X158: Culture of College

Finding Information on Careers

The "surface web" is a great place to begin your search for information on careers. Explore the sites below for an overview of career choices. Remember, almost anyone can put almost anything they want on the surface web! It's up to you to think critically about the sources you find there. Take a look at the "Evaluating Web Sites" link under "Class Links" for ways to ask important questions of web sources.

Occupational Outlook Handbook
Maintained by the Federal Government. The online version of the Occupational Outlook Handbook in an invaluable career resource, describing job duties, working conditions, earnings, and more for 7 out of every 8 jobs in the U.S. economy. Browse by job title and/or broad occupational divisions. Keyword search also available.

America's Career InfoNet
Find wage and employment trends, occupational requirements, state-by-state labor market conditions, millions of employer contacts nationwide, and an extensive library of career resources online.

College Board Career Browser
Pick a general career category then browse specific jobs to learn about working conditions, job forecasts and related professions.

Career Reference Pages
Find more sources like the ones above here. Also look for help with searching for jobs by major, with resumes and cover letters, and with finding job ads

The surface web isn't the best place to begin every research project. It's important to explore "deep web" resources too! These include full text library databases and subscription websites. To access the deep web, start at the Find Information page on the libraries' website.

Finding and Combining Keywords
To find books and articles about careers and career issues, and to make use of the deep web, think about keywords and key phrases that describe your interests. Take time to come up with a list of keywords before you start looking for materials. It will make searching for them easier in the long run!

Below is a list of general terms and concepts that may help you get started for this assignment. Adding a few specific words and phrases, such as "working with animals," "animal care," "animal health," "veterinary medicine," etc., will help you find relevant books and articles.

career
vocation
vocational guidance
career satisfaction
career planning

job seeking
job hunting
job security
qualifications
salaries

workplace
promotion
advancement
retirement
benefits

And many, many more!

It takes a bit of work to generate a list of keywords, but it's worth it! It makes searching for information much easier. Once you have a list of keywords, you're ready to look for books and articles in IUCAT and in databases.

String together keywords to find what you're looking for:

animal and careers
animal care and (career or job)
animal care or veterinary medicine

Use Boolean operators (and, or) and nesting to put together searches in IUCAT and in databases. For more information on search techniques, see "Basic Search Tips" under Class Links.

Finding Books in IUCAT
Use IUCAT to find books, journals, film, etc. that the IUB Libraries own. IUCAT will tell you where you can find a book or a magazine, but it won't tell you what's in it. To find specific articles and chapters, use our deep web library databases.

Finding Articles in the Deep Web
Databases like Academic Search Premier, Lexis-Nexis, and ABI/Inform are excellent for finding deep web articles. Try some of the databases listed under Class Resources on the right side of the screen. Remember, you will find more databases on the Find Information page.

Citing Sources
Be sure to cite all your sources! Citing sources gives credit where credit is due. Writing an accurate bibliography is the final step in every successful paper. Remember, ask for help with citing if you need it. If you're not sure, try one of the following for assistance:

Reference librarians via email, live chat, or at a library reference desk
Your instructor
Writing Tutorial Services staff (see Class Links)