By Trevor J. Ward
With many new and returning students coming to Seminole State, the Career Development Center seeks to answer the looming question, “What career should I work toward?”
Heather Engelking, director of the Career Development Center, lets students know the options they have when looking for a lasting career after getting their degree.
The Career Development Center, located in the Student Center building room 164, is a service provided to students to help them find work as well as build connections with the local businesses.
“I’ve been in career services probably near 20 years now,” Engelking says about her work and finding the position she is in now.
Engelking, since the start of her own school journey, has always known that she wanted to help others. After the trial and error of her education, she ultimately found her niche in guiding others to the career that’s best for them.
Today’s students, Engelking said, those new to college, coming straight out of high school or otherwise, can become overwhelmed by the idea of putting time and money into a degree that they are not sure will satisfy them in the long run.
The Career Development Center approaches these fears by having students take part in several aptitude tests that measure their values, interests, personalities and skills. After completing these they give you some possible careers that those with similar results seem to enjoy.
“For me, I didn’t know what my fit was until I was kinda accidentally exposed to it,” Engelking says.
She added that exposure is necessary to discovering what you may want to do.
“What we [The Career Development Center] look to do here is to do a blend of things that can provide those avenues of exploration,” she said.
The “top wrung” services that the Career Development Center provides are internships and co-ops according to Engelking. Some degrees require internships, such as paralegal studies and interior design, while other internships aren’t required but can be taken for more exposure to the career itself and for academic credit. There are numerous types of internships across different career paths ranging anywhere from business to multi-media relations and more.
“Don’t be afraid to ask for information,” Engelking pleads to students as her final advice.
The Career Development Center has additional services such as job shadowing, networking with professionals in varying fields, job fairs, and even a more recent application called Handshake as well. Handshake is an online career management cloud which has their own events as well as jobs posted by employers all of which are accessible to all enrolled students of Seminole State.
For more information students can drop by the Career Development Center (Student Center 164) or online at www.seminolestate.edu/careers and find out how they can begin.
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