Career Exploration is simply learning about various occupations and their "fit" with your unique career preferences, e.g. the skills, interests, and values you want satisfied by your career.  Career assessments are ways to learn more about how well a variety of careers might suit you. Each assessment focuses on a specific area, such as skills, interests, or values. Typically, an assessment asks you to answer questions about what you like, don't like, what’s important to you, and what your strengths are. 

Since assessment results may relate to as many as 900 different occupations, do not panic if your results include careers that do not interest you. Experts recommended that you take more than one assessment to broaden your ideas before you make a decision. 

What can an assessment help you do? 

• Learn about occupations that are a good match for you 
• Decide where you need more training or experience 

• Identify the skills you bring to a job 
• Write more personal, detailed resumes and cover letters 
• Consider careers you may not have thought about before 

Career Exploration Resources

California Career Zone-- www.cacareerzone.org

Virtual Job Shadow-- www.virtualjobshadow.com

California Career Center-- www.calcareercenter.org

Bureau of Labor and Statistics-- https://www.bls.gov/

Career Technical Education (CTE) works to ensure that students can develop the fundamental knowledge and skills that a career-ready student needs in order to prepare for the transition to postsecondary education, career training, or the workforce.  

Learn more about the California Industry Sectors and the opportunities within them. https://www.cacareerzone.org/clusters