Navigate to the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook
Follow the links to search under “field of degree” for engineering
You will come to a page that has information about the field of engineering in the United States
From here explore the graphs and click on the hyperlinks for business sectors or occupations that sound interesting to you.
Once you are done exploring for now, let’s take a close up look at the profile page for a field.
The tabs across the top of the page show the different types of information that are available here about each occupation.
Check out some of the other occupations that are listed in the "similar occupations" tab.
Click on the links for the related occupations and explore those as well. Some of these descriptions will include links out to O*NET where you can find more detailed information on some of the more targeted occupations.
The Occupational Information Network (O*NET) is developed under the sponsorship of the U.S. Department of Labor/Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA) through a grant to the North Carolina Department of Commerce.
1. Look for articles that are interesting written on topics that interest you:
Check library databases if you know what topics you are interested in
Check out our digital journals in BrowZine to browse if you don’t know where to start
Find out about the authors - what companies do they or have they worked for? (Is there a job there you’d like?) What degrees do they have? What internships have they done? (Are those things you are interested in pursuing?)
2. Check out the websites and/or the journals and conference proceedings for professional organizations that represent the field you are interested in:
Many of these organizations have a whole section on their website dedicated to prospective students.
They may also offer training for new professionals or networking events where you could meet other professionals in the field.
3. Read job postings and job boards:
Look for postings on large job search sites, with the alumni placement office here at the University, on the sites of companies you are interested, or in the “job posting” section of the professional organizations you are interested in
Ask HR departments for potential employers where they post jobs so you can look for the postings even before you have the credentials to apply so you ensure that you don’t overlook any of the skills needed when you are ready
4. Networking - talk to people!
University Faculty
Mentoring Opportunities
Informal Interviews
