
Explore career options and ways to gain experience.
Look at the questions below followed by resources that will help you answer them.
Explore Career Options
What careers seem like a good fit with your interests, skills and work style? What are potential careers that connect with your studies?
- Research careers by using the “Occupation Quick Search” feature of O*NET .
- Keep things organized by using the Career Exploration Worksheet for each career that you would like to look into.
- Log into the Massachusetts Career Information System (MassCIS), to find Massachusetts-specific occupational and educational information .
- Talk to people (also called an informational interview) who work in a field that you like to find out more about the job, day-to-day tasks, required skills, abilities and personality traits. Be sure to send a “thank you” letter to the person afterwards, and consider connecting with them on LinkedIn.
- Job-shadow one or two people working in fields that interest you.
Explore Ways to Gain Experience
What experiences might help you evaluate a career interest? Where can you develop skills in and outside the classroom?
- Join a club, organization, or activity to learn more about yourself and your interests in a hands-on way.
- Consider looking into these other options for gaining experience:
Immersive Scholars- Merit-based awards that allow selected freshmen to work on research on campus or out in the community
On-Campus Positions- On-campus/Departmental student positions mostly funded through Financial Aid
DifferenceMaker- Campus-wide program that engages UML students in creative problem-solving, innovation and entrepreneurship
Jumpstart- AmeriCorps-sponsored program based at UMass Lowell where students work with underserved preschoolers
UTeach- Experiences available for future teachers in STEM-related fields
Part-time Work – Pursue any part-time job opportunity which will allow you to build some career-related skills
Volunteer Work- An unpaid opportunity to get involved in a field of interest
Meet with your faculty adviser to discuss credit-bearing experiential learning opportunities such as:
Internships - An opportunity (either paid or unpaid) to gain valuable real-world experience
Community Internships - Paid opportunities for real-world experience in the College of Fine Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences
- Also, consider:
The Washington Center (Internships) - Opportunities to intern with organizations in Washington, D.C.
Study Abroad Internships - Hands-on internship opportunities around the globe
Virtual Student Federal Service Internship Program - 1,500 internship opportunities with over 50 federal agencies (Applications available and due during the month of July every year)
Professional Co-op - Offered through the Career & Co-op Center; for eligible students in engineering, sciences or business majors
ProTips
- Schedule an appointment with a career counselor to discuss your unique situation, and to begin mapping out a career development plan that makes sense for you.
- Attend events such as Career Corner Workshops (Topics include Resumes, Job Search, Interviews and LinkedIn), Co-op Info session, Engagement Fair.