University Advising Program

First Year Advising Center

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STAGES OF MAJOR & CAREER EXPLORATION

CAREER EXPLORATION
- Meet with one of our Career Counselors who are certified in major exploration at the WIU Career Center to discuss majors and career interests.
  - Mandi McRraven
  - Sequoia Cornell-Conner
- Career Exploration Websites:
  - O*NET OnLine
    Career Exploration and Job Analysis. Match your interests with potential job titles to make an informed decision. Learn how your strengths fit into career catagories.
  - What Can I Do With This Major?
    Features 100 major profiles with information on common career paths, types of employers that hire in the field, and strategies to maximize opportunities. Scroll to the bottom of each profile for links to professional associations, occupational outlook information, and job search resources.
  - Stepping Blocks
    An Online career exploration & development tool.
  - Indeed Job Search Academy
    A virtual career development program brought to you by Indeed and Western Illinois University to help you excel in your job search.
- Investigate the average pay of careers you are exploring on National Association of College Employers (NACE)
- Join Handshake and activate your profile now and connect with thousands of employers looking for Leathernecks! Full-time, part-time positions, and internships are available.
MAJOR EXPLORATION
- Explore all the different Undergraduate Majors and Minors WIU has to offer. Make a list of majors you would like to explore more with your advisor.
DECISION MAKING & GOAL SETTING
- Meet with a Major Advisor and/or talk with a Faculty Member in the Academic department(s) you are interested in to explore major(s) further.
- With your Academic Advisor, determine the requirements needed to graduate with that degree. Does the degree require a certain GPA? Will you need to improve your GPA to be able to declare? Will this degree set back your original graduation date if you declare it?
- Set S.M.A.R.T Goals to meet the degree requirements. Determine if goals are realistic/attainable in a reasonable time frame.
- If you are declaring/changing majors, please talk with your Academic Advisor first and also review the Occupational Outlook Report.