational personality styles (Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, Conventional) and learn how closely you identify with each theme.
Acquire important data to support you in choosing a major and in tailoring that major to a career that would best fit you.

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) helps promote self-exploration and self-understanding and can be used to provide insights into career decision-making questions, learning styles, leadership qualities, and relationship concerns. It explores your preferences on four scales: (1) how you prefer to direct your energy and attention (Extraversion vs. Intraversion); (2) how you prefer to gather information (Sensing vs. Intuition); (3) how you prefer to make decisions (Thinking vs. Feeling); and (4) the basic lifestyle you prefer (Judging vs. Perceiving). The various combinations of these preferences result in 16 personality types.

Understanding your preferences can help you to decide what you want to do and how to improve your chances of getting what you want. Remember, a career tends to be more fulfilling when it allows you to use the most important parts of your personality. The Career Report of the MBTI also provides occupational lists showing the careers most often selected and least often selected by your personality type. It takes approximately 40-60 minutes to complete the inventory.

To take any of our career assessment inventories, contact the Counseling Center (823-2811) and schedule an intake appointment with a counselor. You and your counselor will discuss your interests and select an inventory that will fit your concerns and needs. Most students require from three to four individual sessions when they decide to focus on vocational or career-related concerns. We also offer career exploration groups as well. There is no charge for UCF-enrolled students taking these inventories. If you have specific questions or need additional information prior to making an appointment at our center, you may contact:

Ms. Cindy Blecha, M.A., NCC
Specialist, Student Counseling & Career Services Coordinator
UCF Counseling Center
(407) 823-2811

Your counselor may also refer you to the Career Resource Center for additional career information or assistance regarding job placement, employment listings, on-campus recruitment, federal government employment, statewide job fairs, career expos, interviewing techniques, resume writing skills, internships, and other career planning issues.

Other campus offices and services which may provide important career-advising information include:

Career Development Advising
http://www.crc.ucf.edu/careerdev
Academic Exploration Program
http://www.aep.sdes.ucf.edu
First Year Advising and Information Services
http://www.firstyear.sdes.ucf.edu
Multicultural Advising and Support Programs
http://www.mass.ucf.edu
Transfer Services
http://www.transfer.sdes.ucf.edu
Academic Services for Student Athletes
http://www.assa.sdes.ucf.edu

Last Updated:
June 4, 2007 11:52 AM




Career Counseling Choosing a career is a major life decision for many reasons. If you work full-time throughout your life, you will spend at least one-half of your waking hours at work. This is more time than you will spend at any other single activity. Additionally, your career choice will influence the way you feel about yourself, your lifestyle, where you will live, and the kind of colleagues and types of social relationships you will have. Finding a satisfying career is important and requires careful planning. It is natural to feel overwhelmed, frustrated, or unsure about your college major and/or career choices at times. Most of us experience some degree of self-doubt as we tackle this important decision-making process. It is important to remain open to exploring your options and to learning more about yourself and what you need in order to be fulfilled in life. Keep in mind, you have already been making career choices for years through your choice of hobbies, extracurricular activities, and jobs. This may continue for years after college as your career evolves and your needs and preferences change over time. Remember, it is normal to backtrack, re-evaluate, and perhaps re-decide. Counselors at the Counseling Center are available to provide individual counseling for currently enrolled UCF students in working with career issues as they relate to other personal or developmental issues. Our function is to assist students with resolving personal issues that impact academic and career planning, and to facilitate student learning for future decision-making and problem-solving. We are able to provide information and referral for students to other campus offices and services as needed. When Should Students Seek Our services? For assistance with: Resolving chronic indecision, personal doubts, and/or value conflicts Dealing with conflict with others about choice and/or family expectations Examining life transitions affecting choice and/or cultural implications Exploring how work and learning can help one grow as a person Career Assessment The Counseling Center administers a variety of career, interest and personality assessment inventories to assist you in understanding yourself and how you might best fit into a particular career or academic major. The results of career assessment CANNOT make the decision for you or tell you which major or career is the "right" one for you. Instead, the main function of career assessment is to help you to gain a better understanding about yourself so that you can use that information to make a sound career decision. Two commonly used inventories at the center, among others, are the Strong Interest Inventory and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. *The Strong Interest Inventory* (SII) is one of the most popular, valid, and reliable of all career interest inventories. It is used primarily as an aid in exploring occupational and vocational interests, and is based on the theory that individuals in different occupations have common interest patterns that differentiate them from individuals in other occupations. It can be helpful to students just beginning the process of career exploration and selection of an academic major. The SII takes approximately 50 minutes to complete. When you receive the results of your Strong Interest Inventory, you will: Understand your career likes and dislikes and then compare your interest pattern with the patterns of people who report satisfaction working in various occupations. Receive information about your learning style, leadership style, and risk-taking style. * Be introduced to six occupational personality styles (Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, Conventional) and learn how closely you identify with each theme. Acquire important data to support you in choosing a major and in tailoring that major to a career that would best fit you. *The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator* (MBTI) helps promote self-exploration and self-understanding and can be used to provide insights into career decision-making questions, learning styles, leadership qualities, and relationship concerns. It explores your preferences on four scales: (1) how you prefer to direct your energy and attention (Extraversion vs. Intraversion); (2) how you prefer to gather information (Sensing vs. Intuition); (3) how you prefer to make decisions (Thinking vs. Feeling); and (4) the basic lifestyle you prefer (Judging vs. Perceiving). The various combinations of these preferences result in 16 personality types. Understanding your preferences can help you to decide what you want to do and how to improve your chances of getting what you want. Remember, a career tends to be more fulfilling when it allows you to use the most important parts of your personality. The Career Report of the MBTI also provides occupational lists showing the careers most often selected and least often selected by your personality type. It takes approximately 40-60 minutes to complete the inventory. Contact Us To take any of our career assessment inventories, contact the Counseling Center (823-2811) and schedule an intake appointment with a counselor. You and your counselor will discuss your interests and select an inventory that will fit your concerns and needs. Most students require from three to four individual sessions when they decide to focus on vocational or career-related concerns. We also offer career exploration groups as well. There is no charge for UCF-enrolled students taking these inventories. If you have specific questions or need additional information prior to making an appointment at our center, you may contact: Ms. Cindy Blecha, M.A., NCC Specialist, Student Counseling & Career Services Coordinator UCF Counseling Center (407) 823-2811 Other Resources Your counselor may also refer you to the Career Resource Center for additional career information or assistance regarding job placement, employment listings, on-campus recruitment, federal government employment, statewide job fairs, career expos, interviewing techniques, resume writing skills, internships, and other career planning issues. Other campus offices and services which may provide important career-advising information include: Career Development Advising http://www.crc.ucf.edu/careerdev Academic Exploration Program http://www.aep.sdes.ucf.edu First Year Advising and Information Services http://www.firstyear.sdes.ucf.edu Multicultural Advising and Support Programs http://www.mass.ucf.edu Transfer Services http://www.transfer.sdes.ucf.edu Academic Services for Student Athletes http://www.assa.sdes.ucf.edu
							Last Updated: June 4, 2007 11:52 AM