The process of learning about career options often begins at our Pomerantz Career Center. Many liberal arts and sciences graduates end up in careers quite different from their major area. However, working with our career center's staff can help you clarify your direction, and that will help you choose a career and major.
At the Career Center, students are encouraged to stop in and take online interest inventories, meet with a career adviser, and learn about possible internships and full-time positions in an online recruiting system. The center hosts multiple career fairs, thousands of interviews, and other events each year. Students also can enroll in one of several career courses including Career Exploration and the Career Leadership Academy, a program designed to help students develop leadership and employee-readiness skills.
To learn about jobs that might interest you, explore the Occupational Outlook Handbook, a nationally recognized source of career information provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. It describes what workers do on the job, working conditions, training and education needed, earnings, and expected job prospects in a wide range of occupations.
Internships/Externships
One of the best ways to gain firsthand knowledge of career fields is through internships or externships, which can be arranged with assistance from the Pomerantz Career Center and some academic departments.
Internships are short-term work experiences (usually ranging from a few weeks up to a year) that are in some way related to your area of study or career path. They can be full-time or part-time, paid or unpaid, and sometimes may earn you academic credit. They are valuable opportunities to apply what's learned in class to a supervised work situation and allow you to prove your abilities in a professional situation.
Many employers stress the importance of having quality internships on one's résumé. The Pomerantz Career Center sponsors several unique experiences such as the Des Moines Center, Walt Disney College Program, Experience Iowa, and the Washington Center internship programs.
Iowa students recently have participated in internships with Newsweek magazine, Viacom/MTV Networks, Collins Aerospace, the U.S. government, Wells Fargo Financial, John Deere, Walt Disney World, Merrill Lynch, and the American Council of Young Political Leaders.
Job shadowing the president of a Midwestern television station, a neurosurgeon in New York City, or an Intel marketing manager in California are all examples of externships. They provide on-the-job experience, often during winter or spring breaks.
The Career Center offers these types of opportunities for students to interact with successful Iowa graduates through a career exploration program called ICE-Net, a collection of more than 500 Iowa alumni who have volunteered to help students with career networking.
