PERSONAL CAREER JOURNEY

Personal Career Journey

Personal Career Journey

Traditional approaches to career development theories typically placed emphasis on understanding the critical inherent traits of the individual, the purpose of this paper is to provide a critique of the longestablished career choice and development theories, and to suggest directions for the future. To be exact, the term career is still uncertain.

Most approaches to career were from a psychological perspective, but varied from trait-and-factor fit, person-environment. When career theory is applied in practice, it often involves simply “cherry picking” a single technique, assessment, etc., rather than the full implementation of a theory's concepts. I was raised by a single-parent mother with my older sister in Austin, TX.

My parents are divorced and I have a stepmother and a younger half-sister. I wanted to be a ballerina when I grew up; however, I began wanting to be a teacher when I was in 2nd grade. I did not try hard in school throughout middle school and did not feel motivated to do well on schoolwork. I went from a "c" student to an “A" student when a motivational speaker spoke to my 7th grade class about going to college. I became motivated and I wanted to succeed. I began my undergraduate studies in college (Ball State University) as an education major, but switched to a psychology major my sophomore year. I currently work as a graduate assistant for the Learning Center, which I do not like because of the conventional tasks (secretarial work). I would like to be a substance abuse counselor when I graduate, because of the variety of clients and helping others! According to the Myer-Briggs personality type of ENFP the following career options will be available. Listed as follows:

Occupations where the ENFP's dominant function (Ne) (calculated using "selection ratio")

Occupations where the ENFP's auxiliary function (Fi) (calculated using "selection ratio")

CounsellorTrainerAssistantSecretarySenior ManagerResearcherAccountant/auditor/banker/economistDesignerHomemakerEntrepreneur/self-employedWriter/editorPsychologistCareers/occupational advice/therapyHuman Resources

Project managerNurseTechnical specialistLawyer/attorneyDesignerEngineerProfessor/academic/lecturerArtist/actorManagerWriter/editorForcesTrainerClergy/church workerCounsellor

According to the Holland's code of ASI the following other careers are available:

Copywriter

Writers/Editors

Adolescent Transition

Cognitive Information Processing (CIP) Approach to Career Counseling

What seems evident is that older adolescents and young adults enter transitions with the goal of becoming independently functioning adults, as they strive to meet evolving personal and career related needs. Rapid and escalating changes in labor market and post-secondary educational opportunities mean that adolescents now are confronted with the challenge of meeting their personal and career needs when neither can offer certainty or a sense of personal control. (Sharf, D. 2005).

CIP in Curricular Interventions

The influence of social and economic changes, and the importance of basing intervention strategies on personal and career competence, all within a context of diminished and changing opportunities for choice. In order to address this broader range of issues, we have employed a competence model with eight main areas (Amundson, Borgen & Tench, in press): purpose, problem solving, communication skills, theoretical knowledge, applied knowledge, organizational adaptability, human-relations skills, and self-confidence. We also have developed a number of counseling strategies that facilitate a smoother transition:

Many young people leave high school ...